As you might know, La Cotonnerie imports different textile products from Guatemala such as handmade cushion covers and blankets. These items are made of 100% cotton using traditional techniques and are crafted by skilled artisans. These products are unique and reflect the rich cultural heritage of Guatemala. By importing these products, La Cotonnerie is not only helping to preserve traditional art forms but is also providing a market for these artisans to sell their products and earn a fair wage. We wanted to introduce one of the weavers we are working with. We hope you will enjoy the interview!
Can you introduce yourself shortly?
My name is Lidia and I am from San Juan Comalpa, in the Department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. I have seven kids: five daughters and two sons. Five of them are married. I am a widow.
Since when do you weave and how did you learn?
I weave since I am a kid. I started when I was 8 years old, as in my community we weave our own clothes and huipil. I learned by looking at other women weaving and my sister also taught me, as I grew up without my parents.
What do you mostly weave and how long does it take?
It depends on the design and on what the person wants or needs. Also, it depends on the type of fabric. However, some projects can take weeks, months or years, if it is a huipil.
Do you use natural dye?
Yes, we use natural tinted cotton threads.
How important and what impact does weaving have in your life? Can you make a living from it or do you need a side job?
We live from that job. Thanks to weaving, we can give everything to our children. It is a secondary job, when there are not many orders. But, when we receive orders, we can make ends meet just with this job.
Your products are sold in several countries around the world. How does that make you feel?
Happy! Because if we sell a lot of our products, we can be happy, as we can see that people like our job.
Is weaving something that only women do?
Yes, just women weave. Men do other kinds of jobs, such as cultivating, working as masons, as carpenters, bus drivers… All these are their jobs.
How important is weaving in your community? Is that something that is done alone or do women gather to work?
It is very important and it is a pleasure to share our pieces and our knowledge related to weaving. Women work alone in this job in their houses, but we get together to discuss the designs, the colors to use, etc.
Is weaving something that you want to transmit to your children? Are they interested in learning this craft?
Yes, it is a benefit for our children because there is money thanks to the job and so weaving helps us. Now, my children are studying. But my daughters also weave, because it is the tradition in our community.
Very often on cushion covers for instance, there are animals represented. How important is Nature for you? What is your relation with Nature?
It is possible to weave characters, animals, birds, roses… anything. However, the Nature is very important, we learn from her. For instance, to sit in a blade of grass and weave there is very joyful. The mind clears itself and some bring their animals to feed in the nature while weaving in their company.
