Tepetes -My visit with Oaxaca's traditional rug weavers (Amy)

Back in March, before the rest of the family joined me, I took this incredible tour with En Via, a great organization specializing in micro-finance loans for Oaxacan women. The program requires three women working in partnership to apply for a loan. Each must have a business plan and make a commitment to one another to follow through with required payments.  These interest-free loans start small, but can grow to larger amounts after the first loan has been repaid.  One of the loan requirements: give three tours of their business to En Via travellers.  When one takes a tour, one's dollars go directly towards loans to women in their program.

 

On my tour, I visited two women that made “tepetes” (beautiful, traditional, colorful woven rugs) and another woman who spun and dyed the yarn that are used in tepetes. Their loan provided them the initial money to buy supplies so they could weave their own tepetes and keep all the profit, rather than weave for someone else and be underpaid for their labor.

The town we visited is named Teotitlan and is well-known for its tepetes. They were truly magnificent.  Here are a few photos.

This 6 year-old was born into a family of weavers. He proudly showed us the first rug he ever wove. It was clear he enjoyed being part of the process as he showed us how to grade a local grass for a yarn colorant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the boy's grandfather, showing me his loom.  He was very willing to pose for this picture.  He was a proud man and has been weaving all his life.

I love this photo. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of the woman who was the En Via participant but this is her son and her parents.

This woman lost her husband 3 years ago. The EnVia loan
helped her buy supplies to weave her own tepetes and sell
    them from her house.

She is demonstrating spinning the wool.  She was a truly beautiful woman.

This is a famous Diego Rivera painting.                                                                            Actually - It is a weaving done by the woman's husband in the photo above.  Spectacular!!

A common scene outside the town of Teotitlan: freshly spun and naturally-dyed wool drying in the sun. The dyes originate from minerals, insects, and plants, and have been used for many centuries.