All Products

$10 E - Gift Card - A Thread of Hope Guatemalan Fair Trade

Other

(0)

100% Bamboo Chenille Shawl

~~$119.00 USD~~ $89.00 USD

Abacus Beaded Earrings - Blues - A Thread of Hope Guatemalan Fair Trade

Creaciones Chonita, Santiago Atitlan

(0)

Abacus Beaded Earrings - Blues

$19.00 USD

Alligator Beaded Ornament - A Thread of Hope Guatemalan Fair Trade

Petronilla

(0)

Alligator Beaded Ornament

$14.00 USD

Alternative Gift: Donation to Build New Weavers' Workshop - A Thread of Hope Guatemalan Fair Trade

Building Goodness Foundation

(0)

Alternative Gift: Donation to Build New Weavers' Workshop

$0.00 USD

Click HERE to donate.

A Thread of Hope and Asociación Maya are working with Building Goodness Foundation (BGF) in Charlottesville VA to raise $500,000 to construct a new headquarters, showroom, and weaving center for the co-op. The co-op has already invested over $50,000 in purchasing the land and in architect and engineering fees, and has committed to invest another $50,000 in the project. Building Goodness is an impressive organization with great values and people.

The project will provide a safer, larger, facility where the co-op can:

have enough space to at least triple its production capacity and thus its ability to provide more well-paying work for its member weavers and other staff;
have an appealing space for a retail store, wholesale showroom, and education center, near an established tourist destination, thus increasing retail sales and overall earnings;
provide a lunchroom/presentation space for tour groups to have a traditional Guatemalan meal while learning more about the co-op and its community—weaving, the history of the co-op and its local communities, Guatemalan socioeconomic conditions, Mayan culture, and rural Mayan daily life. Through building a network of tourists who feel more connected to the co-op, the women hope to develop “friends of Asociación Maya” who will contribute to scholarships for their children and sponsor community development projects;
provide meeting space for indigenous women to participate in workshops about women’s health, healthy relationships, healing from trauma, medicinal herbs, co-ops, business management, and many other topics;
have room for tourists to participate in week-long hand-dyeing and backstrap loom weaving workshops while living on site with staff;
provide workers with a safe dormitory to avoid arduous daily commutes home; and
offer a safe, structurally sound, energy-efficient building for workers and customers.