Blog post by
Jack, Brittany, Sarah, Luna, Mickey, Michaela, and Jocelyn
A group of seven students traveled an hour outside of Oaxaca city to a village known throughout Mexico for its numerous artisans renowned for the weaving of tapetes. The majority of the population of Teotitlan del Valle are native Zapotec speakers, and we were surprised by their polite greetings and soft handshakes given to each passerby in the street. We arrived sunday afternoon and began our adventure by meeting with members of the weaving cooperative, Bii Daüü, and discussing with them their mission and vision. In the words of Mariano Sosa Martinez, one of the sixteen weavers in the cooperative,
"We are working together in solidarity in an atmosphere fostering equality and fairness, textile production with natural dies can achieve its best quality. Members also aim to take care
of their health as well as the community’s environment to promote social,
cultural, and economic development simultaneously."
Jack, Brittany, Sarah, Luna, Mickey, Michaela, and Jocelyn
A group of seven students traveled an hour outside of Oaxaca city to a village known throughout Mexico for its numerous artisans renowned for the weaving of tapetes. The majority of the population of Teotitlan del Valle are native Zapotec speakers, and we were surprised by their polite greetings and soft handshakes given to each passerby in the street. We arrived sunday afternoon and began our adventure by meeting with members of the weaving cooperative, Bii Daüü, and discussing with them their mission and vision. In the words of Mariano Sosa Martinez, one of the sixteen weavers in the cooperative,
"We are working together in solidarity in an atmosphere fostering equality and fairness, textile production with natural dies can achieve its best quality. Members also aim to take care
of their health as well as the community’s environment to promote social,
cultural, and economic development simultaneously."
After an amiable introduction and discussion we were paired with members of the cooperative to stay with for the week. We awoke with the sunrise on monday morning to go work in the huerto, a communal farm, where the cooperative cultivates and cares for the plants that are used for
their all natural dies. The huerto is peppered with pomegranate tree's whose fruit skins are used for black and yellow dies. With the coming heat, we watered nopal, a type of cactus that hosts the white insect cochinilla, whose dark red blood has been used throughout Zapotec history for natural tints in their rugs. We also prepared a bio-fertilizer or a non chemical pesticide comprised of garlic and ground alfalfa, which we left to ferment for three days. After working hard, we went back into town to discuss the uses of pericon and marush, two locally occurring plants, that are used for yellow, orange and green tints. We also were able to help two members of the cooperative, Leticia and Rafaela, prepare the plants that are used to die the wool. In between our activities we would return to our home to eat four times a day, causing many to nap frequently! 
We give many thanks to Gervasio and Javier for taking us on a jaunt through the village and showing us the cuevita, a place where people from Teotitlan and surrounding villages celebrate the new year. After building a little rock house, as many do on new years eve, we visited the bustling morning market, where bartering for quesillo, flowers, and sweet bread is commonplace. The very polite Fausto showed us around the beautiful museum which featured the history of Teotitlan, its tradition of weaving, the danza de la pluma (an annual celebration of heritage), as 
well as stories of courtship in the village. After an early morning application of the bio-fertilizer and the construction of beds for the plants in the huerto, our group of laborer's became weaver's and were able to practice on both large foot pedal looms and hand-loom's used as a training device for beginners. Laughing at ourselves we were to create mini tapete's that could function as coasters! We learned much about the process of weaving, the relationship between man and nature, and the rich tradition's of the Zapotec people. 
well as stories of courtship in the village. After an early morning application of the bio-fertilizer and the construction of beds for the plants in the huerto, our group of laborer's became weaver's and were able to practice on both large foot pedal looms and hand-loom's used as a training device for beginners. Laughing at ourselves we were to create mini tapete's that could function as coasters! We learned much about the process of weaving, the relationship between man and nature, and the rich tradition's of the Zapotec people. Before departing, we awoke for a sunrise hike up the communally owned mountain, Picacho, guided by the hyper Procoro and Jesus. It was wonderful exercise, but to no avail, for we only gorged ourselves at a goodbyem lunch, with all of our new friends from the Bii Dauu cooperative, who so kindly gave us gifts of rugs, bags, and purses. We learned a lot this week and are very thankful for the tranquility of Teotitlan and its residents.
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