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Why Travel With Us
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- We know the culture! We are locally owned and operated.
- Eric Chavez Santiago is Zapotec, born and raised in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.
- Norma Schafer has been living in Oaxaca for almost 20 years.
- We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
- 63% of our travelers repeat -- high ratings, high satisfaction.
- Wide ranging expertise.
- We give you a deep immersion to best know Oaxaca and Mexico.
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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 ie. hand weaving and natural dyeing. 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!
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
We Contribute Two Chapters!
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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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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.
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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 *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
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- 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
What Makes a Meaningful Life? Experiences, Not Stuff
My all-time favorite book is Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” in which he discusses how we measure the value of life. Core is love and hope, with a desire for what is meaningful and satisfying. Notice that he talks about degrees of satisfaction rather than degrees of happiness, for, as Frankl explains, one can be satisfied or not with life regardless of how much money one earns or how much stuff one has. I love this NYTimes article with the link below. It talks about spending resources (time, money) on experiences rather than things. That is one reason why I try to keep our Oaxaca Cultural Navigator programs affordable — to open opportunities for educational travel to people who believe that getting to know a country and its people is more important than staying in a three or four-star hotel. I’ve written about this before in a short-fiction piece called “Eating Lower on the Food Chain.” We can still live well and not lavishly or conspicuously as we downsize lifestyles to suit the new economy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html?src=me&ref=general
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Posted in Cultural Commentary
Tagged changing lifestyles, downsizing, economy travel, meaningful living