Muskox wool unites Peruvian knitting family with hunting families from Canada’s arctic

While it’s common to find garments made from alpaca in Peru, 70 per cent of Qori Exports goods are made out of qiviuk — the wool of the muskox of the high arctic.

It’s as synonymous to Peru as hockey is to Canada, woven deeply into the cultural fabric of the South American country is the intricate textile industry.

Rainbows of hand-knit garments blanket shops and market stalls from the coastal capital to high up in the Andes.

Knitting and weaving are skills passed down through the generations in Peru but one family business has sewed together a unique partnership between two groups of people from opposite ends of the Americas.

“When I was a little girl, I knit a little sweater for me,” said 89-year-old Leonor Becerra de Alvarez, from the balcony of her business in Arequipa, Peru.  “I like so much to knit. When I was big and married I think I say we can do something for all the people because knitting is a nice thing to do.”

Three decades ago, she started Qori Exports with her sons. A team of knitters make fine garments out of Alpaca and Vicuna wool. It didn’t take long before they decided to branch out to other parts of the world.

“Then we say why don’t we send to another country and see, ” said Becerra de Alvarez. “If they like it we’d be very grateful to them.”

While it’s common to find garments made from alpaca in Peru, 70 per cent of Qori Exports goods are made out of qiviuk — the wool of muskox, an animal found in the high arctic.

“The air feel that qiviuk has no other fiber has, it’s soft as a cloud,” said Fernando Alvarez, CEO of Qori Exports. “This is something very special and very unique we can offer to the world.”