Maria: Mayan Textile Artist of Guatemala

Maria is quiet, humble and beautiful with her carmel colored skin and the high cheekbones of her Mayan heritage. The textile she brought out of her hut to show Finding Freedom board members was made of tightly woven blues and black colors with a sparkle of silver thread; the quality was some of the best we’ve come across during our trips to Guatemala. It takes Maria, a widowed mother of four,  a month to produce two yards of this brilliance. For her labor as a textile artist, she earns twenty dollars. Food staples to feed her family for a month, purchased in the local market cost four times more than her artwork generates.

An educated American woman might find it difficult to understand the limitations that a lack of literacy imposes. In Maria’s case, not being able to read or write, compute math or understand the formal markets outside of the remote village she has never left, being illiterate means that she works many hours on a dirt floor weaving fabric that sells for pennies on the hour.

Because she can’t drive, speak Spanish or bargain directly with buyers, her work falls into the hands of local men who make a living consigning weaving from Guatemalan villagers. Maria is a skilled artisan who will never profit in any economically self-sufficient way from her craft.

The talent that she has for weaving and the diligence Maria demonstrates in trying to provide for her children will go unrecognized as she sits attached to a backstrap loom, weaving one thread at a time into fabrics of hope. Working with this talented and humble artist to help her  obtain a fair-trade price for her work is one small way to make a significant difference in the life of this Mayan Mama.