Guatemalan Stoles Now Available for Purchase from PWRDF

“We do not all serve for everything, but we all serve for something.” Miriam Iquique

Miriam Iquique serves for very many things. She is the 39-year-old mother of nine children. She is the coordinator of the Ecumenical Women’s Network (REM) of the Conference of Evangelical Churches of Guatemala, a PWRDF partner organization. She is a Maya K’aqchikel woman who carries with her stories of life and death, struggle and hope witnessed first-hand as she grew up in the midst of the violence of Guatemala’s 36-year civil war. And Miriam is a weaver.

At a recent regional roundtable consultation with a number of PWRDF’s Latin America and Caribbean partners in Cuba, Miriam explained that it had taken her over a year – around the edges of child care, housework and full-time work with the REM – to weave the intricate designs of the huipil (blouse) she wore to Cuba. She went on to explain that her weaving serves for many things: as a form of meditation and relaxation, as a means to educate her daughters in the traditions and skills of Mayan weaving, and as a way to continue telling the stories of her people.

For many Mayan women, including members of the REM, weaving is also an important means of income generation for themselves and their households. And so, as part of PWRDF’s 50th anniversary celebrations, we commissioned Miriam and the women weavers of the REM to weave a number of stoles for sale in Canada. In purchasing and wearing one of these stoles, you are becoming part of their stories. But before you wear it, hold it close, feel its weave, breath in the faint smell of wood smoke emanating from the fabric, and remember that it was woven on a simple, back strap loom, by the home fire of a Guatemalan woman weaver.

Suzanne Rumsey, Latin America-Caribbean Program Coordinator

View photos of Miriam and the stoles woven by REM here.

Stoles are $40.00 each including shipping costs in Canada. To purchase a stole, contact Patience Mbwizhu, Donor Relations Officer, at pmbwizhu@pwrdf.org, or 416-924-9199 ext 320.