Fair Trade Friendship Bracelet – Set of 2

Mayan Hands works with 14 cooperatives, about 200 women, living in different areas of the Guatemalan highlands. Coop members share skills and expertise, encourage one another and enjoy the mutual support. Working with a democratically organized group, rather than with individuals, is the best way to ensure that income is fairly distributed among all artisans and allows members to participate in decisions about their work. While each group has its own story and personality, there are some things that their members all share. They live in rural areas, mostly in small villages, in adobe houses with outhouses, running water in the pila (outdoor concrete sink used for everything), and electricity. The groups consist of women of all ages, from their early twenties to their fifties and sixties, and they are single, married, or widowed. The women fit their work into their daily routines of cooking for their families, caring for children, and tending their milpas (corn, beans and squash crops) and animals.