Fair trade with Karen and the ladies in Chuchipaca

A couple of years ago when Kemmel, Lisa, Fran and I were in Panajachel, I met Karen. Well, Karen remembered me from my blog site and said, "Aren't you Sheri?" Well, of course the answer was, "Yes." Since that time we have maintained some contact.

Karen has been working in Guatemala for 6 years with different ladies groups with Fair Trade. She comes down several times a year and primarily works in areas of Lake Atitlan and now she is looking for some different areas to work with.

Today we met with some ladies in Chuchipaca, primarily widows. Kemmel and Juan were also there to give support and help with translation. We first had a wonderful lunch in the home of Juan's mother-in-law. The had the best melon drink and tamalitos.

Before the meeting started, Juan then showed Karen some of the materials that the ladies make in Chuchipaca. She could tell how much time went into the materials due to the embordering. Then the ladies arrived, close to 11 and most being widows. Karen noticed right away the different colors that they use in their weaving.

This is Karen before we started the day.

As the ladies talked and explained things to us, Karen continued to notice the colors and the quality of the material. Juan and Kemmel listened to the ladies and translated.

In most things that we deal with, there are cultural differences and hurdles to jump. Today, it was obvious that the ladies do now know how many hours it takes to create something. They want to tell you in days. "Yes, this takes six days to makes." When we tried to get an answer in hours, well, it will just take some time to get there.

Some of the prettiest pieces, I think, were the ones the ladies were carrying and did not specifically bring to show Karen. The colors were bright and beautiful.

At first the ladies seemed a little nervous about displaying their materials but then everyone wanted in the show.

Karen will return in July and meet with the ladies again. If her board has an interest in the types of things they make, an order will be placed for these items.

I talked to several of the ladies afterward, as did Kemmel and they are excited at the prospect of their work being bought at an "honest" price. It is a wonderful opportunity for them. We will see how things go. As we say, "poco a poco."