The non-profit association El Camino de Los Altos was established in Mexico as a result of a twelve-year collaboration between Mayan weavers in Chiapas and the French non-profit group El Camino, made up of eight professional designers all working voluntarily together to create a high quality collection.
El Camino de Los Altos recently held an exhibit and sale at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, and I was fortunate enough to be in town that weekend at the start of the opening day. The group is composed of 150 indigenous weavers from five different municipalities in Los Altos de Chiapas. The aim of the partnership is to improve the living conditions of the weavers and their families, to contribute to the long-term survival of an outstanding ancestral art, and to provide the women weavers, who have been learning textile design for twelve years, the opportunity to grow professionally both as weavers and designers.
To accomplish these goals, the association has established a new training center where the weavers meet and exchange ideas with designers, artists, and others interested in promoting the collection. The designs combine bold, contemporary colors and motifs with ancient techniques and iconography. the materials used are of the highest quality cotton. The members of El Camino de Los Altos are also learning to manage and administer the association and market their products internationally. The association continues to seek financial support in order to promote and market the beautiful textiles.
The collection focuses on interior design, bed linens and accessories, in additional to shawls, table coverings, scarves, handbags and shoulder bags, pillow covers, and bed spreads. I loved the small, intricately hand-embroidered baby bibs that were on display alongside adult sized garments.
Most of the textiles are woven on pre-Hispanic backstrap looms using mercerized cotton yearn or sheep wool and dyed with natural dyes. The association includes the follow municipalities: Chamula, Larrainzar, Oxchuc, Pantelho, and Zinacantan.
Contact Information:
Cerrada Prolongacion Peje de Oro No. 3-A
Barrio de Cuxtitali C.P. 29230
San Cirstobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
Tel: (967) 631 69 44
Chiapas Textile Cooperative to Exhibit and Sell at Oaxaca Textile Museum
After calling ahead and making an appointment, we took a taxi to the outskirts of San Cristobal de las Casas at the end of a dirt road to find the headquarters of Camino de los Altos. This is a cooperative of 130 weavers who make extraordinary textiles.
They will be exhibiting and selling their work at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca from Friday through Sunday, February 17-19, 2012. If you are in Oaxaca, you won’t want to miss this event!
The cooperative began in the mid-1990’s by eight French designers who had a passion for Mayan traditions, textiles, and indigenous design. El Camino selects ancient traditional colors and re-imagines them. They produce bags, children’s clothing, pillow covers, scarves, shawls, table cloths, runners, napkins, and dish towels on sturdy, highest quality fabric that is hand-woven on back strap looms in five Chiapas weaving villages. Six sales are held each year in Paris and at other selected locations around the world.
Wool pillow covers can be the natural color of the sheep or dyed with either palo de Brazil or cochineal to yield a rich red. Mayan women then embellish them with traditional hand-embroidered designs. The cotton is dyed with industrial color. The color combinations are juicy and intense, and based upon traditional weaving patterns, too.
As a cooperative, the members meet together to decide next steps, new design and color directions, and pattern innovations. Their commitment is to each other — everyone must have work. The marketplace speaks, so together they determine what needs to be altered, adapted, changed or discontinued.
[Cultural note: In traditional villages, the men work in the fields and do required community service (cargos). Women are responsible for all the household work, and care for children and in-laws. We hear that many of the women who are now able to earn their own income through weaving and other crafts, choose not to marry to achieve some level of independence.]
El Camino de los Altos operates through the sale of their work and the support of a French foundation, and are able to employ four full-time staff. The money they earn goes directly to the weavers. In addition, they are training indigenous women in marketing, sales, production, inventory control and other business development aspects that will ensure ongoing success.
A Chiapas retail store, Madre Tierra, sells Camino de los Altos textiles. It is located across from the sweets market on Insurgentes in the courtyard behind the fabulous bakery that sells the most delicious whole grain onion garlic buns.
Contact: Veronique Tesseraud, director, elcaminodelosaltos@gmail.com, (967) 631-6944. Barrio de Cuxtitali, Cerrada Prolongacion Peje de Oro #3. http://elcaminodelosaltos.blogspot.com/
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Textiles, Tapestries & Weaving, Travel & Tourism
Tagged backstrap loom, blogsherpa, Chiapas, El Camino de Los Altos, fiber art, Mayan, Mexico, Oaxaca, textiles, weavers, women's cooperative