WEAVE OF HOPE
www.mayanfamilies.org
www.madisonwomenshealth.com
Madison Women’s Health and The Sewing Project at Mayan Families are proud
to partner together to create a new initiative to support women in Guatemala.
This Income Generating Activity is called
Weave of Hope. One of the many goals
of the project is to promote the economic security of the participants seen
here, her family, and her community.
A second goal of this program will be
to provide newly pregnant patients at
Madison Women’s Health clinic with a
traditional backstrap-hand woven diaper bag made by Mayan women on the
traditional backstrap loom. This free gift
from the doctors to their patients represents one of the values they hold dear;
to have a positive impact on local communities as well as empowering the
women in the highlands of Guatemala
that surround the Lake Atitilan region.
GLORIA SIMEON BUCH
Weaver
Gloria was born on November 15, 1977 and grew up in the village of San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Gloria has been making
backstrap weavings since she was
13 years old. She learned weaving
from her mother and embroidery
from one of her older cousins. Gloria looks forward to teaching her kids
this craft because in her view, her
children can use this skill as a means
of employment.
She studied until the third
grade and then left school at 12
years old because the family did not
have money to send her to school.
At that age she started doing beadwork to help her family earn money.
At 24 she married, and also made
the decision to go back to school
and study three more grades so that
she could get a sixth grade certificate. She decided
to back to school because she wanted to set a good example for her kid;
Claudia Marleny-11 years old, Miriam
Leticia- 10 years old, and Gloria Maribel-6 years old.
Gloria usually works odd jobs,
such as making thread bracelets or
washing clothes for other people.
But she earns maybe $10.00 a week
and $0.12 for making a pair of beaded earrings. Her responsibilities as a
mother do not allow her much time
to do work outside of the home.
She underwent the six-month
sewing training with Mayan Families
in 2009. She is currently participating in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope because she
feels like this is a great opportunity to
make a supplemental income. She
will earn a lot more making diaper
bags than she earns making jewelry.
TERESA COJTIN CHUMIL
Weaver
Teresa was born on October
21, 1969 and grew up in the village
of San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Teresa has been making
backstrap weavings since she was
10 years old. She learned the craft
from her mother, who also learned
it from her own mother. She hopes
that one day her own children will
also learn the craft of backstrap
weaving. Teresa studied only until
second grade beacuse when she
asked her father for money to buy
pencils for school, he simply told her
that he had no money to give her
and that instead she needed to quit
school and start working.
Teresa is married and is the
mother of eight children; Reginaldo
Xalcut- 22 years old,
Juan Carlos- 19 years old, Marcos
Antonio,-16 years old, Aura Marina-11 years old, Gloria Andrea- 9
years old, Amelia Leticia, 7 years
old, Cristian Eduardo- 5 years old,
Milendy Teresita- 1 year old
Teresa underwent the sixmonth sewing training with Mayan
Families in 2009. She is currently participating in this Income Generating
Activity with Weave of Hope because
she feels like this is a great opportunity to make an income to support
her children. She hopes to one day
buy land for her kids, with the money
she will earn making bags for Weave
of Hope . Weaving allows her to
work from home, to ensure that she
spends time caring for her kids while
she also making an income.
MARIA CONCEPCION
RAMOS GUIT
Weaver
Maria born on December 8,
1976 grew up in the village of San
Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Maria has been making backstrap weavings since she was 15
years old. She learned this craft
from her mother, who also learned
it from her own mother. Maria was
only able to study until third grade,
because her family could not afford
to keep her in school. She stopped
studying when she was 10 years old.
At that age she started helping her
mother to make and sell tortillas or
washing clothes as a mean to make
an income.
Even though she is not married or has children of her own, she
cares for her ailing parents who cannot work. Whatever money she
makes she uses to support herself
and her parents.
She is a hardworker
who carries out different odd jobs to
earn a little bit of money. In the past,
she has washed clothes for other
people. Currently, she makes beaded jewelry for people, but she earns
very little money doing this type of
work.
Maria underwent the sixmonth sewing training with Mayan
Families in 2008. She is very happy to
be participating in this Income Generating Activity with Mayan Families
and Weave of Hope because she
feels like this is a great opportunity
to make an income and help herself
and her parents.
BENITA COROXON
Weaver
Benita born on April 3, 1964
grew up in the small village of San
Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Benita has been making
backstrap weavings since she was
12 years old. She learned this craft
from her mother, who also learned it
from her own mother. Weaving is a
tradition that that has been passed
down from generation to generation. She remembers being very
eager to learn this craft when she
was young. She has also made it a
point to teach her own kids this craft
which she feel is very important to
continue.
Benita was only able to study
until second grade,, because her
family was devastatingly poor. She
recalls the time, around eight years
of age, after she had quit school,
that her family moved to the coast
of Guatemala to work in the coffee
farms. For several years during her
childhood her family would spend
their time between the highlands and
the coast of Guatemala simply to
perform the seasonal work of coffee
picking. At the age of 16, she started
her own family. She has seven children; ranging in ages 29 to 12.
Benita has carried out different types of odd jobs to earn money
to support her family but currently
her main focus is weaving.
She underwent the six-month
sewing training with Mayan Families
in 2007. She is very happy to participate in this Income Generating Activity with Mayan Families and Weave
of Hope because with the money
she will earn she will be able to help
her kids with their schooling.
LAMBERTA
FELIPE
PALAX PALAX
Weaver
Lamberta was born on Sept.
17, 1976 grew up in the village of
San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Lamberta has been making
backstrap weavings since she was
14 years old. She learned this craft
from her mother, who also learned
it from her own mother. Lamberta
was only able to study until second
grade, because she was one of 10
children and her family was very
poor and they could not afford to
keep her in school. Lamberta left
school and started working at a very
early age. The very little money that
the family would earn, was continuously taken by the father to indulge in
his habit of drinking.
Lamberta has been separated from her husband for a year and
a half now. He simply left her without
an explanation. She has one daughter, Elizabeth Alonzo Felipe who is
9 years of age. Elizabeth has a scholarship with Mayan Families and she
will studying in third grade in 2012.
She is a hard worker who
carries out different odd jobs to earn
a little bit of money. In the past, she
has washed clothes for other people.
Currently, she makes beaded jewelry
for people, but she earns very little
money doing this type of work.
Lamberta underwent the sixmonth sewing training with Mayan
Families in 2008. She is currently
participating in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope because she feels like this is a great opportunity to make an income for her
children.
LUCIA XULCUT CUN
Weaver
Lucia born on 25th of March,
1953 grew up in the village of San
Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Lucia learned this traditional
Guatemalan craft form her mother
when she was 10 years of age. She
learned to weave so that one day
she’ll be able to make her own clothing as well as clothing for her eight
children. Lucia’s mother thought it
prudent for her daughter to learn this
because one day she could use it to
make a living as well.
Her family was so poor that
she was not ever able to attend
school. Her parents thought that
school would be too expensive so
instead of attending, young Lucia accompanied her family to the mountains to do the only job they were offered; harvest coffee.
Lucia is an avid weaver who
takes pride in the intricate
embroideries that she is able to do
on the fabric. She is able to also do
“Jaspeado” which consists on placing randomly dyed thread in such
a strategic way that the end result
forms shapes and figures on the fabric. This style of weaving is extremely
time consuming and requires a lot
of planning. She even makes her
own natural dyes for the fabric using plants and seeds that she finds
around her town. She earns an income by working mostly on weaving
for people who appreciate her expertise, the “Jaspeado.”
Lucia underwent the sixmonth sewing training with Mayan
Families in 2007. She is currently
participating in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope
because she feels like this is a great
opportunity to make save for her retirement.
CANDELARIA
RAMOS XULCUT
Weaver
Candelaria was born on January 3, 1977 grew up in the village of
San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
At a very young age Candelaria had to move in with her grandparents because her parents could
not afford supporting her and her
seven siblings. While living with the
grandparents, her aunt and her
grandmother introduced her to the
craft of weaving. They gave her different color threads as a present and
she was able to make her first woven
item, a “faja,” a traditional Guatemalan belt, for herself. She came from
a rigid family with strict family values
and clearly defined gender roles, so it
was expected for a woman to know
this craft. Weaving was an integral
part of the female identity; not just a
way to make an additional income.
She was lucky enough to study until
7th grade, but because she had four
younger siblings and her parents
could no longer afford to send her
to school, so they told her that she
should quit school to give an opportunity to her younger siblings to go to
school instead.
Candelaria is already teaching
her oldest daughter, Lesly, to weave
so that she can have other means of
making a living.
Candelaria participated in the
six-month sewing training with Mayan Families in 2011. She is currently
participating in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope so
she will be able to earn money while
also keeping herself busy. She will
now relies on her kids to help her
carry out household work that she is
too busy to do. This in turn teaches
her kids to be diligent and helpful.
DELIA ALONSO
PALAX
Weaver
Delia was born on Sept. 27,
1974 grew up in the village of San
Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Delia started making backstrap weavings when she was 10
years old. From a very young age,
she had been very eager to learn to
make weavings. She and her friends
from the neighborhood would practice making simple weavings using the
leaves of the Yucca plant. She was
then taught by her mother to make
proper weavings using threads. The
first item she made was a traditional
belt for herself.
She was only able to study
until third grade because her father
used to drink a lot and there was no
money for her family to afford to send
her or any of her siblings to school.
Delia had to start working at a young
age to help contribute money to the
family.
.
Delia married a man who
used to be a heavy drinker, but he
has now thankfully changed for the
better. She has four children.
She underwent the six-month
sewing training with Mayan Families
in 2006. She is very thankful to be
participating in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope because she feels like this is a great opportunity to make an income for her
children. She plans to use the money to help her children to buy supplies for school. Her house, which is
on a cliff, was badly damaged during
the last rainy season, and now she
hopes to use her earnings to build a
wall for her house.
ESTELA
VICENTE SIMEON
Weaver
Estela Vicente Simeon born
on February 18, 1974 grew up in the
village of San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Estela first learned to weave
when she was eight. She learned
the craft from her mother and she
has been making backstrap weavings since she was 14 years old.
Even though her mother worked a
lot, Estela, never had a chance to go
to school, because the money that
would have been used to send her
to school was used by her father to
buy alcohol. Hence, Estela does not
know how to read or write. Growing up, her family didn’t have enough
money to buy her clothes or shoes.
Her mother wove traditional Guatemalan attires for other people to
earn money to support her kids and
sometimes her mom would make
just enough to buy scraps of fabric
that she would then sew together,
by hand, to turn into clothes for her
children to wear. Estela is married
and has five children.
Because she does not work
outside the home, weaving fabrics
is the perfect way to make an income for her. She can do backstrap
weaving at home, while caring for her
house and her children.
Estela participated in the sixmonth sewing course with Mayan
Families in 2007. She is currently
participating in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope because she wants to earn enough to
help her children. She wants to be
able to earn enough to build a house
for her children.
FELICIANA RAMOS
Weaver
Feliciana Ramos born on January 20, 1982 grew up in the village
of San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Feliciana learned to weave
at 17. She learned this craft from
her mother, Lucia Xulcut (who is
also participating in this project as
a Weaver). Felciana was very inquisitive when she was younger and
would often sit and watch her mother weave. Soon she started making
her own traditional belts. Then at 18,
she learned to make beaded jewelry
and ornaments. She worked for a
German lady for about five years as
a beader during this time learned to
make different designs and advance
her skills. At 21 years old she married and went on to have 3 children.
She was able to study until
sixth grade which is an accomplishment for females in the Highlands areas.
Because her parents were
both farmers, they had no means to
continue sending her to school. Education past the primary level is unaffordable for most families, so children
usually stop attending school when
they graduate from sixth grade. Feliciana works from home because her
children are very young.
Feliciana underwent the sixmonth sewing training with Mayan
Families in 2007. She is very eager to
participate in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope because she sees this as an excellent
opportunity to earn money and help
cover the costs of school for her children.
MARIA ELOIDA
RAMOS BOCEL
Weaver
Maria Eloida born on August
7, 1988 grew up in the village of San
Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
At 23 years old, Maria Eloida
is the youngest weaver participating in the diaper bag project. She
learned to make weavings only three
years ago because she saw the opportunity to make money utilizing this
skills. She never had the opportunity
to attend school because her father
was a heavy drinker and he would
spend all the money in alcohol.
Maria Eloida works very hard
carrying out different odd jobs, such
as making and selling weavings, sewing aprons and making beaded work
to sell.
She participated in the sixmonth sewing course with Mayan
Families in 2008. She is very excited
to have been selected to participate
in this Income Generating Activity
with Weave of Hope because she
will be able to make money to help
her parents, as well as she will become an even better weaver.
ROSA YAXON
Weaver
Rosa Yaxon born on September 3, 1957 grew up in the village
of San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Rosa started weaving at 20
years old. She asked her mother to
teach her because she wanted to
earn money to help her family. She
never attended school because her
parents did not have the money to
pay for it.. For a long time she earned
money by making beaded jewelry as
well, but now she only focuses on
weavings.
She is married and has five
children; they are all married except
for Benito who is only 22years old
and still lives with her.
Rosa underwent the sixmonth sewing training with Mayan
Families in 2007. She is participating in this Income Generating Activity
with Weave of Hope because with
the money she’ll earn she will be able
to buy the things she needs for her
home, and her son, Benito.
ANACLETA RAMOS
Y RAMOS DE XALCUT
Weaver
Anacleta was born on April
23, 1962 grew up in the village of
San Jorge on Lake Atitlan.
Anacleta started weaving
when she was eight years old. The
first item she made was a very small
tablecloth for her mother. Anacleta’s
mother thought it was very useful
for her daughter to learn this skill in
case she couldn’t find a job, then she
would be able to weave to support
herself. Now as an adult, Anacleta
has taught her children to do the
same craft.
Anacleta
was
fortunate
enough to enroll in school until fifth
grade, however she could not continue to pursue further studies because her parents did not have the
means to support the cost of a sixth
grade education. She got married at
17 and started to have children fairly
soon after that. She has six children
ranging in ages 28 to 12 years of
age.
The benefits of participating
in this project are very clear to her;
she will earn money to help support
her family. She plans to use some of
the earnings to invest in her craft and
buy materials in bulk. She doesn’t
receive much help from her husband because he suffered a stroke
12 years ago. Anacleta first came
into contact with Mayan Families six
years ago when she participated in
the six-month sewing course. She
has since diligently served as the vice
president for the women’s cooperative in San Jorge.
She is currently participating
in this Income Generating Activity
with Weave of Hope in the hopes
that she can earn enough to help
support her family.
INES FELIPE PALAX
Weaver
Ines was born on January 21,
1974 in the tiny village of San Jorge,
a community of Lake Atilan.
Ines has been making backstrap weavings since she was 14
years old. She was taught by her
mother who had been making the
same weavings for a long time. Ines
was able to study until second grade
because her family was devastatingly
poor. At the age of 17 she decided
to move with her boyfriend and start
a family. She is the mother of four
children:
Ines works mainly in beaded
jewelry to earn some money to support her children. She usually gets
paid $3.00 for making a dozen of
simple beaded bracelets. She is only
able to make about 2 dozen bracelets a week and oftentimes she has
to ask her children to help her make
the beadwork, so that they
can make more and earn more. This
type of work is intermittent and not
very reliable.
Ines underwent the six-month
sewing training with Mayan Families
in 2008. She is currently participating in this Income Generating Activity with Weave of Hope because she
feels like this is a great opportunity to
make an income for her children.
ROSARIO XULCUT
Sewist
Rosario was born on December 5, 1974 grew up in the village of
San Jorge, on Lake Atitlan.
Rosario was thirteen when
she started to do beadwork for a
German woman who came into town
and hired her and two of her sisters.
It was not long after learning beadwork that she started to learn to do
weavings. About five years ago she
enrolled in the Sewing Project with
Mayan Families because she wanted
to have a sewing machine that she
could then use to make clothing for
her children and in turn save money.
Most importantly she wanted to gain
the sewing skills that would lead her
to be able to make money.
She was nearly 10 years old
and in the third grade when she quit
school. She used to walk 45 minutes
from home to go to school in Panajachel because there
was no school in her town. She
vividly remembers the events that
forced her to quit school. One day
she asked her father for money to
buy a pencil, the only problem was
that her younger sister was also attending school and also needed a
pencil, but the father who so poor
could only afford to buy one. He
bought a pencil and broke it in half
and gave each child half. She realized at that moment that
her family could not afford to keep
her and her sister in school at the
same time. She quit school and
started helping her father to clean
onions.
She is married and has four
children, Wilmer who is 16 and special needs, Jaqueline who is 14, Evelin who is 12 years old, and Rosita
who is 5.
Rosario participated in the
six-month sewing course with Mayan Families in 2007. She is currently participating in this Income
Generating Activity with Weave of
Hope because she wants to help
herself and in turn contribute to her
children’s educational expenses
as well as have enough money to
help her cover Wilmer’s medical expenses. She wants to be able to
build a future for her children and
her family.
Every bag starts as a piece of fabric
that has been exquisitely embroidered
and woven by hand using the age-old
technique of back-strap weaving. The
craft of back strap weaving is passed
down from generation to generation. Every piece of fabric, depending on
the skill of the artisan or the intricacy
of the design can take from two to six
weeks to complete. After the fabric is
made, it is cut and turned into a colorful diaper bag that is then gifted to new
mothers at Madison Women’s Health.