The Origin of Our Business:
When Bill Harris, the owner of Café Campesino and a founder of Cooperative Coffees, announced that he was leading a trip to Guatemala to visit coffee producers and textile artisans, seven people immediately signed up to join the adventure. Another person joined the traveling party when she was selected as the winner of a fundraising drawing to support the La Roya Proje
ct. They were met by two citizens of Guatemala City, and off they went in a hired van from Guatemala City to Antigua and up through the winding roads in the mountains to Chajul. The legendary chicken buses barreled by them on switchbacks, barely slowing down. In Chajul, the group stayed at a guesthouse owned and operated by the Coffee Cooperative and dined on meals prepared by a Guatemalan family, complete with fresh handmade corn tortillas. They explored Chajul and were given a private tour of the Chajulense Textile Cooperative. What they saw was beautiful and amazing: women who took hand-dyed threads and turned them into pieces of art, using only their hands and feet to power the looms. The formation and existence of this textile cooperative is a testament to the strength of the women in the region, many of whom had lost several to the devastating civil war that had lasted in Guatemala from 1960 until 1996. These women are survivors. They formed the cooperative as a way to support themselves and their families with their art. Their cooperative also gives them the strength to demand a fair price for their goods. The members of the group purchased hundreds of dollars worth of goods to bring home and share with friends and family. Everyone who received or saw these items was impressed with the quality of the workmanship and the vibrancy of the colors. The whole trip was a transformative experience for every member of the group, resulting in lasting memories and friendships. And they were so moved by the story and mission of the Textile Cooperative that an idea was born: an online store to promote and sell the Textile Cooperative’s products in the United States. The Fundamentals of Our Business:
This business was founded as a Guatemalan business by Roberto Hernandez. Roberto is a citizen of Guatemala that accompanied the Coffee and Artisans trip with Bill Harris and friends. The business is based in Guatemala because this will serve to keep the funds in Guatemala to contribute to the Guatemalan economy and facilitate prompt payment to the artisans. Logistically, the actual fulfillment of orders will take place in Americus, Georgia.
