ALLPA
Peru

ALLPA is a Peruvian export company with its headquarter in Lima. The company works with around 700 families, most of them running their own workshops and producing jewellery as well as accessories made of alpaca wool. For the jewellery, the artisans use gemstones such as onyx, lapis lazuli, opal, obsidian, turquoise and jasper as well as natural materials such as mother-of-pearl or shells of local fruits.

As the sale of the craft products on the domestic market is not sufficiently secured, ALLPA – which means "earth" in Quechua – unites the goods of the individual artisan groups and manages the sale to alternative trade organisations. It also guarantees pre-financing for the production. This is because ALLPA's primary goal is to secure the livelihood of family businesses in the arts and crafts sector. ALLPA started its export activities in 1986.

ALLPA is a project of the Peruvian Institute for Research and Development (Institúto Peruano de Investigación y Desarrollo, IPID), a private organisation that cooperates with rural communities and craftsmen in the countryside.

The company is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and operates according to the ten principles of fair trade.