Behind every great tour, a great tour leader.
This is Deborah Chandler (be patient, I am securing a photo from Mark), leader of our tour to visit Mayan Hands weavers in Guatemala. She is the Guatemalan Program Director of Mayan Hands and quite a famous weaver herself!
But first, let me tell you that Deb entertained us while she educated us. She was treated with love and respect wherever we went to visit Mayan Hands weavers. This was true even though she had very difficult news to deliver to the groups about lack of work in December. She regaled us with tales of her privileged sighting of a quetzal, the elegant symbol of the Mayans; she shared her concerns about violence in the country; she broke bread with us; she took care of us.
Deb authored the premier book on learning to weave published in the USA. Learning To Weave can be found in any bookstore or online.
Deborah also started Weave a Real Peace (WARP) a not for profit committed to connecting weavers in the developed world with weavers in need of support in the developing world. Find out more at: www.weavearealpeace.org
Thanks Deb for your excellent planning and execution of the trip. At the end we all considered ourselves "a little family." What a gift for us this holiday season: new friends and connection to what matters most, human warmth and the dignity of the work of human, Mayan hands.
Deb, was it as much fun for you as it was for us?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Successful Home Sale. Thanks all!
Sunday we held our first home sale. The weather was iffy (snow and rain never keep upstate New Yorkers inside!) but friends and family came out and shopped for the holidays from Mayan Hands offerings.
Earlier in the week, I ordered items for the sale from Mayan Hands. Two large boxes of items arrived from the warehouse in Maryland after a short conversation with staff there. All arrived in lovely condition and so well organized!
I spread the word through email and this blog. I think next time I will ask for the cards that Mayan Hands provided in advance and leave some in strategic places, our food coop, the library, the neighborhood hangouts and coffee shops.
Thanks everyone for making our sale a success. It was great to visit with you and share my trip to Guatemala. We appreciate your generousity and hope the gifts you give come back to you many fold.
Happy holidays...
Earlier in the week, I ordered items for the sale from Mayan Hands. Two large boxes of items arrived from the warehouse in Maryland after a short conversation with staff there. All arrived in lovely condition and so well organized!
I spread the word through email and this blog. I think next time I will ask for the cards that Mayan Hands provided in advance and leave some in strategic places, our food coop, the library, the neighborhood hangouts and coffee shops.
Thanks everyone for making our sale a success. It was great to visit with you and share my trip to Guatemala. We appreciate your generousity and hope the gifts you give come back to you many fold.
Happy holidays...
Thursday, December 10, 2009
In Retrospect: Dark Days
www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=348168&CategoryId=23558
This article from the Latin American Herald Tribune will shed some light on the dark days Guatemala is facing and two murders and mob vigilante justice that happened near us on our Mayan Hands tour.
As I return home, I find it deeply unsettling the abundant, indiscriminate violence that occurs in this part of Central America. On top of that, there is no functioning justice system.
Ergo, vigilante justice and mob violence erupt as a response to violent crime.
As travelers, we were always within the fold of our native guides, protected and well advised on what was safe. We could have been closer to these mobs described in the article. We were lucky not to have been.
Even so, I think about the weavers, the fieldworkers, the average people who live with this threat on a daily basis. Public transport is dangerous in Guatemala and most people depend upon it. The murders occurred on a public bus on the road from Solola to Panajachel. The murderers were later killed (burned to death) by a mob.
Let us not take peace and law and order for granted. In many parts of the world, they are in short supply.
What do you think? Have I glossed over this topic? Where does it fit into Fair Trade?
One reader suggested I had ignored this issue during the trip and my enthusiasm for the products of Mayan Hands. I have to say I needed some perspective on it to be write anything. it is now that I am home, I realize how it runs through all I can say about the trip and the people I met.
The issue of violence, corruption and lack of rule of law goes to the very heart of the work of Mayan Hands which provides secure income and empowerment training for people in the Highlands of Guatemala. If they can establish a balance in their lives that enables them to take leadership roles in their communities, maybe that tide will begin to turn.
Maybe.
Please tell me what you think about this important issue.
This article from the Latin American Herald Tribune will shed some light on the dark days Guatemala is facing and two murders and mob vigilante justice that happened near us on our Mayan Hands tour.
As I return home, I find it deeply unsettling the abundant, indiscriminate violence that occurs in this part of Central America. On top of that, there is no functioning justice system.
Ergo, vigilante justice and mob violence erupt as a response to violent crime.
As travelers, we were always within the fold of our native guides, protected and well advised on what was safe. We could have been closer to these mobs described in the article. We were lucky not to have been.
Even so, I think about the weavers, the fieldworkers, the average people who live with this threat on a daily basis. Public transport is dangerous in Guatemala and most people depend upon it. The murders occurred on a public bus on the road from Solola to Panajachel. The murderers were later killed (burned to death) by a mob.
Let us not take peace and law and order for granted. In many parts of the world, they are in short supply.
What do you think? Have I glossed over this topic? Where does it fit into Fair Trade?
One reader suggested I had ignored this issue during the trip and my enthusiasm for the products of Mayan Hands. I have to say I needed some perspective on it to be write anything. it is now that I am home, I realize how it runs through all I can say about the trip and the people I met.
The issue of violence, corruption and lack of rule of law goes to the very heart of the work of Mayan Hands which provides secure income and empowerment training for people in the Highlands of Guatemala. If they can establish a balance in their lives that enables them to take leadership roles in their communities, maybe that tide will begin to turn.
Maybe.
Please tell me what you think about this important issue.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Upcoming Mayan Hands Sales
We are having our first Home Sale on Sunday, December 13th from 12 noon until 3 pm. Please come by Laura and Ricardo's at 12 Providence Street Albany NY 12203 to see handmade weavings from Guatemala...and complete your holiday shopping!
Here is a list of other sales in the Capital Region:
December 10 & 11
Pastoral Center, 40 North Main Ave., Albany, 10 am to 4 pm
December 12 & 13
St. Thomas the Apostle, Delmar, after the masses
St. John’s/St. Ann’s, Albany, after the masses
Christ, Sun of Justice, Troy, after the masses
December 13
First Presbyterian Church, Albany, 10 am to 1 pm
Delmar Reformed Church, Delaware Ave, 10 am to 1 pm
Home sale, 12 Providence St. Albany NY 1220, 12pm to 3pm
December 19 & 20
St. Peter's Catholic Church, Saratoga Springs, after the masses
Here is a list of other sales in the Capital Region:
December 10 & 11
Pastoral Center, 40 North Main Ave., Albany, 10 am to 4 pm
December 12 & 13
St. Thomas the Apostle, Delmar, after the masses
St. John’s/St. Ann’s, Albany, after the masses
Christ, Sun of Justice, Troy, after the masses
December 13
First Presbyterian Church, Albany, 10 am to 1 pm
Delmar Reformed Church, Delaware Ave, 10 am to 1 pm
Home sale, 12 Providence St. Albany NY 1220, 12pm to 3pm
December 19 & 20
St. Peter's Catholic Church, Saratoga Springs, after the masses
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
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