Day 15-- a fair trade for Guatemalan kids

What do gorgeous weaving, a clown, street kids and Oregon City have in common?  The connections made through Fair Trade, compassion and creativity.

The story of the Ruth y Nohemi weaving cooperative is one I love to tell. 

Ruth y Nohemi is a weaving cooperative located in Chontola, near Chichicastenango, Guatemala. In the late 1970s Pastor Diego Chicoj Ramos was appointed as a layman worker in the villages surrounding Chichicastenango. This area experienced some of the worst violence associated with the nation’s civil war, and Diego’s ability to work with the villagers was severely hindered during this time. When he was finally able to visit the villages of Chichicastenango after the war, he found that many women had lost their husbands in a raid on the church of Chontala.

Diego and his wife Juana dedicated themselves to helping the local women rebuild their lives. In 1986, the Ruth y Nohemi project was officially founded as a way for women to organize and market their handicrafts. Now more than 15 widows weave bright lengths of cloth on backstrap looms, and young men, trained as tailors, sew the cloth into finished products such as vests, bags, wallets and briefcases. These craftspeople are determined to ensure the survival of their families, their village and their culture, which they represent with the brightly woven floral designs in their textiles.

We sell bags, scarves, and toys made by this inspiring cooperative.  Typical Fair Trade story, except that these amazing goods come to us by way of a committed group of volunteers in Oregon City who use the proceeds of the sales to support a day school in Guatemala City.  Here is their story.

Just one of the many reasons I love bringing Small Planet Trading to you.  DeLona