This past May 14 we commemorated World Fair Trade Day. This was a good moment to reflect on how Yabal is part of this World movement, promoting justice in trading partnerships between producers and consumers with a focus on environmental sustainability. We had the chance to celebrate with women from Chuicutáma, part of the Yabal… View more
Yabal is a proud member of the World Fair Trade Organization and Fair Trade Federation, which means that our business is transparent, audited and certified as a social enterprise that places people and planet before profit. As such, we want to take this opportunity to tell you more about Fair Trade and what it means… View more
Growing up in the 80’s, it was common to inherit clothes from your older siblings or swap clothes with your cousins. Fashion and design was not such a big thing back then and wearing the same shirt more than five times was definitely not frowned upon. Today we’re looking at a new, and quite frankly… View more
At the beginning of a recent needle-point workshop in the Pacutama community last month, we asked the women why the older members weren’t there.“They have bad eyesight so they figured they wouldn’t come to a workshop on needle point embroidery” to which we replied, “No, tell them to come! We have reading glasses for them!”… View more
By Isabel Coxaj Boj We invited our colleague, Isabel Coxaj Boj, to contribute to the blog today to share more about the deep spiritual symbolism in traditional Mayan textiles and clothes. Isabel is a backstrap-loom weaving teacher, textile-lover, and Yabal’s Store Coordinator in the Yabal shop in Xela, Guatemala. The Maya are recognized for their… View more
We had the pleasure recently to welcome doctor Kate Colwell to our women’s cooperative meeting in Pactuama, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan. Kate specializes in helping artisans with healthy body dynamics, posture, self-care, and injury prevention. It was an important workshop to have with our group of 40 weavers and a great first introduction to the idea… View more
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… View more
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… View more
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… View more
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… View more
