Located high in the oxygen-starved sierra of the Andes Mountains of Peru near Lake Titicaca, the Mallkini Ranch was established to breed alpaca herds. The owners, Michell and Company, have always had the well-being of their employees uppermost in the running of the ranch. With this aim in view, they have sought a way of supporting their employees in the long term: the Mirasol Project. The solution is to take a percentage of every sale of Mirasol Yarn and invest it in the establishment and running of a boarding-house for local children. The proposal is focused on an infant and child-care programme and after-school support for older children so that the alpaca shepherds' families at Mallkini have a secure place where the children can develop their potential. The boarding-house will be built to provide accommodation, meals and health-care and support the children with their school-work. The idea came from a visit made to the ranch by Kari Hestnes and Per Svendsen who run Du Store Alpakka in Norway.

The Mirasol Project will do something to redress the balance between rich and poor nations. Peru is a nation of 29 million people with a high level of social inequality, with the poor rural Quechua-speaking communities high in the Andes being particularly disadvantaged. The situation is not helped by the fact that since 1980 Peru has experienced periods of political unrest which have particularly affected the already disadvantaged Quechua-speaking communities. A survey undertaken in 2002 rated Peru last of 41 nations in terms of educational provision and the people of the Puno region, where the ranch is situated, have one of the lowest levels of health and education in Peru. The illiteracy rate is 95 per cent. Families live just at subsistence level in mud huts that lack plumbing and electricity and have only an open fireplace for warmth. As a result of this survey, the Peruvian government has decided to prioritise the development of the rural areas of the sierra on the national agenda.

The Mirasol Project is named after a young Quechua girl who, with her brother, tends 350 alpacas. Its aim is to fight poverty and encourage community development. As well as providing accommodation, meals and health-care, the boarding-house will be a centre where the children can develop personal, occupational and communication skills and study techniques in specialised after-school workshops. The centre will foster the principles of peace, tolerance and equality with a respect for human rights and basic freedom. As well as an awareness of other cultures, the centre will also focus on the preservation of the language, culture and tradition of the children and their families. The architectural design of the boarding-house makes use of local materials and know-how. In its physical, social and educational aspects, value is placed upon local knowledge However, in addition to preserving local traditions, the centre has a creative and innovating function in preparing its children for a changing and challenging future.

The after-school facility will include dormitories for boys and girls, a dining room, sports area and classrooms where children can receive help with their regular school homework as well as participate in studies aimed at developing different skills and personal goals. Workshops will be developed appropriate to local career opportunities: trout farming, market gardening, the breeding and care of guinea pigs, traditional textile arts and languages.

Currently children have to walk long distances to and from school, sometimes ten miles a day, which results in them giving up school, preferring to work alongside their parents as shepherds. The boarding-house will be able to give the children much-needed educational support as well as focusing on the health of the children. The extensive poverty and social exclusion that still exist in this area do not permit an adequate level of nutrition. Malnutrition and chronic illnesses such as anaemia are a problem with the local children and so the pastoral care offered by the centre is very important, focusing on issues which might affect the development of each child in programmes such as 'nutrition awareness'.

The designer, Jane Ellison, has recently made a visit to the Mallkini ranch to see for herself what the project is all about. "It was the first time I had been to a developing country so the poverty I saw when I arrived in Lima was a bit of a shock," she explains," but even more so when we travelled into the mountains where the ranch is situated. You are in the middle of nowhere with no radio signals and the nearest phone being an hour away." She also suffered from altitude sickness but saw this as a positive thing, forcing her to slow down and see life as it is for the indigenous people. She comments, "Although the poverty is extreme, you get a sense of community and peacefulness. There was none of that anger you associate with city life. It is also very humbling, things I would normally worry about at home seemed unimportant." She found that seeing the foundations of the boarding-house already in place and imagining the future for the children was very exciting. She explains, "Education is a basic right that some of us take for granted. I feel it is very important that families should grow and learn together. Every society needs to educate its members for its historical continuity and cultural development." She looks back to her own education and remembers a time when her best friend at school was a girl from Guatemala who had been sent to England to get a good education, even though it meant she was away from her immediate family for many years. She comments, "That was how important education was to my friend and her mother. This is why I feel this project is so important."

The Mirasol Project is based on Fairtrade: a principle that is very important to Jane and that she wishes could become the basis for all world trade. Fairtrade guarantees that disadvantaged producers in the developing world get a better deal for their products. The producers receive a price that covers the cost of sustainable production plus an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects such as the Mirasol Project. As well as Du Store Alpakka of Norway, other yarn distributors have decided to expand and promote such a worthwhile project: Knitting Fever of the USA, Diamond Yarn of Canada and Designer Yarns in the UK. As Jane says, "I feel it is good to know that I, like many consumers, can make a difference - no matter how slight it might seem, by choosing what I buy. I also feel it is important to support the traditions that provide such beautiful yarns."

Michele Matheson