Melanie Ebertz first traveled to Peru in the mid-eighties with both an interest in textiles and hiking the villages of the Andes. She was fortunate to be able to combine the two. The very skilled weavers of Peru lived in the highlands. This region of Peru, Ayacucho, the weaving capital, was devastated by a Maoist-communist terrorist group — the Shining Path — that controlled the area from the mid-seventies through the early nineties, claiming about 70,000 lives. (For a better understanding of how ArtAndes became involved, read A Durable Weave) These were mostly innocent people who died by the hands of terrorists and the military. To connect with the weavers directly was very difficult. Most of the weavers were either living in fear in Ayacucho, essentially in hiding, or had moved to shanty towns outside of Lima as political refugees. The tragic interruption in their lives caused them to lose their skill level, turn to synthetic materials, or lose their market altogether. They went from living in an agrarian community where they could produce all their weaving materials themselves, to a harsh desert environment.

Melanie spent the beginning years trying to improve the weaving quality to the level it had once been. This took a combined effort and it ultimately created a select market for high-end rugs that can not be easily found elsewhere. Five percent of the profits of all textile sales are donated to Comunidad, a non-profit foundation.