Marta Patricia Godoy Castillo made her first basket with totora plant fibre when she was eight years old after observing her mother. Graciela Castillo was also a craftswoman and was Marta's first teacher. By the time she turned 18, Marta realised that crafts were her path forward. "I was a skillful, quick young woman who understood every step to the letter: how to make the cords, the twists, the braids. How to give each piece the thickness, the assembly and the finishing touches. But it was not until after I became an engineer, and worked in a mine, that I felt the need to devote myself completely to working with my hands, just like my mother had done," she says. "Each of my pieces carries with it that knowledge, passed down from generation to generation, which rescues and preserves the tradition and cultural heritage of my family and the territory I inhabit," explains Marta.
Marta Patricia Godoy Castillo
