weaving hope

I think the highlight of the trip to Guatemala for me was the day we went to meet Ana's group.  This group produces beautiful woven scarves, and the scarves are always my favorite.  We started the morning with a boat ride across Lake Atitlan to the island village that Ana calls home. 

 

 

When we arrived, Ana was there to greet us at the dock.  She led us up the hill and through the village toward her workshop and storefront.

 

Finally meeting Ana for the first time

 

 

A few of the artisans were there working on designs, and several of them took us through each step of how the scarves are made.  They talked to us about the cotton is all naturally dyed, and they showed us which plants are used to make which colors.  They demonstrated the dyeing and drying process and showed us they tie off certain portions of the cotton when dyeing to produce designs when the cotton is later woven on the looms.

 

 

 

 Once the weaving process actually begins, each scarf can take up to 8 hours to make!  Watching these women weave amazes me.  The process is so complex and the designs so intricate and still they do it so quickly and make it look so easy. 

 

 

 

Sweet Ana Lydia let me sit at her loom and she taught me a little of the process and let me do a little weaving.  It was so difficult!

 

 

After visiting the workshop, Ana invited us to walk to her home for lunch with her family.  Artisans and ambassadors sat down for lunch together and enjoyed the food that Ana and her family had graciously prepared for us.  I stood in the kitchen doorway and watched as she and her mother demonstrated how to make tamales.  Her brother was standing right beside me and her father was a few feet away.  I kept thinking of how proud they must be of their daughter and sister!  What a joy she must be to them!  Their family member is helping to change their little community.   Poverty is a reality of life to so many in her community, but she is determined to find a way to change that.  She is currently attending a Masters program in Business and has dreams to continue to grow the local economy.

 

Ana and her mother showing us how tamales are made

 

 

One of the moments that sticks with me the most from this trip happened as we were finishing lunch at Ana's house.  As we started clearing the dishes I noticed that one of the artisans was going around to all of the tables with a little plastic grocery bag.  She was scooping the leftover soup and rice and vegetables and half-eaten chicken into the little bag.  She carefully went around to each plate and bowl and poured it into her bag.  One of the other ambassadors quickly explained that she was the newest member of the artisan group.  She had recently come to find work after her husband died and she was left to care for 5 children on her own.  She was gathering up the leftovers from lunch to take home to them.  I almost lost it right there.  Somehow I pulled it together and we helped her finish collecting the leftover food from all the tables into her bag.  I wanted to cry because of her desperation and her care and love for her children.  But also, I wanted to cry tears of hopefulness and joy that one day very soon she won't be forced to do this.  Because of her reliable income and job at Ana's workshop she will be able to put food on the table for her children.

 

At Ana's workshop, there is more than beautifully dyed cotton being woven.  These women are weaving better lives for themselves and their children.  They are weaving hope!!