As was the case with our first group, Ajkem’a Loy’a, in San Lucas Toliman, this summer we have experienced our bit of small-town gossip, envy, and jealousy, and a translation of the personal into the professional as the women’s groups in Santiago Zamora have been created, dissolved, and reconfigured to … Continued

On Friday, during our first meeting in Santiago Zamora we briefly discussed with the cooperative that they need to be strategic about what they make in terms of pricing. As an example, we used a long belt they were weaving (they traditionally use a backstrap loom woven belt/sash to tie … Continued

During the spring semester course at Parsons, Designing Collaborative Development, our student team prototyped ideas they felt could benefit the group of artisan women in Santiago Zamora.  The overarching idea was to promote their village as a tourist destination with a series of activities and workshops that the group would … Continued

We want to help Ixoki A’J Quiemo L’ (the Mayan weavers cooperative in Santiago Zamora) brand themselves so as to create stronger promotional materials for them to distribute in Antigua and attract more tourists to their village. Here are some ideas we developed this weekend and which we will present … Continued

We have divided our days into doing field research around Antigua, which is the most touristy city in Guatemala, full of cafés, restaurants, and of course, tourists studying spanish and looking for interesting day excursions in nearby areas.  It is those tourists that we believe we can invite to visit … Continued

Friday afternoon was our first visit to Santiago Zamora with the artisan group with whom we are working.  After a wonderfully folkloric trip on the jam-packed public bus, we arrived to San Antonio Aguas Calientes from where we then took a small van to our final destination. We met with … Continued

This is the summer 2010 team that will be working in Antigua and Santiago Zamora, Guatemala until late June.  This year we have 7 students and 1 faculty member, all from Parsons. From left to right, front row: Mindy Tom (BFA Product Design), Arielle Paredes (BFA Integrated Design), Brianna Morris … Continued

We are thrilled to be back in Guatemala and will be updating you via this site during the next 10 days.  This summer we are prototyping a smaller scale initiative that will be implemented and tested by our team of 7 Parsons students in collaboration with the artisan women of … Continued

We are excited to announce that the women in Santiago Zamora have come to an agreement on a name for their association: Ixoki A’J ru xel Quiem or “Señoras Tejedoras Nativas.” We have been working with the official group of 11 women to create a set of rules and regulations, … Continued

Yesterday, we had a successful pricing workshop with the women of Santiago Zamora, after discussing fair wages and business strategies the previous day. We asked them to tell us the products they made that took the least amount of time to make and the prices they currently sell them for. … Continued

Kids-with-Cameras Project in Santiago Zamora We have finally begun our “kids-with-cameras” project with the sons and daughters of “Las Estrellas de Santiago Zamora.”  Our first day of teaching photography to the kids, although a bit hectic due to the rain, went extremely well.  First practicing with digital cameras, our young … Continued

As we push open the corrogated metal gate to Lucia’s yard we hear the familiar sounds of life in Santiago Zamora–Emmanuel’s tiny feet on the dirt as he giggles and hides behind his mothers corte, the puppies whining from beneath thier overturned basket (which keeps them from chewing on the … Continued

The work in Santiago Zamora continued with the women taking us for a walk up to see Bernarda’s plot of land, which her family rents and she works on with her husband and sons. She led the way with her sharp machete through fields and fields of beautiful fertile land … Continued

We kicked off our work in Santiago Zamora by working with the community to create a video of who they are, what their town is about, and what they want to share about their culture and traditions. This activity has been great in helping strengthen the group (they were not … Continued

This video was edited by one of our students with footage shot mainly by our collaborators in Santiago Zamora. It was a storytelling warm-up about their community via the 5 senses, for the larger media project we are working on together.

Every time I travel with a team of students for an international project, I truly believe that group could never be surpassed in their energy, skills, support for one another, and eagerness to learn. I have, again, been proven wrong. This year’s team is yet another superb group of students … Continued

This year we returned to Guatemala with two goals: to continue the work we had started last year with Ajkem’a Loy’a in San Lucas Tolimán, and to expand our work in Guatemala with other communities in other towns/villages. We are excited to report back that we are on track in … Continued

We have been working in the municipality of San Antonio Aguas Calientes since the beginning of June, and we finally had the opportunity to visit Santiago Zamora – a small village that is part of San Antonio and just a 5-minute drive. In Santiago we have found an eager and … Continued

To be resourceful is always a prevalent, yet unpredictable, learning opportunity that these kinds of fieldwork programs offer to our students. This year, in particular, we have had some challenging moments when it comes to teaching spaces – not always knowing if we have to hold an impromptu workshopon the … Continued

A family of tourists overheard at one of the many stalls of Antigua’s large artisan market: Man (holding a football/soccer jersey up) asking vendor, “Do you have a jersey from America?” Vendor (referring to the Latin American football teams that are called ‘America’) replies in Spanish, “No, that one is … Continued

We are happy to be back in Guatemala. This year we are doing things a bit differently. First, we are excited to be working with a new group of artisan women. We are partnering with the municipality of the town of San Antonio de Aguas Calientes and starting off by … Continued