Asociación Ixoqi Askeema
San Juan la Laguna

50 women are members of this group and their language is Tzutuhil. The group has existed for 9 years and during this time the mayor has helped them to get legalised so that they now can open a bank account for example. There is an elected council that consists of group members and they get elected for 2 years at a time.

Goal and knowledge


The goal of this group is for their children to have food, shoes, clothes and an education. Their wish is for their children to be able to continue studying, and thereby increase the alfabetizasion in the village. At the age of 7 the children are teached to put up the weave and in time to weave themselves. This is done when the school is finished for the day and the homework has been done, so that the children will have the knowledge on how the weaving is done and later to be able to earn a living weaving if they need to. This way of the back strap weaving is transfered through generations and the knowledge of patterns and designs is kept alive.

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More space


There is a wish in the group to buy some land and build a small house to be able to weave and do embroidery together. In the houses that the families have there is not enough room for the group to meet and weave together. A  problem for the women is that the thread they use in the weaves is getting more and more expensiv. The women have a hard time coping with the rising prices for the threads they need to weave.

 

Colourse


90% of the groups members work with the back strap loom. Some training has been given to be able to work with the foot loom. More education in design and fresh ideas around their products is something that the group wants. Now they are working with both natural and chemical colours. Before they colour the thread the women wash it with soap to get it clean so that it will have the same nuance before it is put into a colouring bath and then hanged up to dry and then made into a ball of wool.


The group is looking for money to develop their products and a teacher that can teach them new patterns and design.
Fair Monkey is selling their bedspreads with natural colours and their big indigo coloured scarfs to have over your shoulders. Both the scarfs and the bedspread are made on the back strap loom. When larger items such as bedspreads are made, the women embroider lenghts of the textile together untill the required size is achieved.