Cooperativa Integral de San Antonio Palopo, Guatemala

The Cooperative Integral de San Antonio Palopó

In the Mayan village of San Antonio Palopó, everyone weaves; weaving is part of traditional Mayan life. Generally, women weave using the traditional backstrap loom, while men get to sit down and use a more traditional foot loom. In recent years, however, women have begun to move into foot loom weaving, which is faster and much easier on the body. 

The Cooperativa is a cooperative of 142 weavers. Most of the fabric they use is woven by foot loom, although they sell some backstrap-woven products, as well as some crocheted cotton items. Some of their members have been taught to sew.