The co-op hand-dyes all their yarn, creating beautiful, unique weavings sold worldwide. 
180 Maya women backstrap loom weavers from 5 rural indigenous communities are the co-op’s members. 
A render of part of the building design. 
Young women who served on the co-op’s board of directors in recent years.
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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.
Check out this video and this video from one of Building Goodness Foundation’s site visits to the co-op.
This video includes an interview with the architect.
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