Credit: Kakaw Designs https://kakawdesigns.com/pages/partners
Backstrap weaving is the most traditional form of Maya weaving, and it is an ideal form for women to work from home, on their own time and rhythm.
Doña Marta and her family in San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala use a backstrap loom for weaving and natural indigo dyes to color their yarn. The family grows and processes indigo locally, and the rest is sourced from El Salvador.
Credit: Kakaw Designs https://kakawdesigns.com/
In addition to the more traditional patterns of her hometown, the white patterns on top of indigo are created by a process called ikat, where parts of the yarn is protected with a resistant before dyeing.
Five panels are individually handwoven using the backstrap loom, and then joined with hand embroidery to make the large bedspreads that are 100% cotton.
The association that Doña Marta is part of strongly believes in the positive impacts associated with supporting women to have sources of income through flexible at-home work.
