The art of back strap loom.

The back strap loom is a skill that is transfered from mother to daughter and is one of the most workintense methods to make material. In a comparsion with a footloom (often handled by men) it is between 4-8 times faster to make a material at a given lenght on a footloom then at a back strap loom.

The weaver ties a ribbon around her back that is attached in the weave infront of her, and another rope is tied at the other end of the weave and then tied to a tree to keep the weave outstretched. The limitations in the breadth constitutes of the womens ability to handle the thread sideways. To make bigger materials, as a beadspread for example, the pieces are emboridered together to make the wanted measure.

Cooperatives

When the women are a part of a cooperative they recieve a pay that is three times higher then if they would sell  their products on the local market.
80 % of the products value goes directly back to the producer, and 20 % go to the cooperative to pay for education, bustickets to the meetings for the members and other common activities done within the cooperative.

The art of the back strap loom is a rapidly dissapearing technology. As the women need to walk long distances to gather wood, to be able to cook food, every day, there is little possibility for the timeconsuming work to weave.
Fair Monkey support the weavers efforts to live a dignified life and a possibility to support themself. In the same time the different traditional patterns and the way of the back strap loom is preserved for the future.
The beautifully done fabrics from the different cooperatives in Guatemala are the result of the womens patience and determination to change their life to something better.

Design

The patterns are revealed in the weavers dreams. The symbols that are used connects the past with the present. It documents the mythic history and gives signs that reveal the weavers origin and status for a person with knowledge about the different patterns.

Diamond:Earth and heaven as one

Zig- Zag or snake pattern:The fertile earth

Three vertical lines:
Fundation to the world, society and history.

Animal figures: These include real and mythical creations, plant och spirit saints. Usual patterns are frogs (musicians of the rain), scorpions, vultures and flowering cornfields.