Links
This page offers links to more web sites, organizations, and resources that might be of interest to you.
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Updates on the Maya Women collection and news about the status of women in Guatemala.
More Slideshows
More Maya art can be viewed at the Rozylowicz Family Travels site, under the header “Guatemala’s ‘Arte Maya’ Slide Shows”. www.rozylowicz.com/retirement/guatemala/guatemala.html
Free English Classes
To enroll in free English classes, go to City College of San Francisco: www.ccsf.edu, or check with your local community college or adult school.
Casa Rosario Spanish School: San Pedro la Laguna
A wonderful and very economical Spanish school is Casa Rosario, at www.casarosario.com. Tz'utuhil Maya teachers work with students individually in a delightful garden at the edge of spectacular Lake Atitlan. The school can arrange for homestays in the town, and it also has rooms with access to kitchen facilities. The school is run by two very accomplished brothers. Vicente Cúmes, Director of the school, is a fine Maya sculptor and a community leader of great courage and integrity. Some very original and provocative works by his brother, Samuel Cúmes, are featured in the Maya Woman collection. You can contact the school to sponsor the education of a poor Maya child from the area.
Ixquic Spanish School: Antigua
This small school, at www.ixquic.edu.gt, features highly experienced teachers and a lovely courtyard setting not far from the Parque Central. Most of the teachers are women who worked for years at bigger schools, but then found that they needed to set up their own, independent project in order to receive fair treatment. They arrange very enjoyable outings and homestays for women, men, and families. They can also help you find local volunteer opportunities--a wonderful way to help impoverished children, improve your Spanish, and learn more about the culture of Guatemala. Women helping women through education is a key part of their mission.
Women's Textile Cooperatives paula: my second skin weaver
In tiny San Juan la Laguna, women weavers have come together in three cooperatives which offer beautiful, handwoven textiles dyed with natural colors.
San Juan la Laguna:
There are three women’s textile cooperatives in this small town. The women gather leaves, roots, bark, and other natural materials to make their own dyes, and produce weavings of great beauty.
FEDEPMA: Federación de Pueblos Mayas
About thirty women participate in this cooperative.
Store: La 5ª Calle Y 7ª Av. , Zona 2 Cantón XAK´AL, San Juan La Laguna, Sololá
Telephone: (502) 4188-2970.
Office: Canton Pames Carretera a Finca Tzantzi’apa’, San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá
Web Site: www.fedepmasolola.org.gt
E-mail: info@fedepmasolola.org.gt
Telephone: (502) 7823-7770 / 7823-7771 / 5834-2797 / 5834-6931
Sales: Contact Ana Nineth Cholotío Hernández at (502) 4751-7850
E-mail: ventas@fedepmasolola.org.gt
Ixoq Ajkeem
The name of this women’s cooperative means “Woman Weaver” in Tz’utuhil Maya. About 20 women organized the collective in 1993, and have been helping one another to market and sell their work ever since.
Web Site: www.sanjuanlalaguna.org/ixoq
Lemá
Associación Mujeres Tejedoras Con Tinte Natural
Association of Woman Weavers with Natural Dyes
Rosa: 5866-8446
Adolfo: 5678-0629
More phone numbers: (502) 5967-7747 / 2425 9441 / 5967 7747
Web Site: www.sanjuanlalaguna.org/lema
Pachay las Lomas:
AMIDI: Association of Indigenous Women for Holistic Development
This is an association of 40 Kaqchikel Mayan women living traditionally in Pachay las Lomas, an isolated village in the highlands of Guatemala. Many of the women are widows, in the aftermath of Guatemala’s civil war, 1960-1996. If artful, hand-woven weavings interest you, please attend private, local sales of AMIDI table linens in Healdsburg, CA.
For more information, contact Marilee Wingert, MarileeWingert@earthlink.net.
On Facebook, search for AMIDI Maya Women Who Farm and Weave.
New World Villages is a charity which has helped thousands of schoolchildren and their families in Belize by establishing computer labs, providing scholarships, building up libraries, providing school furniture and supplies, delivering medical equipment, and creating opportunities for sustainable farming. To learn more, go to www.newworldvillages.org.
Procession, by Marlon Puac