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the lovely ms. kenji, magical in so many ways. shaman, healer, trainer, tradition-keeper. her knowledge of ancient kyrgyz symbols + motifs runs deep, passed down through her matrilineal line. the youngest of 15 children, her mother had a vision in a dream and chose her from amongst her siblings to be the carrier of the most sacred of the family’s ancestral gifts. a treat to spend the day with her, translating patterns and developing new ones for pieces to come…
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since plans for this trip to chiapas first began to take root some months back, one of the aspects i had been most eagerly anticipating was the opportunity to visit + spend time with the ladies from el camino de los altos - an association of 130 mayan weavers working together to preserve their ancestral art and to improve their social + economic conditions.
el camino de los altos is the realization of a seed first planted in 1996, when french textile designer véronique (véro) tesseraud began to work with women from different communities in the region, recruiting a cadre of long-time friends from home to pull forces with her on a volunteer basis, collaborating with the indigenous women around a collection of high-quality pieces based on pre-columbian textile traditions and techniques.
the association, which was born in 2009, is a cooperative formed of women from 5 local municipalities, each with their own distinct textile traditions. home base for the association is a new center here in san cristobal - a truly lovely space where the women can come to share ideas, learn new skills (both artistic and entrepreneurial), and participate in all aspects of the process of bringing their products to new markets.
the center/workshops feels very much like a place where magic happens. throughout the grounds, there is a sense of the real respect that the indian weavers and the french designers have for one another’s expertise. it’s not an easy balance to strike, and it’s a tremendous accomplishment, what the team + the mayan women are building together – a model of true collaboration. decisions are made collectively, and the women set the pricing for their pieces.
i’m super enthusiastic about developing l’aviva home’s relationship with el camino in the coming months. i’ll be writing more about the association, their position in the community, and the larger context of the evolving textile tradition in chiapas soon - there’s so very much to share.
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time spent in chiapas thus far has been phenomenal - due, in no small part, to us having the super opportunity to spend time with the incredibly knowledgable and engaging chip morris. there may truly be no one as learned on - and passionate about - the local textile traditions and their ever-evolving place in the local culture.
chip’s brand new book, a textile guide to the highlands of chiapas, is only available here in mexico at this time. we’ve arranged, though, with the local publishers, to have a selection of the books available for purchase to u.s. customers via l’aviva home.
if you would like to receive a (signed!) copy, please email studio@lavivahome.com no later than sunday eve, and we’ll respond with payment details. the price is $45 + $15 shipping.
(chip’s prior book, living maya, is also available for purchase via amazon).