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Connect: email, text or WhatsApp +1-919-274-6194, FB Messenger, IG
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Why Travel With Us: Help sustain regenerative traditions.
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- We know the culture! This is our land! We are locally owned and operated.
- Eric Chavez Santiago is tri-lingual --Spanish, English, Zapotec.
- Eric was founding director of education, Museo Textil de Oaxaca + folk art expert
- Norma Schafer has lived in Oaxaca since 2005.
- Norma is a seasoned university educator.
- We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
- 63% of our travelers repeat -- high ratings, high satisfaction.
- Wide ranging expertise: textiles, folk art, pottery, cultural wisdom.
- We give you a deep immersion to best know Oaxaca and Mexico.
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We organize private travel + tours for museums, arts, organizations, collectors + appreciators.
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Creating Connection and Meaning between travelers and with indigenous artisans. Meet makers where they live and work. Join small groups of like-minded explorers. Go deep into remote villages. Gain insights. Support cultural heritage and sustainable traditions. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
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What is a Study Tour: Our programs are learning experiences, and as such we talk with makers about how and why they create, what is meaningful to them, the ancient history of patterning and design, use of color, tradition and innovation, values and cultural continuity, and the social context within which they work. First and foremost, we are educators. Norma worked in top US universities for over 35 years and Eric founded the education department at Oaxaca’s textile museum. We create connection.
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OCN Creates Student Scholarship at Oaxaca Learning Center Giving back is a core value. Read about it here
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Meet Makers. Make a Difference
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Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university, textile and artisan development experience. See About Us.
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Programs can be scheduled to meet your independent travel plans. Send us your available dates.
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Arts organizations, museums, designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
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Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *North Carolina Museum of Art *Selvedge Magazine-London, UK *Esprit Travel and Tours *Penland School of Crafts *North Carolina State University *WARP Weave a Real Peace *Methodist University *MINNA-Goods *Smockingbird Kids *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Tell us how we can put a program together for you! Send an email norma.schafer@icloud.com
PRESS
- WEAVE Podcast: Oaxaca Coast Textiles & Tour
- NY Times, Weavers Embrace Natural Dye Alternatives
- NY Times, Open Thread–Style News
- NY Times, 36-Hours: Oaxaca, Mexico
Our Favorites
- Cooking Classes–El Sabor Zapoteco
- Currency Converter
- Fe y Lola Rugs by Chavez Santiago Family
- Friends of Oaxaca Folk Art
- Hoofing It In Oaxaca Hikes
- Living Textiles of Mexico
- Mexican Indigenous Textiles Project
- Museo Textil de Oaxaca
- Oaxaca Lending Library
- Oaxaca Weather
- Taller Teñido a Mano Natural Dyes
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Practice Your Passion. Tribute to Steve Jobs.
When I opened my New York Times news page this morning, I cried. As I watched the commencement speech that Steve Jobs delivered to Stanford University graduates in 2005, I cried. Why? Because he touched my life in such a meaningful and personal way — his vision, insight, compassion and technology acumen gave me the tools to create my own passion, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator.
I pound away on my Apple MacBook Pro every day. This is my fourth Apple computer (and I tend to hold on to them for years). I carry my iPhone and iPad with me everywhere. I am an Apple lover of a mature age who still desires to adopt and use new technology. Apple has given me the freedom to write, create, innovate and connect because of mobile communications technology.
So, I guess the key operative word here is “love” for this piece of equipment that I imbue with human qualities because through it I am able to express what I feel about Oaxaca and Mexico, connect with people all over the world, engage in reciprocal sharing of ideas and insights, and make a difference.
This is my tribute to Steve Jobs and the legacy he created: iMagine a world without iPhone, iPad, and MacBooks — your impact will be felt for generations to come. You will endure in the iCloud as one of the greatest innovators of our time. Our work and how we communicate is a tribute to you. I am grateful and iThank you.
Soon, I will embark on a new adventure (to be announced soon) and I keep Steve Jobs words close to me: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
I have found what I love in Oaxaca Cultural Navigator and this is what I consider to be my “great work” and a “matter of my heart and intuition.” In my new adventure I will be hungrier! I am foolish! (Who steps away from the familiar and embarks on something new in a down economy?) Ultimately, all we have is time and our health and courage. This is the lesson from Steve Job’s life for me: Practice My Passion.
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