TINKU Textiles
is a fair fashion label
TINKU is based in Munich and La Paz and was founded to create markets for handcrafted Bolivian alpaca products in Europe. Our inspiration is Bolivia’s vibrant culture. All of our textiles come from Bolivia and are made by women from disadvantaged communities in the highlands. Every product must meet our standards: high quality, sustainable, and fair trade; handmade using traditional techniques and exclusive Bolivian raw materials (alpaca and baby alpaca wool); and designed with a distinctive Bolivian touch. We believe that handmade, natural, and high-quality products are part of the solution to the global overconsumption of textiles.
TINKU is a bridge that allows different worlds to meet
TINKU means
"meeting - encounter" in the Quechua language
It is an annual ritual practiced mostly in the south of the Bolivian Andes, where men and women from different communities will meet and begin the festivities by dancing.
TINKU is also synonymous with struggle, with the convergence of various positions or opinions, with shock, even confrontation. Culturally it has given rise to a folk musical style of the same name and to community ceremonies of encounter, struggle and spiritual celebration.
The choice of TINKU as our name comes from the commitment to encounter, dialogue, meeting to cooperate, on equal terms, while not forgetting the spirit of struggle, the need for a symbolic fight against poverty, inequality and injustice.
We work with purpose to bring you the finest handmade products from Bolivia.
Who We Are
We are brother and sister, born in the Bolivian Andes...
We grew up surrounded by the culture, landscapes and traditions of Bolivia — and we are proud of the raw materials and craftsmanship our country holds. With our shared background, we create projects that improve lives and open opportunities for everyone involved. Eliana has lived in Germany since 2013, with a background in foreign trade, an M.Sc. in Food Technology, and a deep passion for alpaca textiles. Gonzalo lives in Bolivia, works as an industrial engineer, and has spent the last five years working on alpaca and agri-food projects. Together, we believe that combining our knowledge with Bolivian spirit can create meaningful change — for us, but especially for the communities we collaborate with. Our alpaca artisans carry millennia-old Andean knowledge, unique to Bolivia. It is our privilege to work side by side with them.
Our Story
We have been TINKU since 2019, but our journey began in 2012
Our first project “Galis” in 2012 centered around producing a papaya sauce used to marinade meat, based on a Bolivian family recipe. We were finalist in a startup competition and as a part of that project we opened a restaurant in our hometown Oruro. This was the inspiration behind Eliana’s move to Germany to study Food Technology.
Why alpaca? As Eliana quickly realised, German winters are very cold! When Eliana travelled back to Bolivia she always stock up on Alpaca garments to keep her warm during the Winter. But then we thought? We wanted to make these products available to everyone! This lead to use creation of our company TINKU in 2019. Our first business adventure in Germany! We sold alpaca garments at the German Christmas Market.
In 2020 we started working with more producers, enabling us to broaden our product portfolio.
We don’t know how our story will continue; but we work hard and have in mind all the impact we have and can have in the future. This keep us motivated and make us very stubborn to succeed every day.
