Meet Leni, our new Fashion Designer
Meet our new Fashion Designer intern, Anna-Lena Rohbeck, aka Leni, who’ll be staying with us for a few months.
Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself?
Hey there, I am Leni from Hamburg, in Germany. I am 28 years old and I studied Textile Design (BA), Fashion Design in Iceland for 6 months and Textile Engineering (MSc).
Hmm, my hobbies… I love music! In every kind of way. I have been to a lot of concerts and festivals. I love my vinyl collection and used to be a DJ for a couple of years.
Other than that, I love travelling the world, learning more about people and their culture.
Why did you choose to volunteer at Huaywasi?
I was looking for a job after I finished studying a year ago. I was sick of working 3 different jobs and applying for a “real” job. And I wanted to get out of safe and comfortable Europe; I wanted to go out and see the world. LLI and Huaywasi gave me the chance to work in the field I studied in for 7 years and do something useful and helpful with it. For example, empower and support the artisans. Working with the artisans and with the kids makes me really happy and learning from them is awesome.
What is your favorite Huaywasi product so far?
My favourite Huaywasi product so far is the Daria Cosmetic Bag Chocolate.
What are your favorite Peruvian dishes so far?
Tortilla! But I also really like the street food. As a vegetarian, it’s actually funny to order a burger without meat, here. They will ask you 5 times if you really, really, really want to eat it without meat. And I looooove Peruvian fruits!!
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Hmm, that’s a tough question because I don’t like planning that much in the future. But I think I will have a position in a company where I am responsible for sustainable textiles. I want to make a contribution in sustainability, as well as in social and fair fashion. So I might be responsible for sustainable supply chains, certificates for fair fashion and using Germany as a production site. I want to work on low waste concepts and I want to find ways to reduce the use of chemicals in textiles. I wrote my Master's thesis about the impact of textile and fashion industry in marine litter, and I focused on synthetics like Polyamide, Polyethylene and Polyurethane. I would love to continue researching on this topic for the next years and reduce the impact of fashion on the world.