March 23, 2017
TRAMA Textiles: a 100% worker-owned women’s weaving cooperative in Guatemala
TRAMA TEXTILES
TRAMA Textiles is a 100% worker-owned women’s weaving cooperative in Guatemala. TRAMA provides work for over 400 women and their families, across five regions in Guatemala’s Western highlands. We pay the women up front and in full for their work, and they are guaranteed a fair wage for what they produce. This means women in our communities can earn an income to support themselves and their families, in a region where paid work is hard to find.
"In 1988, after some of the most devastating years of Guatemala´s civil war, our association was formed. The civil war was a time when most of the men from our communities: our grandfathers, fathers, brothers and sons, disappeared.
During this difficult time, we came together in our communities, and decided to use our skills as weavers to support ourselves and our families, and formed the cooperative. The cooperative gave us a sense of purpose, and we started to work together to create new designs, choose colors, and dye and weave our textiles. Little by little, we began to grow stronger and started to look towards a better future."
“When the association started, it was a really nice thing. As we got busy, the women began to forget about the war… Little by little, things started to change.”
We are beyond thrilled and excited to release our first collection with TRAMA! We named the collection after TRAMA founders. For us here at Teysha, it makes us happier than ever to be able to support not only a worker-owned cooperative, but a WOMEN'S one at that!
La Oralia
La Isabela
La Amparo
