Mayan Hands Dye Project

 

    When I was invited to design a towel for the Mayan Hands Dye Project I joined a team of people who have generously donated time, energy, and technical expertise to help a group of women committed to learning and perfecting the natural dye process.  Together, for over five years, they have worked to make the potentially life-changing project a reality.

    The publication of Deborah Chandler's article about the project in the most recent issue of Handwoven magazine (Sept/Oct 2014) and my accompanying towel design has sparked the hoped-for response. The first batch of kits sold out quickly, and Cotton Clouds (all proceeds benefit the Guatemalan dyers) has a waiting list for the next batch which is scheduled to arrive soon from Guatemala. Please contact Cotton Clouds to be added to the list.

    To say the enthusiastic reception has been affirming and inspiring for the women on the dye team is an understatement. The money they have earned is not just more than what they typically earn; because there is little or no work for them otherwise, the income from the kits is all they are earning. 

    In an earlier post I wrote that the dye project was done in collaboration with WARP when Mayan Hands is, in fact, an independent member organization of WARP. Founded by Guatemalans Brenda and Fredy Rosenbaum in 1989, Mayan Hands is a fair trade organization whose mission is to assist women in their quest to rise from poverty by giving a “hand up,” not a “handout”.

    More about the towel design: The huckaback block design first appeared in Handwoven in 1985 in towels known as "friendship towels".  My design is a variation of the original, but the name still fits, perfectly appropriate to describe the affiliation between the weavers who are learning the dye process and those who appreciate their artistry and reach out in friendship and support.

    It is my hope that the design of the towels honors the efforts of all of those involved in the Dye Project. I hope, too, that weaving the towels will prompt a deeper appreciation of the connections and the friendships we forge through our love of weaving.

    One of the team members who deserves special thanks is Rocío Mena Gutierrez.
She provided " information, nudging, inspiration, dedication, fun, and a will to push hard when everyone was tired." (quote, Deborah Chandler). For a fascinating look at Rocio's time in Guatemala with the dyers and their families please read her blog:   http://naturaldyeproject.wordpress.com/

Mayan Hands, Dye Project

One of the projects I've been working on since last summer is a collaboration with Weave a Real Peace; WARP. The organization is best described on their website:

"WARP serves as a catalyst for improving the quality of life of weavers and textile artisans in communities-in-need.  We provide information and networking opportunities to individuals and organizations who value the social, cultural, historic, and artistic importance of textiles around
the world.

Weave a Real Peace (WARP) is a networking organization of weavers, academics, and interested supporters who value the importance of textiles to communities around the world.

Founded in 1992, WARP has members from across the United States, Canada, Central and South American, Europe, Africa, and Asia.  A newsletter is published quarterly telling of weaving, spinning, and dye cooperatives and other member projects from around the world. Once a year we come together for an annual meeting somewhere in the United States in a place rich in regional textile resources or history."

One of the WARP organizations is Mayan Hands:  "...a small fair trade organization which works with more than two hundred women organized in twelve different cooperative groups. These talented weavers produce beautiful, high quality textiles which Mayan Hands is proud to market."  

The project I'm working on is for a subgroup of Mayan Hands that involves approximately two dozen women who are learning the natural dye process for yarn using materials such as indigo, madder, cochineal, and logwood. Eight or so individuals, from the United States and from Guatemala, are working together to aid in teaching and perfecting the dye process. My role in the project is the design of kitchen towels which will be sold as kits via Cotton Clouds.

To begin, I wove two color gamps to see how the various colors would interact. One of them is shown here:

From the color gamp I chose five colors for the warp in the towel sample. The dyes used (left to right in the photo below) are osage orange, madder, cochineal, osage orange with indigo, and indigo.

I wove them in a twill variation (4 harness) with an additional three colors for the weft; eight total. It's always fun to see what happens when one color crosses another, and often totally surprising.

I also wove a small sample with some of the lighter test colors that are being considered for another kit. I think these colors are lovely and would appeal to many weavers.

I'm waiting for a final decision about which colors will be offered in kit form; then I can weave the towels!

Via email, it has been a great pleasure to get to know Deborah Chandler, founder of WARP, and to be a part of the conversations between her and the team working on this project. I'm honored to be part of such a worthy project.