The group of about 30 ladies is called, Las Flores de Tarma, (The Flowers of Tarma). They live on the hills of an Andean town about 10 hours east of Lima. Their forebears were people who worked the land - one or two generations back. Many of the houses on the hills are made of adobe bricks, and their sections are the size of the house with no more than a small courtyard where dishes and clothes are washed. There is little work to be had - some families have a trade such as shoe-mending, or a motor-taxi, or carpentry; but there isn't a lot of work even for these. Some women wash clothes for others or mind babies. Men and women are glad to get a job for a day or two on someone else’s bit of land for a very small wages.

That is why up to 30 señoras belong to the group we support, they are happy for the opportunity to make ponchos, children’s clothing, hats and wall hangings for sale by Ethica. There are other groups operating, but mostly they don't pay fair money and not very promptly. We want the señoras to move more and more into the management of their group, learning to use the machine donated a year ago, and to manage a computer, for instance. The group is led by Sr Dorothy Stevenson.

Their label has a Hummingbird and is called Picaflor. It reads: From the Central Andes in Peru this comes to you made by busy fingers for your enjoyment and our own advancement