As women we never have a break, we are always working. Whereas the men go to work and then come home to relax, women are working from sunrise to sunset. Washing, cooking, collecting firewood, taking care of the children, taking care of the garden, the chickens, preparing the food for tomorrow. And in between those
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Yabal started a small loan program with the community of Chuicutama 7 years ago. After receiving a private donation, we asked the community what project they would like to use the money for. The community decided to use these funds to create a micro-credit system for their families to rent land for corn cultivation. As these families
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Is this you?… ∇ You are a designer, boutique hotel, or fashion line looking for a way to source your home decor or fashion accessories in an ethical and sustainable process. ∇ You want to outsource your production in a way that empowers artisans. ∇ You care about quality and one-of-a-kind handmade techniques ∇ Customer
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Excerpt from an article in Handwoven and Interweave magazines featuring Yabal Handicrafts: Weaving New Lives and Bringing New Hope February 23, 2017 | Author: Anita Osterhaug Mayan women say that the goddess Ixchel taught their people to weave at the dawn of time. Through millennia of struggle between rival groups, through the founding of a dynasty
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For the class of 2017 graduating seniors… Have you ever stopped and marveled at the artistic masterpiece that is your clothing? Ever wonder how each miniscule thread in your fabric was once a piece of raw cotton on a plant- how that cotton had to then be processed and spun into tiny threads, dyed, dried,
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Yabal just launched our 2017 crowdfunding campaign on the website Indiegogo and we need your help in spreading the word! Please take a moment to visit the campaign here and make a small donation, share with your friends and family, and post on your facebook page. Currently, around 60 indigenous women artisans depend on Yabal’s Fair Trade weaving
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In order to provide transparency at Yabal about how we do business and how your accessories are made, we wanted to share with you more about our sewing workshop and introduce you to our lead seamstress, Elda. At Yabal, we believe that the artisans responsible for making your products should receive the greatest benefit from
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Do you know what “Yabal” means? Yab’al is a K’iche’ word that literally means “a place that gives” which has the dual meaning in the k’iche’ language of “hope”. K’iche’ is an indigenous language spoken by Maya people in Guatemala, mostly in the central highlands region. Most of our women weavers speak K’iché as their first
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by Max Crosby, Yabal Volunteer I did a good deal of thinking about my recent visit to the Yabal weaving cooperative in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan with Yabal’s Production Coordinator, Yesica. The second part of the visit is what really had an impact on me. Once the piñata-making workshop was over, part of Yabal’s Women’s
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by Allison Havens, Yabal Director I had to share some thoughts in these recent days after the US election as I am both deeply committed to the philosophy of fair trade and also deeply saddened by the US public’s acceptance of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and all around hate as shown through the election of Trump.
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