Julianna and Madeleine: Teotitlán del Valle

Last Thursday we received an incredible assignment: come to the language school at 9am, in pairs, to receive the name of a town outside the city of Oaxaca.  Use any means necessary to get there, but no maps or cell phones.  Answer the questions about the town on a given sheet by talking to people along the way, going to the local museum, and visiting local organizations.  Return by 4pm. Go!

Madeleine and Julianna headed to Teotitlán del Valle, a little town of about 5500 people sustained almost exclusively by the market for its textiles.  We took our first colectivo to get there; imagine a taxi with a set route and a set price [25 minutes, $16 (~$1.10USD)].  A ubiquitous part of Oaxaca’s transportation system, a colectivo requires a certain comfort with your neighbors.  They regularly squeeze six people inside, though ours included only one other passenger.

Upon arrival we explored a quiet little village that makes woven rugs, tapestries, and blankets from wool and natural dyes.  The wool is from sheep raised in a neighboring town that is then washed, carded, spun, and dyed. We happened into a store/workshop whose owner gave us a demonstration of the weaving process, including the dying.  Some of the most common include cochinillas (tiny, Cactus-dwelling insects that, once ground, produce a maroon dye), alfalfa (green), walnut husks (brown), and pomegranate peel (yellow).  Adding lime juice or unslaked lime (to confuse you, the latter is a chemical), entirely alters the color and intensity of the dye.  It was like alchemy; amazing!  The dyed threads are then wound onto bobbins and woven into designs of incredible beauty and complexity.  Some of the most common designs come from the carved ruins of Zapotec cities around Oaxaca.

Our final stop was a 14-member women's weaving collective, Vida Nueva, that supports widows, single mothers, and unmarried women.  One of the members, Daniela, took time to talk with us about the cooperative and their work.  She told us about the history of the cooperative, talked about their community projects (which include a reforestation project and building a temazcal, a sweat lodge for traditional healing), and showed us some of their breathtaking textiles.