Susana Bances is known as the best backstrap loom weaver in the region of Túcume, Lambayeque. Since 1998, Bances has been part of a project led by the Túcume Museum to recover traditional textile techniques and preserve native cotton natural colors. The museum installed the first gene bank of native cottonseeds in the region to highlight the area’s continuous textile traditions dating back to pre-Columbian times. The museum administrators have participated in several Embassy-sponsored conservation courses under the U.S.-Peru Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Patrimony Protection, first signed in 1997 and renewed every five years until 2022.
