Introducing Maria

If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you know we like to introduce you to the artisans and share more about their story. This month we’d like you to say hello to Maria! Maria has been a member of the cooperative since 2015. While as an artisan, she is a backstrap weaver, as a member of the cooperative she has many more responsibilities.

Maria lives with her mother, 2 sisters and a nephew. She graduated in 2015 with a degree as a bookkeeper. Her cousin told her about the weaving cooperative and how they were looking for backstrap weavers. Since Maria was having trouble finding a job, and she knew how to weave, she decided to try working at the cooperative, if only temporarily. After a year at the cooperative, with the help of a scholarship, Maria began studying public accounting on weekends.  As the story goes around much of the world, the pandemic interrupted her studies. As things were starting back up again, the school fees were much higher, and Maria decided to change to studying Business Administration.

In addition to being a talented weaver, Maria is the Coordinator of Sales and Marketing for the cooperative. She is also the Coordinator of Production! These responsibilities have given her the opportunity to travel around Guatemala and visit places she had never been to before including Guatemala City, Antigua, Chichicastenango, San Juan Comalapa, San Carlos Sija and more. She really enjoys meeting people from other cooperatives and seeing the beautiful work they do.

As a people person, Maria enjoys being part of the cooperative where she is able to interact with her coworkers all day. She believes in the power of working together in person, solving challenges together and inspiring each other.

Maria is always game to try new things whether it’s learning a new weaving technique, using a program on the computer, or taking on a new role at the cooperative. She is looking forward to completing her studies soon, building a house, having a family, and buying her own car. She has dreams that many of us can relate to!