A NEWTON Abbot design graduate will be heading off to Peru to help with a charity project.

Ellie Thompson will be working with Craft Aid International in the mountain city of Arequipa, helping set up a craft workshop for disabled people.

Craft Aid International supports people with disabilities in the developing world through craft and social enterprise.

Design graduate Ms Thompson will be in the workshop providing training and employment for people with disabilities who would otherwise be living in extreme poverty.

She studied at Exeter College before attending Falmouth University to study textiles and design.

She graduated last summer and is now volunteering as a designer for the next eight months.

In Peru, there is no government support for the disabled so they are among the poorest in their community.

While there, Ms Thompson will be scouring Peruvian markets for craft materials, then designing a new range of products and training disabled participants to make them and help them to market their wares.

Charity director Susie Hart and a team of volunteers have already trained 35 disabled people who have become skilled in a short space of time.

They have been creating fine detailed beadwork and Ms Thompson will continue to train them to make products so they can earn a wage to support themselves.

During her time there, Craft Aid International is planning to expand and is raising funds to buy a permanent building to house the social enterprise.