The Matsés are expert weavers, crafting essential cultural items like hammocks, fishing nets, baskets, and traditional jewelry.

It was during a village meeting in 2016 when a Matsés woman, Carmen Rodriguez Lopez, stood up to address an assembly of chiefs from all the Matsés villages in Peru. She pointed out that the economic program had centered so far on activities done by men, but that women also have valuable skills to contribute to developing economic opportunities for their families. She held up a fistful of beautiful woven friendship bracelets, which the Matsés call ‘uitsun’.

The Acaté Amazon Conservation team then contacted us at Xapiri with an ambitious goal to not only develop a sustainable and economically viable handicraft project led by the Matsés, but one that involves and engages all the Matsés communities to be its participants. What began with an initial sample of 10 cotton uitsuns (woven bracelets) has grown into a thriving initiative: we have since purchased thousands of pieces from approximately 50 female artisans across 10 communities. This model provides a steady income for the weavers while ensuring this traditional craft is passed down to the next generation.

Uitsuns are specific to the Matsés, taking over a day to construct, they are woven on a rustic loom from natural hand-spun native cotton or chambira palm fibre. In Matsés culture, these woven ornaments are tied onto the wrist or ankle. A sister puts on her little brother's ankle ornament by slipping the knotted ends through little loops. As she grows, a girl will weave one for her brother, her husband and then for her children, just as the boy will grow to ask for ornaments from his mother, his sister, and eventually his wife.

Although these bracelets are still worn occasionally as accoutrements of daily wear, the knowledge of this craft is in danger of not being practiced by younger Matsés women. This is why the initiative was created to provide Matsés women the opportunity to earn income on their own while preserving their inherited traditions.

'We have witnessed many conservation organizations in the Amazon launch well-meaning handicraft projects in partnership with indigenous groups. Unfortunately, most fall short of reaching true economically viability in the real world market past the supported investment and development stage.

Handicraft initiatives with other indigenous groups living remote areas of the Amazon typically source from only a small handful of individual artisans located in the most geographically accessible villages. Although marketing for such projects may claim that the purchase of handicrafts benefits an entire tribe, in actuality the benefits in this setting are focal and may not extend to families in communities deep in the heart of their territories where economic opportunities are even more scarce. The Matsés are a remarkably egalitarian people. At our community meetings, the Matsés reiterate that it is important to them that projects involve as many members of their community as possible so that the benefits can be as inclusive and be widely shared.

Since the first order of uitsun bracelets from the Matsés, the order has expanded across over 10 communities and involved dozens of Matsés artisans. The project has brought renewed interest and economic opportunities from the Matsés and over the past two years has expanded to many handicrafts including chonta wood spears crafted by Matsés elders and warriors to beautiful ceramics created by the last remaining artisans who hold knowledge of the art.'

Dr. Christopher Herndon, President and Co-Founder of Acaté Amazon Conservation.

Uitsuns are made from either cotton or chambira fibre and then natural pigments are added for a variety of colours. Cotton plants and chambira palms are abundant around Matsés villages. For cotton, the buds are collected until a substantial amount is gathered ready to be spun. The cotton buds are then cleaned and flattened before they are spun into a tight ball of string. This string will then be worked on to the loom as the uitsun weaving begins.

The second material which the Matsés use to make their uitsuns is chambira palm fibre. To prepare the fibre the fronds are pulled down from the spiked palm. After sufficient material is collected, microscopically thin fibers with impressively high tensile strength are peeled away from the surface of leaflets of new unopened fronds (also called 'spear leaves') of the chambira palms.

Chambira palms (Latin name: Astrocaryum chambira) grow wild in the forest.  Some mestizos plant them, because sometimes they can become scarce in the wild due to overexploitation, since the only way to get at the new fronds of adult palms is to cut the whole tree down (they can be harvested from short ones without hurting the palm). The Matsés do not traditionally replant these trees, but Acaté Amazon Conservation has plans to do a reforestation project planting useful species including chambira. Meanwhile, the cotton is planted by the Matses and does not grow wild, at least not in lowland Amazonia.

The Matsés often dye the chambira fibre using natural pigments. A frequently used pigment, which produces a reddish tone, comes from the bark of the ‘bëpushudte’ or in Spanish the 'loro caspi' tree, and is found in the nearby forest. The extraction process involves peeling a thin layer of the tree's white bark before it is cut into smaller pieces. The cut pieces of bark are then kept in a receptacle at home to allow the material to release its dark red pigment over time. Once the chambira has been sun-dried it is then added to the bowl containing the bark pigment, soaking for a few hours before the fibre has taken on its colour. This pigment is more commonly used than the Amazonian favourite 'achiote' as the dye obtained from tree barks fixes better onto the fibre and is longer lasting. After the chambira fibre is dried again, it gets twisted into a thin but extremely durable twine of varying thicknesses to make uitsuns, hammocks, and other artefacts.

The Matsés hammock is traditionally made with chambira fibre, involving an intricate weaving process that takes weeks. However, the result is a beautifully sturdy hammock that lasts for years, even in the most humid of rainforest conditions.

In the majority of Matsés households, you will find an array of fishing nets in different sizes. Also made with chambira fibre, these everyday objects continue to be used today in their traditional fishing practice.