PRODUCTS: San Juan La Laguna

San Juan La Laguna

Products:

Click on the link to see the 16 step process to create the textile products:
http://www.weavingwomensanjuan.org/pb/wp_6eb76c8f/wp_6eb76c8f.html

PRODUCTS: San Jorge La Laguna

Cooperativa de Mujeres de San Jorge La Laguna

On the shores of the beautiful Lake Atitlan in the district of Solola, Guatemala, lies the small village of San Jorge La Laguna.  It is situated between the tourist and business towns of Panajachel and Solola where most of the San Jorge Guatemaltecas must travel to work.  A trip that can be treacherous in the rainy season (May – Oct.)  when the waterfalls flood the roads and instead of hoping on a bus, these indigenous Mayan people must trek over mountains and through forests on foot.  San Jorge is a village of families and some very enterprising women who do business right at home.

Artiesanas Grupo Mujeres San Jorge is comprised of 13 women who have come together in a collective to create beautiful jewelry that we are presenting to you in this blog.  Most of these women are mothers and mostly work at a craft that they were taught some 20 years ago when a big export company needed skilled artisans.  The company eventually left the area but the skills were not lost.  These mujeres (women) of San Jorge continue the tradition. They will tell you that they really like working at their craft and you can see the dedication and focus in the quality that they maintain.  They are proud also of their technique.  Every piece of jewelry is double threaded for durability.  The glass beads are of the very finest quality.  They will never lose their luster.  Each piece of jewelry, be it a bracelet, necklace, earring, or any of their many designs is finished not by the mass produced process of burning the edges of a line of beads but by turning the threads back-under with their sewing skills.

These mujeres of San Jorge will tell you that they work for very specific reasons.  First and foremost is for the education of their children.  In Guatemala schooling is very costly.  All uniforms, books, classroom materials and schools fees for anything special like computers (if there are any)...are not provided and must be paid for by the children's families. Guatemala is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere and education is very difficult to obtain for the children of even the most motivated of mothers.  Secondly, they realize that to carry on a business, the costs of making their products and saving for new materials is essential.  Beyond that maintaining and upgrading the comforts of their extremely modest housing is always a concern.  Life in these highlands of Guate is hard.

Products:

Cooperatives in San Juan La Laguna

TRADICION MAYA TEXTIL CORAZON DEL LAGO

SAN JUAN LA LAGUNA

SOLOLA, GUATEMALA

 In the artist village of San Juan on Lake Atitlan are a group of women's cooperatives which all share the amazing talents of textile weaving.  Their skills, however, go far beyond just the weaving of these products and start with the actual cultivation of the cotton from which they are made and continue through the dying process utilizing only natural dyes from tree bark, insects, leaves and flowers. 

Please observe the following video made at the shop of Corazon del Lago in San Juan and please read the following article with pictures telling the story from start to finish on the weavingwomensanjuan.org website.

COOPERATIVE WEAVING WOMEN

Mujeres Tejedoras

San Juan La Laguna, Solola

 This is the only cooperative in San Juan La Lagun that dedicates itself to preserving the skill of spinning natural cotton thread.  This cooperative makes all of it's products with 100% natural cotton grown in house.  After removing the flowers and seeds by hand they then turn the plant into thread using age old techniques.  They also use all natural hand made dyes instead of chemicals, to help preserve the environment.  All of the methods used in creating their products have been past down from their ancestors for many generations and they are dedicated to continuing the tradition.  We are honored to share with you these exquisite textiles and hand made jewelry using the finest, purest materials.

RECYCLED HUIPIL ITEMS

Huipil(Wee-peel) is the Spanish word for the traditional blouse worn by Mayan women in Guatemala.  It is the most significant part of her dressing, because it identifies a women's village, social and marital status, religious background, wealth, and individual personality.  The fabric used to make the huipil is hand woven on back strap looms and then hand embroidered with designs unique to each village and region.  We have combined these materials to make reusable products, such as bags and purses, as well as a nice decoration piece for your home.  The fair wages the artisans receive improves their living conditions and helps build a better life for themselves and their families.

Our Story

Larry and I came to Panajachel, Guatemala seven months ago to study Spanish at Jabel Tinamit and volunteer with the NGO, Salud y Paz.  It has been an amazing and rewarding experience all round.  We never realized what a paradise we were walking into...the geology is incredible with volcanos, mountains and Lake Atitlan competing for most beautiful.  At 5,000 ft. the climate is truly “siempre primavera.”  Our diet is perfect with every fresh fruit and vegetable imaginable...some I'd never heard of before...available at the foot of our street in the mercado.  And our community of expats from all over the world, and indigenous Mayan is tight knit, peaceful and lots of fun!

Since I had been in the import/export business in the 80's bringing African art and fabrics to U.S. customers, my love for the beauty of Guatemalan textiles and crafts has been ignited. We are focusing on women's cooperatives especially because they have for centuries created all the unique designs Guatemala is famous for, and because their plight in particular, in the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere, is the most difficult. We hope you  will appreciate the skill and painstaking workmanship that goes into every product we bring to you here.

Links:
Spanish School Jabel Tinamit
www.jabeltinamit.com

Salud y Paz
http://saludypaz.org/

Representing women's cooperatives throughout Guatemala 

To order products or get more information,

Contact us:

Email:  lballiet22@gmail.com

Phone:  (207) 975-5400

Blog:  http://guateart.blogspot.com