A Thread of Hope
Guatemalan Fair Trade
Meaningful, and Useful Crafts
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Over 1,000 Different Beautiful,
A Thread of Hope
Guatemalan Fair Trade
and Fairly Traded!
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All Handmade by Indigenous Artisans in Guatemala
Handmade by Maya Artisans and Fairly-Traded–Gifts that Give Twice!
OVER 1000 different products, ready to ship from MA! We usually ship in 1-7 days by USPS First Class or Priority Mail. Some items will ship from UPAVIM in Colorado.
Tuik Ruch Lew (TRL) is a grassroots Guatemalan non-profit with the mission to implement sustainable solutions to the environmental, health and well-being challenges that threaten the livelihood of the Maya and the other inhabitants that make up the population living in the Lake Atitlán basin. We envision a thriving Lake Atitlán basin free of air pollution, with forest biodiversity, clean water and empowered communities for a prosperous, sustainable and healthy life.
HOW IS TRL HELPING?
Tuik Ruch Lew operates two projects to improve the lives of Tz’utujil community members by reducing poverty, improving health outcomes, and protecting local ecosystems: (1) The Improved Cookstove (ICS) Project, which promotes the use of ONIL energy-efficient, clean-burning cookstoves, (2) The provision of British Berkefeld water filters to enable access to safe drinking water and minimize pollution from single-use plastics. All projects include an environmental education component, empowering beneficiaries to better understand the environmental challenges threatening Lake Atitlán and to lead local efforts to combat climate change.
Tuik Ruch Lew’s mostly Maya staff maintains a commitment to the community’s indigenous culture. Tuik Ruch Lew works within the framework of an impoverished and semi-illiterate community. Successful partnership with local stakeholders enables Tuik Ruch Lew to help conserve the ecosystems surrounding the Lake.
Tz’utu Kan is a Maya Tz’utujil hip-hop artist and cultural ambassador and advocate whose home and cultural center, Casa Kan, was burned down in April 2020, likely by arson. a on o