Arrive on Tuesday, December 2, and depart on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 — 8 nights, 9 days in textile heaven! Home in time for winter holiday preparations. Please send us an email to tell us you are ready to join!
December is a perfect time to visit the Oaxaca coast. The weather is at its best, and the Pacific Ocean promises stunning views and abundant seafood. Here, we go deep and also cover a lot of territory. We give you an intimate, connecting experience. We spend time to know the culture. You will meet artisans in their homes and workshops, enjoy local cuisine, dip your hands in an indigo dye bath, and travel to remote villages where you may never get to independently.
This study tour focuses on the revival of ancient textile techniques and Oaxaca’s vast weaving culture that encompasses the use of natural dyes, back-strap loom weaving, drop spindle hand spinning using the malacate, and glorious, pre-Hispanic native cotton in warm brown called coyuchi, verde (green), and creamy white. We cover vast distances on secondary roads, traveling to secluded mountain villages. This tour is for the most adventurous textile travelers! At Oaxaca Cultural Navigator, we aim to give you an unparalleled and in-depth travel experience to participate and delve deeply into indigenous culture, folk art, and celebrations.
The cost is $3,595 per person for a shared room or $4,395 per person for a private room. See details and itinerary below. To register, please send an email to Norma Schafer at norma.schafer@icloud.com Thank you.
This entire study tour is focused on exploring the textiles of Oaxaca’s Costa Chica. You arrive to and leave from Puerto Escondido (PXM), connecting through Mexico City or Oaxaca. You might like to read about why on the Oaxaca coast, it’s about the cloth, not the cut.
Villages along the coast and neighboring mountains were able to preserve their traditional weaving culture because of their isolation. The Spanish could not get into those villages until the late 18th century. Much is now the same as it was then. Stunning cotton is spun and woven into lengths of cloth connected with intricate needlework to form amazing garments. Beauty and poverty are twin sisters here.
What we do:
Visit weaving villages in Oaxaca and Guerrero
Meet back-strap loom weavers, natural dyers, spinner
See, touch, and smell native Oaxaca cotton — brown, green, natural
Participate in a Ridley sea turtle release with a sunset dinner on the beach
Swim in a rare bioluminescent lagoon
Visit local markets to experience daily life
Travel to remote regions to discover amazing cloth
Learn about Afro-Mexican identity on the Pacific Coast
Support indigenous artisans directly
Enjoy a beach vacation
Take this study tour to learn about:
Culture, history, and identity of cloth
Beating and spinning cotton and weaving with natural dyes
Native seed preservation and cultivation
Clothing design and construction, fashion adaptations
Symbols and meaning of regional textile designs
Choice of colors, designs, and fibers showcase each woman weaver’s aesthetic and identity
The work of women in pre-Hispanic Mexico and today
PRELIMINARY ITINERARY
Tuesday, December 2: Fly to Puerto Escondido—overnight in Puerto Escondido, Group Welcome Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Please schedule flights to arrive accordingly. Meals included: Dinner
Wednesday, December 3: After breakfast, spend the day lingering by the pool or exploring the strand. We depart in late afternoon to participate in the Ridley turtle release and explore the Manialtepec bioluminescence lagoon with a beach dinner. Overnight in Puerto Escondido. Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Thursday, December 4: After breakfast, we depart for Ometepec, Guerrero where we will spend the night. We will stop in Pinotepa Nacional for lunch and meander through the town market. Overnight in Ometepec. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Friday, December 5: After breakfast, we go to Zacoalpan, a bygone Amusgo village where Jesus Ignacio and his family weave native coyuchi, green and natural white cotton to make traditional huipiles. They are rescuing designs from fragments of ancient cloth. Then, we have lunch in nearby Xochistlahuaca with an outstanding weaving cooperative that creates glorious, diaphanous textiles embellished with a palette of colorful designs reflecting the flora of the region. Overnight in Ometepec. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Saturday, December 6: After breakfast, we head south along the coast highway, stopping at the Afro-Mexican Museum to learn about the rich cultural history and traditions of Mexicans whose roots are from Africa and the slave trade. We continue to Pinotepa Nacional for a late lunch and check into our hotel. Here we will enjoy an expoventa and demonstration with embroiderers from a town several hours away. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.
Sunday, December 7: After breakfast, we head up the road to the weaving village of San Juan Colorado for a home-cooked lunch and visit two women’s cooperatives working in natural dyes, hand-spinning, and back-strap loom weaving. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch
Monday, December 8: After breakfast, we go back up the mountain to the village of Pinotepa de Don Luis to meet noted weavers who work with naturally dyed cotton. Here, we will see jicara gourd carvers who make jewelry and serving containers. We have lunch with Tixinda Cooperative members who are licensed to harvest the purple snail dye. In this village, the almost extinct caracol purpura snail is the traditional color accent for many textiles. Overnight in Pinotepa Nacional. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch
Tuesday, December 9: After breakfast, we return to Puerto Escondido, a two-and-a-half-hour van ride. The rest of the day is on your own to explore, relax, and pack. We meet in the early evening for our Grand Finale Dinner. Overnight in Puerto Escondido. Meals included: Breakfast and dinner.
Wednesday, December 10: Depart for home and arrive in plenty of time to prepare for the winter holidays. Meals included: None.
Note: We suggest you arrive a day early (your own hotel expense) to avoid any unforeseen winter flight delays, and stay later if you wish to enjoy the beach.
Your Oaxaca Cultural Navigator: Eric Chavez Santiago
Eric Chavez Santiago is a Oaxaca Cultural Navigator partner with Norma Schafer. He joined us in 2022. Eric is an expert in Oaxaca and Mexican textiles and folk art with a special interest in artisan development and promotion. He is a weaver and natural dyer by training and a fourth-generation member of a distinguished weaving family, the Fe y Lola textile group. He and his wife Elsa Sanchez Diaz started Taller Teñido a Mano dye studio where they produce naturally dyed yarn skeins and textiles for worldwide distribution. He is trilingual, speaking Zapotec, Spanish and English and is a native of Teotitlan del Valle. He is a graduate of Anahuac University, founder of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca education department, and former managing director of the Harp Helu Foundation folk-art gallery Andares del Arte Popular. He has intimate knowledge of local traditions, culture, and community and personally knows all the artisans we visit on this tour.
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator Founder Norma Schafer may participate in all or part of this tour.
We have invited a noted cultural anthropologist to travel with us. She did her thesis in a nearby textile village and has worked in the region for the past 15 years. She knows the textile culture and people intimately, too. Together, we learn about and discuss motifs, lifestyle, endangered species, quality, and value of direct support.
Some Vocabulary and Terms
Caracol Purpura
Coyuchi
Malacate
Indigo or Añil
Cochineal
Map of the Region
Who Should Attend
Explorers of indigenous cloth, native fibers
Collectors, curators, and cultural appreciators
Textile and fashion designers
Retailers, wholesalers, buyers
Weavers, embroiderers, dyers, and sewists
Photographers and artists who want inspiration
Anyone who loves cloth, culture, and collaboration
Policies — Reservations and Cancellations. A $500 non-refundable deposit will guarantee your place. The balance is due in two equal payments. The second payment of 50% of the balance is due on or before July 1, 2025. The third payment, 50% balance, is due on or before October 1, 2025. We accept payment using Zelle or a credit card. For a Zelle transfer, there is no service fee. We add a 4% service fee to use a credit card. We will send you a request for funds to make your deposit when you tell us you are ready to register. Registration Form.
After October 1, 2025, there are no refunds. If you cancel on or before October 1, 2025, we will refund 50% of your deposit received to date (less the $500 non-refundable deposit). After that, there are no refunds UNLESS we cancel for any reason. If we cancel, you will receive a full 100% refund.
Required–Travel Health/Accident Insurance: We require that you carry international accident/health insurance that includes $50,000+ of emergency medical evacuation insurance. Check out Forbes Magazine for best travel insurance options. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/travel-insurance/best-travel-insurance/
Proof of insurance must be sent at least 45 days before departure.
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Be certain your passport has at least six months on it before it expires from the date you enter Mexico! It’s a Mexico requirement.
Cost to Participate
$3,395 shared double room with private bath (sleeps 2)
$4,195 for a single supplement (private room and bath, sleeps 1)
Your Oaxaca Cultural Navigator: Eric Chavez Santiago
Eric Chavez Santiago is a Oaxaca Cultural Navigator partner with Norma Schafer. He joined us in 2022. Eric is an expert in Oaxaca and Mexican textiles and folk art with a special interest in artisan development and promotion. He is a weaver and natural dyer by training and a fourth-generation member of a distinguished weaving family, the Fe y Lola textile group. He and his wife Elsa Sanchez Diaz started Taller Teñido a Mano dye studio where they produce naturally dyed yarn skeins and textiles for worldwide distribution. He is trilingual, speaking Zapotec, Spanish and English and is a native of Teotitlan del Valle. He is a graduate of Anahuac University, founder of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca education department, and former managing director of the Harp Helu Foundation folk-art gallery Andares del Arte Popular. He has intimate knowledge of local traditions, culture, and community and personally knows all the artisans we visit on this tour.
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator Founder Norma Schafer may participate in all or part of this tour.
We have invited a noted cultural anthropologist to travel with us. She did her thesis in a nearby textile village and has worked in the region for the past 15 years. She knows the textile culture and people intimately, too. Together, we learn about and discuss motifs, lifestyle, endangered species, quality, and value of direct support.
Some Vocabulary and Terms
Who Should Attend
Explorers of indigenous cloth, native fibers; collectors, curators, and cultural appreciators; textile and fashion designers; retailers, wholesalers, buyers; weavers, embroiderers, dyers, and sewists; photographers and artists who want inspiration; anyone who loves cloth, culture, and collaboration
Full Registration Policies, Procedures and Cancellations– Please READ
Reservations and Cancellations. A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to guarantee your place. The balance is due in two equal payments. The second payment of 50% of the balance is due on or before June 1, 2025. The third payment, 50% balance, is due on or before September 1, 2025. We accept payment using a Zelle transfer or credit card. For a Zelle transfer, there is no service fee. We add a 4% service fee to use a credit card. We will send you a request for funds to make your deposit when you tell us you are ready to register.
After September 1, 2025, there are no refunds. If you cancel on or before September 1, 2024, we will refund 50% of your deposit received to date (less the $500 non-refundable deposit). After that, there are no refunds UNLESS we cancel for any reason. If we cancel, you will receive a full 100% refund.
Required–Travel Health/Accident Insurance: We require that you carry international accident/health insurance that includes $50,000+ of emergency medical evacuation insurance. Check out Forbes Magazine for best travel insurance options. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/travel-insurance/best-travel-insurance/ Please send proof of insurance at least 45 days before departure.
About COVID. Covid is still with us and new variants continue to arise. We recommend that you wear face masks on the plane and in crowded areas during your trip and after arrival. Please also bring COVID test kits with you just in case! We ask this to keep all travelers safe, and to protect indigenous populations who are at higher risk.
Be sure your passport has at least six months on it before it expires from the date you enter Mexico! It’s a Mexican requirement.
