J'olom Maya etik

J'olom Maya etik ("Maya Weavers" in Tzotzil) consists of 350 artisans from six communities in the southernmost Mexican state of Chiapas. Cooperative organization provides economic and learning opportunities to its members. Sharing limited resources offers benefits to individuals and to the community through education, health and economic development programs. Weaving cooperatives can preserve and revitalize Maya art by encouraging its members to study and recreate ancient textiles and natural dyeing methods. J'olom Maya etik is supported by Kinal Ansetik, a women's non-governmental organization supporting democracy movements in Mexico. There is a traveling exhibit being organized of J'olom Maya etik's work through the fair trade organization Alternatives of Gainsville and the Florida Natural History Museum.

Taller Leñateros

The old adage, "you can't tell a book by its cover", does not apply to this particular producer group. The beauty and quality of work reflected in the handmade paper is mirrored throughout their organization. Established in San Cristóbal de las Casas in 1974, Taller Leñateros began by offering courses in the use of natural dyes to indigenous artisans from across Mexico and Central America. They founded a school for the study of natural dyes in San Andres Larrainzar and have now expanded the workshop to include paper-making and screen and block-printing. Co-op members benefit from the democratic decision-making process and access to health care, sick pay, savings schemes, adult education classes and a housing fund. The more than two dozen members of the cooperative Taller (workshop) gather locally grown flowers, ferns, banana fronds, cornsilk, tree bark, and other materials, adding them to a base of recycled paper and waste cotton threads to be soaked, screened, and dried as sheets of paper.

Global Exchange offers beautiful inlaid flowered journals and albums, individual cards, as well as silkscreened postcards and bookmarks.

Taller Leñateros Flavio Paniagua #54 San Cristóbal de Las Casas Chiapas, Mexico 29230 967/851.74

Xochiquetzal

Xochiquetzal S.A. de C.V. is a non-profit, alternative trade organization (ATO), created to assist Mexican handicraft artisans with production, development and promotion of crafts nationally and internationally. Their goal is to increase the income and living standards of craftswomen and men they work with. As an ATO, Xochiquetzal provides over a thousand artisans in twenty-six groups design and technical assistance, administrative training and revolving loan funds. They market their crafts at fair prices - bridging the gap between artisans, buyers, and other non-governmental organizations.

Xochiquetzal is one of Global Exchange's strongest trading partners, and we have been purchasing lacquer boxes and trays, recycled glass housewares, Oaxacan black pottery, tin, amate paper, handwoven baskets, and many other beautiful Mexican crafts from them for many years.

"Our relationship with Global Exchange has been very important for the Mexican artisans we work with. The producers of lacquered wood jewelry boxes from Olinalá and the basket makers from Tlamacazapa receive better prices from the fair trade market than from any other market. Unfortunately, the majority of their products have to be sold at lower prices, which keeps their standard of living low. The Free Trade agreements have resulted in more competition for Mexican artisans, making it even harder to make a living from producing traditional Mexican crafts.

Clients like Global Exchange, who are interested in the artisans as human beings and value their work and their right to a decent living, are vital to the fair trade movement. Xochiquetzal and the artisans we work with are grateful for this support and real demonstration of solidarity from our northern neighbors."

Irma Villaseñor, Xochiquetzal

Xochiquetzal Guadalupe Victoria No. 46 Col. Santa Maria Aztahuacan Delegación Iztapalapa CP 09570 México, DF tel and fax 525.690.5066 xochipilli@laneta.apc.org

Xochiquetzal Products: Lacquer Boxes and Trays Hojalata - Oaxacan Tin Oaxacan Black Pottery Puebla Talavera

Lacquer Boxes and Trays

In Olinalá, a village surrounded by mountains in the north of Guerrero, artisans produce lacquerware which is unique and a world recognizes art form. The attractiveness of the lacquers lies in the use of the fragrant wood, called linaloe,' as well as the application of traditional lacquer techniques.

Artisans from different regions in the state of Guerrero exchanged ideas as early as the 16th century which led to the creation of the Aztec lacquer technique. They produce a great variety of objects: cabin-trunks, boxes and chests of different sizes and styles, trays, and gourds (jícaras).

Before the artisans can begin their lacquer work, the wood has to be boiled for 10-15 minutes, then dried in the sun for three weeks to avoid insect infestations. Each object has two coats of resinous materials, consisting of a mixture of ground linseed oil from the flax plant. The first layer seals the porous surfaces of the wood and provides a background for the color design. While the second layer is still fresh, the artisans make drawings with a cactus spine inserted in a feather of a turkey.

Lacquering the product requires a team effort. Members of the nuclear and extended family participate in the process. The women do the hardest part - grinding the pigment stones, varnishing the wood, polishing the layers and repeating the outline of the drawings to remove the lacquer remaining between the drawings.

In 1991, 32 family workshops founded the Olinalitzin lacquer workshop. The group supplies their members with high quality wood at fair prices, teaches young people the art of preparing the raw materials and exercises quality control. Xochiquetzal helps them to strengthen their production processes, and trains them in administration as well as export logistics.

Be sure to visit the Lacquerware section of our Product Listing.

Hojalata - Oaxacan Tin

Xochiquetzal promotes tinwork from a small family producer in the foothills on the outskirts of Oaxaca. The Garcmas prefer to work with an ATO than sell in the markets because Xochiquetzal guarantees them stability and better prices for their work - difficult due to fluctuations in the price of tin.

Oaxaca is a famous center for the production of tin ornaments, luminaries, and sculptures. The outline of each piece is pressed in to a large sheet of tin, and then cut by hand. They are then decorated with various indentations by stamping an iron nail with a small shape on the end into the tin. They are then handpainted with bright colors into a wide variety of traditional and contemporary designs.

Oaxacan Black Pottery

Xochiquetzal purchases Black Pottery through the Regional Association of Craftswomen of Oaxaca, a collective of women artisans who have organized themselves to promote the "magic of the arts and crafts in Oaxaca (which) is expressed through its materials, shapes, designs, textures, and colors, which compose the greatest and most important richness of the state."

Black Pottery is made of a unique clay mixture found only in a cave situated in San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca, Mexico. Before the pot is fired, it is rubbed with a quartz stone. The distinctive black color is achieved by firing in pit-kilns in the ground, which minimize oxygen intake and turn the iron oxide in the local clay black. After the clay is fired, the pots are polished with wax or oil to create the distinctive shine. Black Pottery is ornamental and will not hold water.

Puebla Talavera

The most sophisticated and well-known ceramic art from Mexico is Talavera, handcrafted in the town of Puebla since colonial times. Beginning with a type of clay found only in the Puebla area, each piece requires approximately three months from first throwing, through hand-painting and two firings which give the pieces strength.

Talavera tiles adorn the exteriors of many colonial-era buildings, and fine Talavera tableware is found in many households (even used by Moctezuma!). Bright colors, with blue and yellow often prominent, and floral patterns (especially sunflowers and cala lilies) distinguish the beautiful hand-painted designs, which show Spanish-Arabic as well as Mexican-Indian influences.