Tag Archives: weaving

Textile Tour in Oaxaca, Mexico, December 2024

Join us in Oaxaca from December 6 to 14, 2024, for a spectacular insider’s view of the textile culture and history of this World Heritage colonial city. We have created this experience in collaboration with Fiber Circle Studio in Petaluma, California, and owner founder Alisha Bright. Lots of touring plus hands-on workshops to keep you excited and engaged in the weaving and textile culture.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

  • Visit to artisan studios in Teotitlan del Valle including silk and tapestry weavers
  • Participate in a two-day natural dye workshop
  • Learn or enhance your skills in a two-day tapestry weaving workshop
  • Travel to the mountain village of Chichicapam for a one-day spinning workshop
  • Discover key sights – Hierve el Agua, and El Tule, a 3,000 year old cypress tree
  • Visit important museums and shops
  • Wander the Sunday tianguis at the Tlacolula Market, a confluence of art, craft and more
  • Meet a red clay potter in her famous ceramics studio
  • Experience Virgin of Guadalupe parades in downtown Oaxaca
  • Show & tell your work, share your experience with the group
  • Enjoy a grand finale dinner with our group and leaders

Read more details here!

(No prior weaving or dyeing experience is necessary. This is open and valuable to all levels of fiber artists and fiber admirers.)

DAY 1 | Arrive, settle in & welcome! –December 6, 2024

Arrive, travel to Teotitlan del Valle on your own, at your own expense. We will provide directions from the airport. Box supper available upon check-in at our upscale bed and breakfast inn. Overnight in Teotitlan del Valle.

DAY 2 | Introduction, visit weaving cooperatives, begin dye workshop — December 7, 2024

Breakfast, introduction to the textile culture of Oaxaca with a presentation. Morning excursion to 3 cooperatives and workshops to meet weavers in Teotitlan del Valle who create tapestries, clothing, and handbags. After lunch, we will meet at the dye studio and begin the process to create naturally dyed skeins of wool. Dinner will be at our bed and breakfast inn. Overnight in Teotitlan del Valle.

About the Natural Dye Workshop: Participants will dye an assortment of colors using various plants and overdyed techniques. Participants will dye 15 wool skeins of 100 grams, with enough colors and materials to weave a small sampler on our weaving day.

DAY 3 | Natural dye workshop – 15 colors; 15 skeins of wool — December 8, 2024

Breakfast. Visit the Tlacolula market. Lunch at local comedor. We’ll resume the natural dye workshop to dye skeins of wool exploring locally sourced plant materials of indigo, pomegranate, wild marigold, plus cochineal. The workshop will cover chemistry in dye preparation and techniques for over-dyeing. Box supper at dye studio. Overnight in Teotitlan del Valle.

DAY 4 | Spinning workshop, dip in the waters of Hierve el Agua — December 9, 2024

Breakfast. Excursion to Chichicapam to meet a family of spinners who work with only the finest quality Churro sheep wool. We will have an opportunity to spin yarn using the drop-spindle (malacate) and purchase handspun yarn. Visit to Hierve el Agua. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Teotitlan del Valle.

DAY 5 | Weaving workshop, ceramics studio — December 10, 2024

Breakfast. Morning weaving workshop – we’ll be working on a frame loom that will produce a sampler or wall hanging approximately 10” x 18” using the yarns prepared during the natural dye workshop. Lunch at the weaving studio. Afternoon excursion to ceramics village of San Marcos Tlapazola. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Teotitlan del Valle.

DAY 6 | Weaving workshop, visit El Tule, head to la ciudad de Oaxaca, optional Mezcal tastings! December 11, 2024

Breakfast. Morning weaving workshop to continue working on and finishing projects. Lunch at a local comedor. Excursion to El Tule to see the ancient cypress tree and visit flying shuttle loom weaver. Dinner at Oaxaca Te Amo. Overnight in Oaxaca City. We will provide suggestions for anyone who wants to do Mezcal tastings.

DAY 7 | Textile museum and shops, Virgin de Guadalupe parades — December 12, 2024

Breakfast. Morning guided walking tour of Oaxaca textile museum and important shops. Lunch on your own and opportunity to see Virgin of Guadalupe parades in El Centro. Dinner on your own. Overnight in Oaxaca City.

DAY 8 | Show & tell, wander the city, final dinner — December 13, 2024

Breakfast. Discussion of community, culture, textiles, show and tell of weaving samplers. Lunch and afternoon on your own. Gala Grand Finale Dinner. Overnight in Oaxaca City.

DAY 9 | Hasta luego! — December 14, 2024

Breakfast. Depart on flights home from Oaxaca airport. We will help arrange taxi transportation at your own expense.

PRICING

  • $4,295 (per person/double occupancy)
  • $4,995 (per person/single occupancy)

REGISTER

  1. Please download this form, complete it and return it by email to norma.schafer@icloud.com 
  2. A $500 non-refundable deposit will reserve your space – you will receive an invoice after your registration form is received. The remaining balance will be due on August 1, 2024. 
  3. PLEASE TELL US YOU ARE REGISTERING DIRECTLY WITH OAXACA CULTURAL NAVIGATOR

CANCELLATION POLICY

For cancellations made on or before August 1, 2024, we will honor a 50% refund. Any cancellations after August 1, 2024, will not qualify for a refund. Details of the cancellation policy can be found here.

Read more details here!

Traveling in Chiapas: Charmed, I’m Sure

My friend Chris Clark writes a blog called Color in the Streets, and just reported on her recent trip to Chiapas with us in February 2024. Chris lives in Ajijic, on Lake Chapala, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. She talks about how this was a dream come true trip that she had wanted to go on with us since moving to Mexico almost six years ago.

I met Chris when we were both living in North Carolina and we became instant friends. She is selling her home in Ajijic and returning there to be with family and friends since her partner Ben died almost two years ago. Anyone want a beautiful home with lake view, casita and pool?

Chris offers us an in-depth, deep dive into San Cristobal de las Casas, a Spanish colonial Pueblo Magico that is in the highlands and our base during our exploration of textile villages and markets. Chris covers it all: restaurants and delicious food, recommended books that explore the weaving culture and techniques, and the mish-mash Santo Domingo market where you can find anything from high quality amber and textiles to imported schlock from China.

The tour is really an educational immersion for every traveler to be able to identify quality work and fair prices, as well as to meet makers where they live and work. What Chris does is give us her personal impressions of the experience. This includes a discussion about cultural appropriation and contrasting this with what it means to wear indigenous made clothing that we call cultural appreciation.

I hope you have a chance to read Chris’ blog and look at her exceptional photos. If you want to come with us to Chiapas in 2026, please sent us an email expressing your interest. We are building a list of people to give first notice.

Click here for Color in the Streets Blog

Xi-Guia: Making Handbags in Teotitlán del Valle

I spent the morning with Estela Montaño and Edith Montaño Martínez at their home and workshop in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca. Xi-Guía is the name of the town in Zapteco, the indigenous language here. We were filling out a grant application to WARP (Weave a Real Peace). They needed my help since they are not native Spanish writers, they don’t speak or write English, and their education did not take them beyond elementary and middle school.

Despite limited opportunities, these are very talented weavers and seamstresses, and they established a cooperative of twelve women fifteen years ago. They adapted traditional rug weaving done by men to weave small size tapestries. These are then sewn into beautiful handbags of all sizes, from coin purses to back-packs and overnight bags, using industrial strength sewing machines and old Singer treadles.

When I found them over ten years ago, what I noticed first was the quality of construction: the tightness of weave, the impeccably sewn lining with two pouches, the zippered closure, and the securely fastened fine grain leather straps. The colors they use are derived from natural plants and cochineal. These bags are built to last a lifetime! It’s true.

When I sat with them today, we talked in depth about what it takes to operate their business and what they would accomplish if they were to get funding from WARP. We set about creating a budget for their request, and a justification for support. But, in the process, what I discovered was they are not charging enough per bag to cover their costs–labor and materials.

Each weaver is getting paid about $3 USD per hour — hardly a living wage. Their materials expense includes wool, dye materials (indigo and cochineal costs upwards of $300USD per kilo, a 40% increase in the last two years), fabric for linings, zippers, leather, and metal hooks and grommets. It takes about 20 hours to make one bag, start to finish.

So, I ran through the numbers with them and we determined that their actual costs to make a large bag is 2,198 pesos, not the 1,400 pesos they have been charging, and this does NOT include even a small mark-up. It’s no wonder they have no reserve to reinvest in materials and why they need support. I have counseled them to raise prices to cover costs, plus make a small profit.

I have also asked them to consider how to find more venues where they can sell directly. In addition to selling from their home, where they get occasional visitors, they sell to three galleries in Oaxaca City. However, each one asks them to sell the 1,400 pesos bag at a wholesale price of 920 pesos. If they try to negotiate, the gallery managers will tell them they will invite other artisans who will sell for less. In addition, if they agree for tour operators to bring people to them, the operators charge a 30-50% commission on any sales.

Their workshop is usually on our Tlacolula Valley Folk Art Tour, and because the quality of what they make is extraordinary (and, they are very good people), we try to include them whenever we can.

Many visitors still come to Oaxaca hoping to score a bargain, even when pieces are priced fairly for the amount of work and quality that goes into making them. Today, I was astounded that my friends have been working so long and they are paying to keep their business going out of pocket, never receiving any financial counseling, and caring more about making something beautiful.

We talked about justice and setting a price that is just for them — in other words, we talked about fair trade — what is fair for the maker and what is fair for the customer. Such an important topic now.

Deep Into the Mixteca Alta: Oaxaca Textile + Folk Art Study Tour 2025

5 nights, 6 days, March 12-17, 2025 — Starting and ending in Oaxaca City

We go deep into the Mixteca Alta, a mountainous region of the Sierra Madre del Sur in the north of Oaxaca state that is situated between the capital city and the Oaxaca coast. This area is home to Mixtec-speaking and Triqui speaking peoples. Here, we will explore these pueblos located about six hours northwest of the city. We will meet the makers of amazing handcrafts including textiles, ceramics, and palm weaving. This destination is far off-the-beaten-path where tourists don’t usually travel. Nestled in the folds of the mountain range are villages that are still making utilitarian and beautiful objects just as they have for centuries.

Wintering in Oaxaca? Wrap up your stay with this adventure into the Mixteca Alta!

We are going to an important Oaxaca source for basket weaving, back-strap loom weaving, silk cultivation, and pottery. We invite you to round out your knowledge of Oaxaca beyond the central valleys of the Zapotec capital to learn more about two of the 16 diverse indigenous groups that inhabit the state: Mixteco and Triqui.

Our road into the mountains will be winding and there are distances to travel. Some days, we may be in the van for several hours. We will walk towns and markets, traverse some hilly areas by foot, and ask that you be travel-ready with stamina for a road trip and an unparalleled adventure.

The Preliminary Daily Schedule

Day 1, Wednesday, March 12: Arrive in Oaxaca city, lodging in the city for one night. Overnight: Oaxaca City.  Meals included: none.

Day 2, Thursday, March 13: Today, we get on the road to visit Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan and learn about its history. This imposing structure was built by Indigenous slave labor just 20 years after the conquest in the 16th Century by the Dominican order atop an important Mixtec temple site – trading center, religious and cultural hub for the region to establish control. Then we make a stop to visit an innovative potter nearby who participates in the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

Next, we meet a local Tonaltepec guide Tomasa Bautista who is an expert in the region’s geology. She explains the research importance of the Mixteca Alta Geopark, considered to be the most geologically complex region of Mexico, to conserve and protect the environment. This community project is part of the UNESCO Global Geopark system and showcases the biodiversity and amazing landscape formed by erosion and layers of million-year-old rocks caused by the interaction between nature and society. We lunch with a local family who shows us the pottery the town is famous for.

Here, amid this beautiful landscape we find a workshop of traditional potters in the town of Tonaltepec that use natural fermentation inks from barks of the local trees to create a special decoration on the pottery pieces made here. Lunch with the family. Overnight in Tlaxiaco. Meals included: Breakfast, lunch.

Day 3, Friday, March 14: Come with us to San Pablo Tijaltepec to meet a collective of embroiderers who we met at the national expoventa ORIGINAL. They specialize in the technique of smocking — pepenado — that produces whimsical figures depicting wildlife and barnyard animals on the bodice design. After lunch with this group, we travel on to San Mateo Peñasco, where we will learn about the silk production. The town traditionally supplies cultivated silk to the coastal weavers of the Mixteca Baja. Silk, a protein-based fiber, absorbs cochineal, caracol purpura and indigo like none other! Overnight in Tlaxiaco. Meals included: Breakfast, lunch.

Day 4: Saturday, March 15: This is market day in Tlaxiaco and we will get there early, right after breakfast. This is the largest market of the region, where artisans come to sell palm weavings, textiles, leather work and ceramics. After wandering the market and lunch, we travel to the Triqui village of San Andres Chicahuaxtla, where we will meet a cooperative of weavers who specialize in supplementary weft and very fine gauze weaving techniques on a back strap loom. On our way back to Tlaxiaco, we stop in Santa Maria Cuquila to meet a cooperative of Mixtec weavers who specialize in creating traditional huipiles on back strap looms. Overnight: Tlaxiaco. Meals included: Breakfast and lunch.

Day 5, Sunday, March 16: After breakfast, we briefly visit the Tlaxiaco town market, make a stop in Nochixtlan for lunch, then return to Oaxaca city where you will have the afternoon on your own. Gather in the evening for a Gala Grand Finale Dinner at one of the city’s most outstanding restaurants. Overnight: Oaxaca City. Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 6. Monday, March 17: Return to your home countries or extend your trip in Oaxaca on your own. Travel Day. Meals included: None

Note: Schedule is preliminary and is subject to change throughout our tour, depending on artisan availability, etc.

For more detailed reading about the experience, please read:

What Is Included

  • 5 nights lodging
  • 4 breakfasts
  • 4 lunches
  • Grand Finale Gala Dinner in Oaxaca City
  • Museum and park entry fees
  • Luxury van transportation
  • Complete guide and translation services

The tour does NOT include airfare, taxes, tips, travel insurance, liquor or alcoholic beverages, some meals, and local transportation as specified in the itinerary. We reserve the right to substitute artisans, guides, and alter the program as needed.

Cost • $2,395 double room with private bath (sleeps 2) • $2,995 single room with private bath (sleeps 1)

How to Register:  First, complete the Registration Form and send it to us and tell us which payment method you want to use to make your deposit: Zelle (no fee) or credit card (4% fee). See below.

To Register, Policies, Procedures & Cancellations–Please Read

Reservations and Cancellations.  A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to guarantee your spot. The balance is due in two equal payments. The second payment of 50% of the balance is due on or before September 15, 2024. The third 50% payment of the balance is due on or before December 1, 2025. We accept payment using a Zelle transfer (no fees) or a credit card (4% service fee). When you complete the registration form and send it to us, we will send you a request for deposit. After December 1, 2024, there are no refunds. If you cancel on or before December 1, 2024 we will refund 50% of your deposit received to date less the $500 non-refundable reservation deposit. After that, there are no refunds.

If we cancel for whatever reason, we will offer a 100% refund of all amounts received to date, less the non-refundable deposit.

All documentation for plane reservations, required travel insurance, and personal health issues must be received 45 days before the program start or we reserve the right to cancel your registration without reimbursement.

NOTE:  If you have walking impediments or you rely on other travelers for personal assistance, then this is not the trip for you. Oaxaca city is close to 6,000 feet altitude. We travel to villages that are 7,500 feet altitude. For altitude or motion sickness, please consult your doctor and come prepared with adequate medications. All travelers must provide proof of vaccination for COVID-19 and bring two antigen testing kits to test along the way.

How to Register:  First, complete the Registration Form and send it to us. We will then send you a request to make your reservation deposit.

To Register, Policies, Procedures & Cancellations–Please Read

Terrain, Walking and Group Courtesy: The Mixteca Alta is 7,500 feet high. To get there, one must ascend secondary roads that are paved yet winding. We will do some walking in the villages. If you have motion sickness, please bring medication and ginger chews. We rotate seating on the van to give everyone a chance to sit up front! We recommend you bring a walking stick and wear sturdy shoes.

Traveling with a small group has its advantages, and also means that independent travelers will need to make accommodations to group needs and schedule. We include plenty of free time to go off on your own if you wish.

In the Triqui Village of Chicahuaxtla, Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca

Our friend Shuko Clouse captures the essential emotion and experience of being in the Triqui village of San Andres Chicahuaxtla in the Mixteca Alta as she traveled with us this past weekend on a textile exploration seven hours beyond the city of Oaxaca. She writes a blog called Our Universe that is part of her Mano del Sur folk art site.

I encourage you to read it. It is a heartfelt expression for the Mixtec people, the textiles they make and the meaning in the cloth.

https://manodelsur.com/blog/our-universe/

The Mixteca Alta is characterized by eight thousand foot mountain ranges, pine forests, winding roads, and remote villages where women create traditional textiles on back strap looms. Here subsistence farming — raising corn, squash and beans — is the work of men, who have difficulty making enough money to sustain their families. This region has one of the highest rates of people in Mexico who migrate to the United States in search of employment. Many women are left to carve out a living to support their children alone in dire economic conditions.

Yet, the textiles they create are stunning examples of cultural heritage, pride, and commitment to their people. It takes as long as one year to weave this complex huipil that is symbolic of the Triqui people.

Here are a few photos to tempt you to come with us March 12-18, 2025. Write to tell us you are interested in participating.

Note: We are educators who guide you into villages to introduce you to the people with whom we have relationships. We give you cultural context and insights into not only the meaning behind the textiles, but identity, language, economics and way of life. Come with us to go deep, not wide.

The original Triqui huipil design was white and blue and dates back to 1875-1890. The red and white and multi-colors came after the Industrial Revolution with the introduction of synthetic dyes. The counting of threads today is exactly like they were then, made with hand-spun cotton.

We visit with Otelia and Yatali in their home and weaving workshop high up the mountain in a remote region where tourists rarely go. They have researched ancient designs and incorporate them into their cloth. Yatali went to Mexico City to study for a masters degree in textile engineering. She came back to her village because she has a deep attachment to her culture, is an innovator, and has continued the family tradition of being a textile activist. They have a small cooperative that is making marketable pieces like shawls, napkins, tablecloths, and throws for collectors and appreciators of their cloth.

They are also experimenting with natural dyes and are using Brazil wood, indigo, wood bark, and wild marigold to create a softer color palette.