Mercado Global » Handmade Lookup

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Mercado Global

Phone: 718-838-9908 Website

Biography

Handwoven Bags & Pillows by Guatemalan Women’s Cooperative

Mercado Global empowers indigenous women to overcome poverty and become agents of change in their communities.

Our partner artisans represent one of the world’s most marginalized populations – rural indigenous women. Mercado Global provides donor-funded business education and leadership programs to help women become successful business owners. We then connect them with large-scale sales opportunities so they can turn these skills into income. With this income, artisans provide nutritious food to their families and invest in their children’s education — and the community breaks the cycle of poverty.

Each Mercado collection starts with a journey to the highlands of Guatemala, where talented indigenous women artisans develop unique creations.

The process of weaving in Guatemala dates back centuries and has been passed down by women from generation to generation. The skilled hands of the Mayans have been weaving for over 2,000 years and to this day, traditional methods are still used. Traditional weaving has remained symbolic to our partner artisans because of its Mayan heritage and the value it holds to the weaver.

Our partner artisans weave using two traditional methods – the traditional back strap loom or the foot loom.