Sustainable Textile Production Workshops Carried Out at Laura Vicuña Technical School

More than 140 participants in Junín de los Andes, including teachers and students, took part in workshops about the ties between textile products and nature. The program was organized by WCS Argentina and included designer Maria Zolezzi, internationally recognized for using “Wildlife Friendly” natural fibers in her collections.

May, Junín de los Andes – Between May 6th and 9th, teachers and students at the textile-focused technical secondary school Laura Vicuña in Junín de los Andes, Neuquén, participated in environmental education workshops put together by the conservation organization WCS Argentina. The activities carried out with the educational community focused on the production and use of wildlife friendly natural fibers and on people’s relationship with nature, seeking to strengthen this focus within the institution’s curriculum.

Laura Vicuña Technical School is a privately managed public institution with a concentration in clothes creation, knitting, ceramics, and carpentry. Currently, the school is attended by more than 200 students, who will graduate with a degree as a “Technician in Clothing and Textile Manufacturing.” Additionally, the school includes boarding for students who come from the rural areas or small towns of the province, allowing them to carry out their secondary education there.

More than thirty teachers at Laura Vicuña Technical School participated in the workshops

Regenerative and Wildlife Friendly means of production, benefitting climate resilience, grassland and soil restoration, and coexistence between wildlife and natural fiber production. In recognition of the efforts made by producers, the organization endorses certifying their fibers as Wildlife Friendly®, a certification declared of provincial interest by the Neuquén Legislative Chamber in 2021. The process has the support of the Neuquén Subsecretariat of Production and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA).

To incorporate the dimension of environmental education, the organization invited students and teachers at the school to participate in talks and workshops with the purpose of sharing knowledge about sustainable textile practices and emphasizing participants’ link with the natural environment. The event also shared teaching and learning methods and sought to incentivize entrepreneurship in the world of textiles.

“For us as a school, it’s essential to be able to explain to our students how to produce a textile product while caring for the environment. This kind of activity invites us to develop new projects in this vein,” highlighted Jorgelina Marco, the school principal.

The certification promotes coexistence between sheep and wildlife. Credit: Ezequiel Infantino.
The Challenge of Incorporating an Environmental Perspective Into the Curriculum

The week of activities in Laura Vicuña Technical School had the objective of uniting educational practices with concepts and techniques related to wildlife conservation in Patagonia. On Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th, Martin Tinari, Education Manager for WCS Argentina, provided a talk titled “How to Develop a Project” for the school leadership and 15 practical education teachers who work the morning and afternoon shifts.

“By focusing on environmental education, we seek to encourage learning practices in which the identity of a place as significant as Junín de los Andes is present. We also want to encourage valuing local resources and recognizing the kinds of opportunities that can emerge for people who want to work in the textile or academic world,” Tinari pointed out.

By adopting wildlife and land-friendly techniques, producers from Zapala improved their sales of merino wool.

On Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th, Argentine designer Maria Zolezzi toured the school together with leadership and faculty. The creator of the Maydi brand is an international icon in sustainable design and was the first buyer of Wildlife Friendly® certified fibers in Argentina. In the school’s tailoring workshop, Zolezzi shared her knowledge about this kind of production and design as well as her experiences in the world of textiles in an enriching gathering attended by 7 teachers and 116 students from the school’s third through sixth year. “To become an entrepreneur, in addition to understanding design, it’s essential to understand all areas and steps in the production process—what exists behind the product,” she explained.

Designer Maria Zolezzi visiting producer Cristina García in Neuquén.

Additionally, in the context of the teacher training day, Tinari and Zolezzi led a workshop called “Our School and an Environmental Project. A proposal and perspectives from a sustainability standpoint.” This workshop was aimed at designing a methodology for environmental education projects. Teachers, staff, and school leadership participated in this space with an interactive approach to defining the best ways of incorporating environmental education into the annual planning of each class curriculum.

“Sharing these days with the teachers, students, and school leadership of Laura Vicuña Technical School was very positive; together, we were able to give shape to a project with enormous potential. This school is very special: it has a lot of history, committed teachers, and a very innovative program of study that allows incorporating and mingling key subjects for the development of students who can make a difference after leaving school and beginning their path in the discipline of their choice, because caring for the environment crosses all paths,” concluded Ezequiel Infantino, Certification and Value Chain Coordinator for WCS Argentina.

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