CELEBRATE! It’s a magic word at Casa Ursulina, and one that always draws an eager group of women to the “Ursuline House” in Chillán, Chile. For Sister Mimi Ballard and the women of the CU community, August is a special month of celebration. As the cold, wet winter begins to mitigate, it’s time to remember August…
Casa Ursulina News
Casa Ursulina Hosts International Craft Workshop
From May 23-29, Casa Ursulina hosted a gathering of women preparing to be entrepreneurs in creating crafts for the international market. The workshop was sponsored by HandCrafting Justice — an organization that provides access to Fair Trade markets for handmade goods created by enterprising women in the developing world. The leaders for this event are…
Casa Ursulina Welcomes Strong Enrollment
March and April always bring new excitement to Casa Ursulina, our Ursuline mission in Chillán, Chile. This year over 160 women enrolled in 14 courses, ranging from spinning, weaving, and various types of needlework, to cooking, oil painting, music, yoga, and English. In the photo above, Sister Mimi Ballard — Casa Ursulina’s founding director — welcomes the women…
Fiesta at Casa Ursulina marks Chilean independence celebration
Spring comes to Chile in September, and with it, the celebration of Chilean Independence Day. The official date is the 18th . . . “dieciocho” in Spanish. But Chileans love celebrations, and they stretch this one out for at least two weeks. At Casa Ursulina, our women dedicate extra time and effort toward preparing the…
Casa Ursulina Yarn Flies to Ukraine!
These Ukrainian youngsters are showing off their new hats — woolen caps woven by fifth-graders in Peoria, Illinois, and sent as gifts to the children in an orphanage in Kramatorsk. Their city is in eastern Ukraine, in the midst of current fighting with Russia. Yarn for these hats came to Peoria from Casa Ursulina in Chile and from our spinning partners around…
Casa Ursulina Celebrates Chilean Independence Day
Good food, good music, and good fun abounded at Casa Ursulina on September 14, as the CU women celebrated Chilean Independence Day with their families and friends. The actual holiday, called the “Dieciocho” (the Spanish word for 18), is on September 18, but early in September Chilean flags start flying, and you can hear Chilean folk…
Frying for Pesos at Casa Ursulina
Friday’s always a great day for a fish fry! On September 6, the Casa Ursulina spinning class put their cooking talents to work to offer a tasty lunch for their friends and neighbors. On a series of Fridays this year, this group has been putting in extra time creating fresh Chilean favorites for sale — like empanadas, sopaipillas, and completos — lavish hotdogs stuffed…