MayaBags® 

  from WorldWrappers, Inc. in the U.S. & from Belize Crafts, Ltd. in Belize

Meet the MayaBags® Team

The MayaBags® Team of Women

Background

The classic and modern Maya world extends from the Yucatan Peninsula into Chiapas in Mexico and down through Guatemala and Belize .  While these countries have borders, the Mayas have wandered forever across the mountains and high plains separating these countries.  When the Civil War raged in Guatemala from 1977 until 1997, many Mayas fled the violence, crossing into Belize , never to return to their legal homeland.  From what I’ve read, in the early 20th century, only several dozen Mayas lived in the Toledo District of Belize .  Today, that number has expanded many times over, partially because of immigration from Guatemala and partially because of high birth rates among the Mayas.  Today, there are more 18 Maya villages in the Toledo  District, each with more than several hundred inhabitants.

Indigenous people, like the Mayas, are most often discriminated against and generally the poorest of any ethnic group in a region.  Humiliation suffered from discrimination afflicts both the Maya man and woman, but the woman also suffers from the cultural role she is expected to play.  In this highly patriarchal society, the traditional Maya man sees his wife as the bearer of his children and his house worker.  As a matter of fact, a woman is often attractive for marriage to a Maya man because of her full body, strength, and ability to do hard work.

MayaBags® mission is (1) to build a small industry that supports fair-trade values, produces high-quality, market driven products, and is sustainable, (2) to value and support the continuation of traditional hand-craft skills of the Maya, and (3) to help build the self-esteem and independence of Maya women by helping them become income earners in their households.  An indirect benefit of our effort, and one we actively encourage, is that more and more of our team members are using their income to pay for a high school education for their daughters, an education for which the Belize government offers no subsidy.  While attending high school, this generation of Maya girls delays their marriages until school is finished.

To date, we work with six teams of Maya women in six villages in the Maya Mountains of the Toledo District in Southern Belize: San Miguel, San Pedro Columbia , Blue Creek, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and Indian Creek.  As well, we’re beginning to develop an embroidery team in the village of San Antonio. We also have a small, but growing team of men who are highly skilled artisans and are also providing crafts and support to our effort.

We hope you enjoy the following brief, pictorial introduction to our teams. In some cases, we have team shots which we'll show.  In others, we only have shots of the individual members.  In both cases, we'll always show a photo of the team leader in each village.

The MayaBags® Team in San Miguel

(Maya Ketchi)

Back Row (L to R) Christina Ack, Antonia Ack, Dolores Ack, Andrea Ack,

Maria Ack.  Front Row: (L to R) Teresa Choco, Gregoria Choco, Christina Cus

Christina Ack, Current Team Leader in San Miguel

The MayaBags® Team in San Pedro Columbia

(Maya Ketchi)

From left to right in back: Rosaria Teul, Severina Pop, Elvarina Chiac, Saturina Salam, Judy Bergsma, Justa Choco   In front: Jovita Sho, Thomas Shol, Natalia Cus, MayaBags® Summer Intern from Yale, the children of the mothers in the team .

Jovita Sho, Co-Founder 

Thomasa Shol, Current Team Leader in San Pedro Columbia

The MayaBags® Team in Blue Creek

(Maya Mopan)

Ascenciona Ical, Current Team Leader in Blue Creek

Delphina Sho

Cirilia Rash

Petrona Chiac

   Thomasa Choco

The MayaBags® Team in Santa Cruz

(Maya Mopan)

Left to right: Concepciona Pau, Concepciona Shol, Dolores Ash, Fermina Sho,  Faustina Canti, Reginalda Sho, , Valeria Shol, Thomasa Ash, and (in back)Teresa Cal, Luciana Ical 

Valeria Shol, Current Team Leader  

The MayaBags® Team in San Jose

Justa, Hilda, Angi Lili, & Consuela Cal

& Justa’s Husband. Justa is the team leader.

  The  MayaBags® Team in Indian Creek

Louisa Pan, Current Co-Team Leader

Tekla Acal , Current Co-Team Leader

Faustina Choc

Other members of the Indian Creek team include Petrona Choc, Irma Teul & Thomasa Sam

The  MayaBags® Team in San Antonio

Luciana Chun & Her Husband

 The  MayaBags® Sewing Workshop and "Headquarters" in Punta Gorda

Carmelina Cal

Adelina Cus

Desiree Arnold, Executive Director, Belize Crafts, Ltd.

. 

The MayaBag® Male Team

Mr. Choco

Mr. Choco is well into his 80’s and is the last man in San Miguel who knows how to make Eke.  In Mexico and Guatemala , Eke is called henequen.  He cuts large yucca branches, roasts them over an open fire, cools them, and then strips the plant meat away from the fibers.  Once the fibers are purely cleaned, he works them with ash until they gradually knead together.  With the basic kneaded fiber, he then twists several strands together to make rope, and  he can make any thickness of rope required.  The unique aspect of eke is its soft, non-abrasive quality.  It is truly beautiful rope.

Pablo Ack & Vincente Ack

Pablo has been an extraordinary supporter of ours.  He joins our board meetings to translate our English into Ketchi or Maya.  He helps calm down the personal conflicts that arise from time to time. He finds Maya drivers for us.  We’ve shared in many adventures together.

Like Pablo, Vincente has been a good friend to MayaBags® and a strong supporter of his wife’s involvement.  We are hoping Vincente will take up his father-in-law’s skill of making eke or someday will help oversee the conservation fund we hope to set up for the rivers that run through the Maya Mountains.

Pedro Acal

Beyond carving our office sign, Pedro has carved miniature birds for us, searched for seeds for embellishment of our bags or for jewelry, and drilled holes in the seeds for stringing.  He is from Crique Sarco, a village well known for its wood carvers.

Darius Chen

Darius is an extremely talented stone, wood and calabash carver.  He carves slates for MayaBags for necklaces, as well as, Christmas ornaments with the tapir, the monkey, the jaguar and the boar. 

*     *     *

While this narrative is dedicated to the women involved in the project, this is also a thank you to my good friends who offer their help to host a house sale, handle the receivables at the sales, invite friends to our sales, buy our products, or help spread the word about our website.  It’s a huge thank you to the team I work with at Barneys New York for believing in our cause and our product and selling our purses for the last four seasons….with a fifth in production.  It’s a thank you to the Museum of Natural History for carrying our product and supporting our basket team with sales of our baskets.  It’s a thank you to our corporate customers such as Lehman Brothers Partnership Solutions Group and Credit Suisse.   It’s a thank you to the Nature Conservancy  for introducing me to the beauty and biodiversity of Belize and to the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment, a shareholder in MayaBags®, for its support.  I also want to thank Celia Mahung, TIDE’s Executive Director and Wil Galvez, TIDE’s former Business Manager, who have served as advisors to me and the business.  It’s a thank you to Wil Maheia for what he achieved for the environment and for his people during his tenure at TIDE, for his encouragement for me to do this, and for the true friendship we share. It’s a thank you to Lisa and Darius Avila of BisSystems who served as our accountants and as backup for the business when we needed them.  It’s a thank you to all the friends in Belize who have been there for me during the ups and downs of the business.

  It’s also a thank you to Izabel Lam, designer extraordinaire!  While running a huge business of her own, some how she has found the time to design several bags for us and to contribute her creative thoughts about how to improve our product line.

  Finally, it’s a major thank you to Ennius, my husband, Nicoline, my daughter, and Alexander, my son, for giving me the freedom and support to pursue this effort to try to make a difference  for Maya women and the environment of Belize.  I love you all three more than you can imagine.

 Judy Bergsma