Empowering Indigenous Artists and Preserving Mayan Art

Artist snapshot: Asociación Cojolya  (Santiago Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala).

Why we love it: Cojolya is a collective of artists that work together to make gorgeous woven products using the traditional backstrap loom. The cloth is 100% cotton and each thread is passed through the loom with care. The end result is the unique mix of colors and patterns we have come to associate with Guatemala. 

Cojolya’s Magic: Vibrant, strong and completely unique, Cojolya’s artwork is as powerful as the women who weave it.

For the indigenous communities of Guatemala, weaving is a cultural tradition, an artistic expression and a gift passed from generation to generation. Cojolya’s mission is to preserve this art form and to make it an economically viable source of income. Cojolya provides employment opportunities to more than 50 people. The collective also offers a healthcare and education stipend for its members. Indigenous artists have long had their artwork exploited by individuals who take advantage of the makers' immediate need for cash to buy hours worth of weaving for pennies and then resell it at high prices in foreign markets. Collectives like Cojolya empower weavers to band together and demand fair wages for fair work. Fair is what IdealThread is all about. 

The weavers use three different techniques, brocade, jaspe and liso. Each design has an inspiration in the community, the land and the history. Our red brocade pattern, for example, represents the color of the clay water and the dragon fruit inspired our bright pink fabric patterned with black squares. The weavers use a backstrap loom, which wraps around a tree and then around the weavers waist, using the tension between the two to pull the loom tight. Take a look at the video we made on the process. The thread is 100% cotton and dyed in a variety of rich colors. The weaver must first spend hours forming balls of yarn through a process called Urdimbre and wrapping the thread in figure eight battens on a wooden device called an urdidor. It is a complicated process that a mother will start teaching her daughter around age 8 or 10. 

In this era of fast fashion, paying a fair wage for handwoven textiles and selling them at a fair price to our customers can present some challenges. This is especially true when you add in the cost of international shipping. Our therapeutic relaxation pillows have been specially designed to bring you a slice of the art, history and heritage of Guatemalan weaving and to maximize the financial return to Asociación Cojolya.

If you love the art, the quality and the mission as much as we do, visit their website for other products. Their new magenta collection is to die for. https://online-shop.cojolya.org.gt/

If you’ve got what you need but love Cojolya as much as we do, you can donate directly to the education fund here:

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/maya-children-education/ 

or to their health care initiative here:

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/provide-medical-care-to-maya-women-artisans/.