Search by Topic
Stay Connected!
LIKE Us on Facebook!
See Us Social
-
Connect with Us: email, text +1-919-274-6194, FB Messenger, IG
Norma Writes for Selvedge Magazine Issues #89 + #109
-
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 ie. hand weaving and natural dyeing. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
-
What is a Study Tour: Our programs are designed as learning experiences, and as such we talk with makers about how and why they create, what is meaningful to them in their designs, 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 and help artisans reach people who value them and their work.
-
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
We Contribute Two Chapters!
Meet Makers. Make a Difference
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.Programs can be scheduled to meet your independent travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *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 *MINNA *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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
Reframing Mexico: Multimedia Documentary About Mexico City Life
Students from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communications teamed with journalism students at Tec de Monterrey in Mexico City to create a visual story of life in Mexico City through video and photographs. It is captivating, real, and human. It expresses the range of frustrations, challenges, misery, joy and hopefulness of life.
Experience ‘Reframing Mexico’

One of the pleasures of working at an extraordinary university like UNC is the commitment that faculty and students have to social justice, innovation, and collaboration. This is manifested through volunteerism and active engagement that is designed to instill in people how important it is to make a difference in the world. Reframing Mexico heightens our awareness for and appreciation of what it takes to survive and thrive for our southern neighbor.
As I approach the national holiday of Thanksgiving in the United States, I am grateful for my family and friends, for the food I grow and eat and recycle, and for opportunities in my life. I am also grateful to the Mexican migrants in the U.S. who I don’t know, and my Mexican friends and family in Oaxaca, who all add to the quality of my life.
Like this: