The Zapotecs were already weaving cotton and when the Spanish got here wool was introduced. Just like in China, taxes were paid with bundles of loomed cloth. Every 3 months a family gave 400 bundles of embroidered cotton and 800 loads of loomed cotton. We set off today to see a town that has existed as a sacred place for over 2,000 years. The town has poverty but also some millionaires because decorators and even "Pier 1" has commissioned rugs from the weavers. Woman here set up a co-op to keep the commissions made to themselves. They learned how to apply for permits, run a business and be in charge.
Designs are traditional and modern, As any good artist knows you have to get the right images for the right market. To get to this point, you need...
to card the wall and wash it well.
This dye is made from fermented walnut bark. It ferments for a week, then boiled to just the right temperature. After that, the liquid from the fermented bark is added, then the spun wool.
This ladies' co-op had this traditional pedal loom and a back strap loom (I couldn't get a pic).
NOW LUNCH! We came to the home of a family that was know to this week's professor, Dr. Lynn Stephen an anthropologist. She lived with these people years ago and has had some of the town's children–she has 10 god-children here–come to school in Oregon (she works at the Univ. of Oregon). This abuela is making sauce for our lunch...
her daughter is making tortillas (two at a time on the press) for our quesadillas which were filled with queso (cheese) and squash blossom flowers...
yes here is the kitchen. Everyone lives outdoors all year long. There is nothing but a corrugated tin roof overhead and no walls. Sopa (soup) is in the big pot in front, it's made from green vegetables with some kind of root vegetable in it. Delicioso!
Here's part of our group, about 8 people had to sit at another table behind me. The rugs made in this family are hanging on the walls behind. They cost $750 to $1,500 pesos ($50 to $120US) THINK, hand-carded, hand-spun, hand-dyed, hand-woven for what only $120 US?
OK Now we get to eat---mole (chocolate, spices etc.) on your chicken and rice. I ate everything.
When we got on the bus and it was time to wave good-bye to our gracious hosts, this young man was coaxing a reluctant donkey loaded with sugar cane down the road.
The Zapotecs were already weaving cotton and when the Spanish got here wool was introduced. Just like in China, taxes were paid with bundles of loomed cloth. Every 3 months a family gave 400 bundles of embroidered cotton and 800 loads of loomed cotton. We set off today to see a town that has existed as a sacred place for over 2,000 years. The town has poverty but also some millionaires because decorators and even "Pier 1" has commissioned rugs from the weavers. Woman here set up a co-op to keep the commissions made to themselves. They learned how to apply for permits, run a business and be in charge.
Designs are traditional and modern, As any good artist knows you have to get the right images for the right market. To get to this point, you need...
to card the wall and wash it well.
This dye is made from fermented walnut bark. It ferments for a week, then boiled to just the right temperature. After that, the liquid from the fermented bark is added, then the spun wool.
This ladies' co-op had this traditional pedal loom and a back strap loom (I couldn't get a pic).
NOW LUNCH! We came to the home of a family that was know to this week's professor, Dr. Lynn Stephen an anthropologist. She lived with these people years ago and has had some of the town's children–she has 10 god-children here–come to school in Oregon (she works at the Univ. of Oregon). This abuela is making sauce for our lunch...
her daughter is making tortillas (two at a time on the press) for our quesadillas which were filled with queso (cheese) and squash blossom flowers...
yes here is the kitchen. Everyone lives outdoors all year long. There is nothing but a corrugated tin roof overhead and no walls. Sopa (soup) is in the big pot in front, it's made from green vegetables with some kind of root vegetable in it. Delicioso!
Here's part of our group, about 8 people had to sit at another table behind me. The rugs made in this family are hanging on the walls behind. They cost $750 to $1,500 pesos ($50 to $120US) THINK, hand-carded, hand-spun, hand-dyed, hand-woven for what only $120 US?
OK Now we get to eat---mole (chocolate, spices etc.) on your chicken and rice. I ate everything.
When we got on the bus and it was time to wave good-bye to our gracious hosts, this young man was coaxing a reluctant donkey loaded with sugar cane down the road.
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The posts on this blog show the process experienced for a trip to Oaxaca México.