We introduce you to weavers of wool, cotton and silk who work with organic natural dyes. This one-day educational study tour gives you in-depth knowledge about the artisanal process for making hand-woven cloth using sustainable technologies. We visit home studios and workshops to meet some of Oaxaca’s outstanding weavers in this curated day trip. See the real indigo, cochineal and wild marigold dye process. Meet artisans who create beautiful rugs and clothing.
Schedule your dates directly with Norma Schafer.
Full day rate of $325 USD is for one or two people. $165 per person for each additional person.
You reserve for the dates you prefer. You are welcome to organize your own small group. We match your travel schedule with our availability.
Pricing is for a full day, starting at 9 a.m. and ending around 6 p.m. Customized programs on request. The rate is based on the time we pick you up and return you to your Oaxaca hotel. Please provide us with hotel/lodging address and phone number.
Oaxaca has many talented weavers working on different types of looms: the two-harness pedal loom, the flying shuttle loom and the back-strap loom. They create many different types of cloth from wool, cotton and silk – to use, wear and walk on.
The yarns or threads can be hand-woven and made into tapestry carpets or wall hangings. They might become lighter weight garments such as shawls, ponchos and scarves or fashion accessories and home goods like handbags, travel bags, blankets, throws and pillow covers.
Natural grey wool and dried cochineal bugs
Most weavers dye their material using pre-mixed commercial dyes. Some buy their yarns pre-dyed. This streamlines and simplifies the production process, making the finished piece less costly. Often, there are wide quality differences.
Selection of Teotitlan del Valle wool rugs from the tapestry loom
A growing number of weavers are going back to their indigenous roots and working in natural dyes. They use a time-consuming process to gather the dye materials, prepare them with tested recipes, dye the yarns and then weave them into cloth. These colors are vibrant and long-lasting. There is a premium for this type of hand work.
Dyeing and then weaving can take weeks and months, depending upon the finished size of the textile and type of weaving process used.
Preparing indigo for the dye pot — first crush it to powder
For each visit, we will select artisans who live and work in small villages scattered in the countryside around Oaxaca where families have co-created together for generations to prepare the yarn and weave it.
Natural dyes we will investigate include plant materials like nuts, wild marigold, fruit (pomegranate, persimmon, zapote negro), wood bark and indigo.
Shades of cochineal — a full range of color
Another important dye source is cochineal, which is the parasite that feeds on the prickly pear cactus. The Spanish kept the cochineal secret well hidden for over 400 years, calling it grana cochineal or grain, so that English and Italian competitors could not detect its source.
Cochineal dye bath — the most vibrant red of the natural world
During this one-day outing, we will visit four weavers, see complete natural demonstrations of yarns and threads, learn about over-dyeing to get a full rainbow of colors, and savor the beautiful results that master weavers create.
We may not always visit the same weavers on each tour, based on their availability. At each home studio you will see some of the steps that go into the completed process. By the end of the day, you will have gained a fuller understanding of the difference between natural and commercial dyed cloth as well as the various weaving techniques. This will help you become a more educated collector, able to discern nuances in fiber and dye quality.
Ikat wool rebozo colored with zapote negro (black persimmon) and cochineal
More than this, you will learn about the local culture, the family enterprise of weaving, how weavers source their materials, the dedication to keeping this ancient practice alive. You will see how using natural dyes is a small-batch, organic and environmentally sustainable process. And, you will try your hand in the dye pot and at the loom, too, if you like.
Typical Day
- 9 a.m. — We pick you up in the historic center of Oaxaca city
- 9:30 a.m. — We meet a flying shuttle loom weaver who designs home goods and clothing, using naturally dyed cloth
- 11:30 a.m. — We meet two weaving families who work exclusively with natural dyes to make rugs and tapestry wall hangings
- We enjoy lunch around 2 p.m. at a local comedor that uses all native and natural ingredients
- 4:00 p.m. — We visit the home studio of a women’s cooperative that makes leather trimmed handbags woven with naturally dyed wool
- You return to Oaxaca city by 6:00 p.m.
All times are approximate. We reserve the right to alter the schedule based on artisan availability. Please bring water and a snack.
Squeezing fresh lime juice for the acid dye bath — turns cochineal bright orange
During this complete one-day study tour you will:
- Meet master weavers and their families in their home workshop/studio
- See the raw materials used for coloring wool, cotton and silk
- Watch the weaving process and try your hand (and feet) at the fixed frame 2-harness pedal loom and flying shuttle loom — if you wish
- Discuss the origin of cochineal, its impact on world trade and its many uses today
- Learn how to tell the difference between dyed fibers – are they natural or chemical?
- Observe processes for dyeing with indigo, cochineal, wild marigold and other organic materials
- Understand quality differences and what makes a superior product
- Discover the meaning of the various designs, some taken from ancient codices
- Have an opportunity to shop, if you choose, at the source
- Order a customized size, if you prefer
You are under no obligation to buy.
Zapote negro fruit in a dye bath waiting for wool
This is an educational study tour to give you more in-depth knowledge about the weaving and natural dye process. We offer a stipend to the weavers who take part to compensate them for their knowledge, time and materials. This is included in your tour fee.
Weavers do not pay commissions on any purchases made and 100% of any sales go directly to them.
Also consider these educational options:
About Norma Schafer, your study tour leader
Norma Schafer has organized educational programs and workshops in Oaxaca since 2006 through Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. She is an educator, not a tour guide, and is recognized for her knowledge about textiles and natural dyes.
Nina wears a quechquemitl woven with cochineal dyed cotton
Norma is living in the weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, since she retired from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011. Before that, she made frequent visits each year beginning in 2005. Norma has access to off-the-tourist-path small production family workshops where the “manufacturing” process is vertical and hand-made.
- Earned the B.A. in history from California State University at Northridge
- Holds the M.S. in business administration from the University of Notre Dame
- 30-year career in higher education administration and program development
- Created/produced international award-winning programs at Indiana University, University of Virginia, George Washington University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Recognized by the International University Continuing Education Association for outstanding educational program development
- Founder/creator of Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC arts workshops/study tours in 2006
- Contributor to Textile Fiestas of Mexico, with chapters about Teotitlan del Valle and Tenancingo de Degollado
- Founder/author of Oaxaca Cultural Navigator blog in 2007
- Learned to weave and use natural dyes as a graduate student in San Francisco too many years ago to count!
- Has an extensive personal collection naturally dyed textiles
- Consultant to textile designers, wholesalers and retailers who want to include sustainable, organic textiles in their body of work and inventory
- International textile conference advisor to Weaving a Real Peace (WARP) organization
- Consultant on tourism/economic development, State of Guanajuato, Mexico Office of Tourism
- Embedded in the cultural and social history of Oaxaca’s Zapotec village life
Includes transportation from/to Oaxaca city to our meeting place in the Tlacolula Valley, all transport to villages and honoraria to artisans. You cover the cost of beverages lunch for those in your party and for your tour leader. Please let us know if you need vegetarian options. We may pre-order a tasting menu that includes a fresh fruit drink (agua fresca) based on group
Schedule your dates directly with Norma Schafer. We will do our best to accommodate your requests.
Reservations and Cancellations
We require a non-refundable 50% deposit with PayPal (we will send an invoice) to reserve. The PayPal amount billed will be based on the number of people you reserve for. The 50% balance is due on the day of the tour in cash, either USD or MXN pesos (at the current exchange rate).
We will have made transportation arrangements and secured the dates/times with the weavers, plus paid them a stipend in advance for participating. We have learned, living in Mexico, that it is essential to keep commitments to sustain relationships. Thank you for understanding.
Folded pedal looms waiting for the next project
Locavores in Oaxaca: Eat Local and Who Makes Our Food
People in the Oaxaca valley have eaten locally grown corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, poultry and fruit for centuries, long before the term locavore came into existence. The farm-to-table movement in the United States is one example of eating fresh food produced within 100 miles.
Weighing beans, Teotitlan del Valle Market
During the years I lived on an organic farm in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and shopped at farmer’s markets (a habit I formed early in my adulthood), we learned to eat around the seasons. I read somewhere that this is one of the healthiest things we can do for our bodies.
One by-product of the CNTE Section 22 Teacher’s Union strike in Oaxaca is the intended or unintended consequences of returning to locally grown food. The blockades are preventing the big box, semi-trailers filled with imported goods from entering Oaxaca to deliver their loads to Walmart, Soriana and other giant retailers like Coca-Cola.
Magdalena with corn husks to prepare tamales
I’m reminded of the signs in Pittsboro, NC when I visit: Shop Local. I’m sure you see this where you live, too.
In conversations around town, I’m hearing a mixed bag of blessings and complaints. Everyone loves Walmart, yes?, because of low prices. Others say local Oaxaca city markets like Benito Juarez, Abastos, Sanchez Pascuas, Merced stock everything they need and it’s important to support local merchants so they stay in business.
Organic corn, dried on the cob, ready for planting
Yet others are inconvenienced because they can’t get a particular variety of yam, brand of toilet paper, or giant coca-cola bottles for less.
There has been a strong movement here against genetically modified corn promoted by Monsanto. I have wondered whether the blockades of the big retail semi-trailers aren’t just an extension of that.
Quesadillas with fresh corn tortillas hot off the comal
I hear that by privatizing education, doors will open to international conglomerates to sell, at a profit, sugary drinks and snacks to school children, whose families are already at risk for diabetes and diet-influenced diseases.
Here in Teotitlan del Valle, I do all my food shopping locally at the daily market. Then, fill in what I need at the Sunday Tlacolula market. Yes, they sell toilet paper and paper towels there, along with all the cleaning supplies one needs.
I wonder if this blockade isn’t a good thing to help us raise our awareness for how much and what we need in comparison to who provides it for us. What we eat is important. We have asked the question: Who makes our clothes?
Now, it’s time to ask again here in Oaxaca: Who makes our food?
Yesterday, the fields next to me were plowed and planted with corn. Native indigenous corn, not genetically modified. I know that’s good.
Plowing the milpas to plant corn, squash, beans
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Travel & Tourism
Tagged blockades, bloqueos, CNTE Section 22, corn, eat local, education, farmers markets, food, locavore, Mexico, milpas, Monsanto, multi-national corporation, non-GMO, North Carolina, Oaxaca, organic, Pittsboro, schools, social justice, strike, teacher's union, Walmart