Monthly Archives: February 2025

We are with our dear friend Olga Reiche who uses natural dyes on cotton thread and works with indigenous weavers in Coban, Guatemala. They weave very fine gauze cotton blusas in indigo, cochineal, wild marigold, avocado, and other plant materials used for dyeing. Olga has known me and Eric for many years and she agreed to only work with us for a specialized experience visiting textile weavers and villages in Guatemala. She knows all the best makers! We will do this 10-day textile exploration trip again in 2026 so send an email if you want to be notified about this.

These are photos of our indigo dye workshop with Olga—a half-day hands-on experience in Antigua.

It’s a miracle for me to visit Amalia and her family of weavers in a remote area of Coban, which is seven hours by van from Antigua. I first met Amalia years ago at an expoventa for the Textile Museum in Oaxaca. I immediately made plans to see her again at the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe. Our friend and guide Olga Reiche first encouraged her to apply and helped her get accepted.

What is pikbil? It is the finest weaving in Guatemala and perhaps the finest in the world. They use 20/1 ,finest 100% cotton thread available only found in Guatemala. A higher number on top indicates that this is fine one-ply thread. The weft threads are only softly beaten down on the warp creating a fine gauze fabric that is easy to wear in this tropical rain forest where orchids and coffee are grown. also finest quality will be a four-selvage textile — there is no hem. This is only achieved by a master weaver.

BTW the coffee here is the most delicious.

It takes one to two months to weave a pikbil blusa (blouse) and three months to weave a dress length garment. The attention to detail is amazing. One innovation is that Amalia is teaching the young men in her family to weave and they start at age seven, unraveling the plastic material from coffee bags to practice until they become proficient.

Teaching boys and girls to weave is important for their production and to keep up with special orders. Traditionally, men are farmers not weavers. They work the coffee fields. Originally, Germans came here in the 1800’s to start coffee plantations. Much of the land was later given to indigenous Quiche people to continue growing coffee.

There are sixty eight people in the Ixbalanke cooperative. It means Women of the Moon. They are now using colored warp and weft threads, but the tradition is white on white. The designs are pre-Hispanic, ancient, in fact.

There are new colors but the designs are very old. 

These communities were flooded 2020 by storms. Now they are restored and growing coffee and cardamom. Pine trees provide lumber.

The tradition is weaving by women. The men feel that they want to be part of and represent the culture. They have work and orders. How do the women feel about men weaving? They say that having men weave is important. Men can weave on a wider loom and longer. Men weave a little faster. So this work is very important. Everyone weaves between doing other activities. Women cook and care for the family. Men work the fields.

We are on a cultural expedition to learn about how people live and sustain themselves. There was a 30-year war here in indigenous communities perpetrated by the CIA to protect the United Fruit Company. And propped up a repressive right wing government. Many were killed and disappeared, including the fathers and brothers of women we met. Maya people fled to Chiapas and into the mountains to survive. There are residuals now and the suffering was huge.

if you want to come with us in 2026, please send an email expressing your interest.

if you want to come with us in 2026, please send an email expressing your interest.

Well, what’s to say but nothing less than spectacular, a treasure trove of textiles, art, vintage jewelry, and a cultural immersion experience. THIS is the famed Chichicastenango market, a warren of stalls almost as complex as the souk in Marrakech.

It took about three hours to get there from Antigua, not much compared to the five hours more to Coban, where we are now and on our way to visit famed pikbil weaver Amalia Gue.

If you would like to come with us in 2026, please send an email to get on the interested list.

For now, photos: