Vida Nueva en Teotitlan del Valle- June 30th

     On Sunday June 30th we went to Vida Nueva in Teotitlan del Valle, a small town within the Sierra Juarez mountains.Teotitlan del Valle is a pueblo known for it's tapestries (tapetes). Vida Nueva is a women's weaving cooperative which provides amazing opportunities for local women. Their slogan is "Creating Economic and Artistic Opportunities for Zapotec Women." Zapotec is one of the indigenous Mexican communities in Oaxaca.
Their Story: 
     Originally only men were permitted to weave but within the last 55 years women have begun to do so as well. Vida Nueva helps women to fight the gender inequality which still exists in the community. Women have made many contributions to the community but it is still hard for them to gain equal respect and recognition. Vida Nueva (which translates to New Life) was formed in 1996 and is made up of only women. They strive to advance their mission of providing better opportunities for women, serve the community, and preserve Zapotec heritage.
      The members of Vida Nueva are either single or widowed women. What is unique about their tapestry business unlike many others in the area is that they sell directly to the consumers rather than going through a middleman. This helps them to get the most value for all of their hard work. They also gain respect and get fair prices by doing so. The women take pride in helping to serve their community through the money they make.
Serving the Community:
     Vida Nueva has several projects to help improve all different aspects of life in Teotitlan del Valle. One of their projects was called "Stoves for Women." Many women in the area cook on open fires and it had been realized that breathing in the smoke was negatively affecting the women. Vida Nueva had classes and workshops to educate women about the health hazard and how to build their own safer stoves. They also give children gift on a particular day where children are celebrated. Mothers are appreciated on Mother's Day and given baskets of food and different staple items which some mothers are not able to buy or go get themselves. Vida Nueva also is very concerned about the environment, which I love! They had a project where they went around town and put out public garbage cans on the streets so that garbage can be disposed of properly.

Our Time There:
     When we arrived at Vida Nueva we were warmly greeted by 3 women, one of the cutest little boys we've ever seen, some adorable puppies and gorgeous tapetes. We learned all about the cooperative from the women telling us their stories and hearing the history. When we first arrived we were able to walk around and explore the cooperative. Here are some pictures of the sights:

The adorable puppies!!

Santiago, aka Santi, such a cutie:)

The gorgeous tapetes.

The one that I bought is all the way to the right.

      During the presentation, the women should us every step of how they make the tapetes. Starting from cleaning and brushing the wool, to creating the dyes, and finally weaving. We even had the chance to try it out ourselves.

Basically a natural

The whole process and everything used for the tapetes is 100% natural. The material used is pure wool which the women buy within the town and clean themselves. We then were showed how the brushed wool was made into thread.

The natural dyes they use were absolutely beautiful. Every dye was made from grinding up either herbs, flowers, spices, tree bark, or plants and mixing with water. What is so special about every tapete is that no color will ever be repeated because dyes cannot be exactly replicated since everything is done by hand and no measuring devices are used.

Mixing the dyes

Finally we saw how the tapetes are woven. It is an amazing machine where one has to use their feet to move the fabric as they guide the specific colors through.

So much more than one can see goes into each tapete. Vida Nueva incorporates their Zapotec heritage into each tapete. The colors which are used are symbolic as well as some of the scenes used. Every little symbol on each tapete has a meaning. Several of us bought our own tapetes and learned what they all meant. My tapete represents different stages in life and how one has high days and low days but life still goes on. After learning all about the tapetes, we took part in a traditional healing ceremony known as a limpia.

Limpia:
     All of us, including Dr. G and Lindsey from SURCO participated in the limpia. We all stood in a circle and held hand and had our eyes closed. Limpias are still frequently used to heal all sorts of issues. People still very strongly believe in folk and traditional medicine in both Mexico, and specifically Oaxaca. Limpias focus on picking up on and moving energy. Flowers were put in a circle which we stood around and alcohol was placed on them and they were lit on fire, where the fire burned more and where the flowers did or did not burn reflected the energy within the group. Areas where there was not a lot of burning indicated there were not a lot of issues or bad energy. During the ceremony, the older woman from the cooperative went around the circle with different herbs and incense and covered is with them. It was such an amazing opportunity to get to have that experience and take part in that ceremony. Many people still believe in the use of limpias, however there are not a lot of healers, one who would conduct the ceremony.

The remnants of our limpia.

After our beautiful ceremony we had a delicious comida (traditional big lunch) prepared for us by the women and their families who lived right there in the small compound of houses and outdoor areas where the tapetes are made. It was such an amazing day and I could not believe we were already doing so much and had not even been in Oaxaca for a week. Every opportunity we were having and every person we were meeting kept making each day better and better, I couldn't help but smile. I was so happy and ready to start our first week of life in Oaxaca!

- Lindsay