Weaving Life: The First Steps of a University Extension Experience in La Rioja (Argentina)

Abstract

“Weaving Life” is the name of a university extension project at the National University of La Rioja, funded by the Secretary of Policies, in the 2021 call for “University, Territory, and Culture”. This project proposes intergenerational recreational and cultural spaces that revalue popular knowledge to promote well-being through weaving as a unifying médium, “Las Eximias”, its members, are a group of women residing in the city of La Rioja, which has emerged within the extension experience. The group meets weekly, and the meeting location has varied depending on agreements with different organizations. It has evolved as an informal educational space that also functions as a network supporting each participant. The project fosters connection, dialogue, and support among the group members through the production of interlearning in weaving, dyes, and ancestral techniques. The main purpose of the project was, based on previous experiences, to respond to the needs of those who shared an interest in weaving associated with therapeutic pursuits. Consequently, a group of professionals decided to resume this intersection and make it available to other women who wished to join a group with these characteristics. The call was open, and thus began the proposal for group-community extension. The guiding methodology employed in this proposal is based on action research, supported by participant observation and ethnographic recording. This article systematizes the process undertaken to date, the result of collective reflection by the group of women (self-identified as “Las Eximias”) consisting of professionals, neighbors, and individuals interested in the proposed integration of weaving techniques and therapeutic group goals. The activities carried out are described to highlight the meanings set in motion along the journey.