Corazon de Mujer....Guatemala

My old chum Sir Hubert Egg sent me this photograph, one he took on a recent trip to Guatemala, where he toured the country alongside a group of students from Shandon Presbyterian Church. These women have formed a weaving cooperative called Corazon de Mujer, and they make beautiful scarves and shawls in their country's tradition.

Sir Hubert wrote me:
The woman who is second from the left told us of her life with Corazon de Mujer. In the early 80s, soldiers (I’m assuming the right wing coalition) came into her village and destroyed it. She, her husband, and three children were able to escape but were separated. If she did not find her husband, her life in Guatemala would be hell. She considered suicide but found out her husband was alive. After they were reunited, she decided that life for herself and her daughter would be different. They would liberate themselves. She found out about the self-sustaining opportunity of Corazon de Mujer, and through them, has educated herself and her daughter. We were told this story through an interpreter, of course, but all of these women have similar experiences. Their office is a rundown concrete building in a poor neighborhood. But the work that comes from them is vibrant and free, just as they are now.

If you would like to see their work, learn more about traditional Guatemalan weaving, or perhaps even purchase an item, you may do so at this website: corazonscarves.com