The Maya Youth Artisanship Initiative has been set up by textile artist Angela Damman to teach a new generation of artisans how to work with the fibre extracted from a species of agave indigenous to Yucatán, México: henequen.
One hundred years ago, 70% of all cultivated land in the Yucatán was used to grow henequen and it once accounted for 90% of all ropes in the world, but the advent of synthetic fibres led to a steep decline in cultivation and in the skills used to create this strong, versatile fibre.
As a result, the craft of spinning and weaving with this endemic plant fibre almost became a lost textile art as the artisans who possessed the skill grew old and young people were reluctant to learn this traditional skill.
The young women of this region have been brought up in communities where they are marginalised in every aspect of their lives: they are indigenous women, poor, living in rural communities and speaking Maya. The initiative aims to reverse this sentiment by transforming these into positive attributes, showing them that being Maya, a weaver and living in a rural area with a rich cultural heritage is a pathway to opportunity.
The pilot, in collaboration with Ashley Kubley, assistant professor, University of Cincinnati, aims to preserve the technique of working with henequen and elevate it from the utilitarian to create fine artisanal products such as bags which use new patterns, woven on backstrap looms and using natural dyes. Collaborating with the local community, the practice of weaving is now being transmitted from the teachers to the students, women 29 and under.
By bridging the generational gap through the transmission of skills, the craft is being demystified and destigmatised for the young women. The hope is that this will allow a new generation to develop the industry and see the art of weaving plant fibres as a design vocation. Participation in the luxury artisan handicraft market will enable them to keep alive the ancient knowledge of their ancestors, leading to a new appreciation for their Mayan identity and the regeneration of rural economies. This truly is sustainable development.
Text and Images: Carry Somers.
Weaving image: Angela Damman
On the 12th Day of Christmas
12 months of press coverage.
1619 press articles generating Circulation (Potential Viewership) of 29.7 billion, according to Meltwater press figures.
On the 11th Day of Christmas
11 steps to creating a revolution.
Blueprint for Revolution by Srdja Popovic is one of the books and reports reviewed in Fashion Revolution fanzine #001 Money Fashion Power. Through 72-pages of poetry, illustration, photography, graphic design and editorial, this collectible zine explores the hidden stories behind your clothing, what the price you pay for fashion means, and how your purchasing power can make a positive difference. Published in January and available for pre-order now.
On the 10th Day of Christmas
Business of Fashion published the 10 Commandments of New Consumerism
BoF outlined the 10 factors that define new consumerism and what this change in shopping habits could mean for fashion brands and retailers. BoF said “For decades, a brand’s only priority was to create the best possible product at the most competitive price to ensure sales. But as consumers develop a more comprehensive understanding of issues like sustainability, authenticity and transparency, brands and retailers are being forced to change the way they sell in order to survive”. Coming in at no. 1 in the 10 Commandments for New Consumerism is: Provide Transparency Into Your Business Practices.
On the 9th Day of Christmas
92 countries around the world were involved in Fashion Revolution Week in April 2016.
And even more countries have joined the movement since April. Find out what’s happening in your country.
On the 8th Day of Christmas
Over 800 Fashion Revolution events around the world.
Clothes swaps, film screenings, exhibitions, fashion shows, panel discussions, selfie walls, Fashion Question Time in the UK Houses of Parliament and more. Find out what’s happening in your country on our Events page.
On the 7th Day of Christmas
7th most successful global PR campaign in The Global SABRE awards.
The Global SABRE awards honour the world’s 40 top public relations programs of the past year. Ketchum came 7th for the Fashion Revolution Germany video, €2 T-Shirt – a Social Experiment which has received over 7.6 million views to date.
On the 6th Day of Christmas
6.30am Wake Up, 1.30am Sleep.
Garment Worker Diaries, lead by Microfinance Opportunities and funded by C&A Foundation, is gathering firsthand accounts of 540 garment workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia and India. Researchers are collecting information on what these women earn, spend, put in and take out of their savings, borrow from others, and lend to others. We are also learning about their daily schedules and what kind of conditions they’re working in at the factory. Over the course of 12 months we will have a better understanding how these garment workers survive on low pay and deal with problems such as chronic pain, harassment or illness. Find out more the daily routine of a garment worker, how much she earns and how much she spends in a week in our Money, Fashion, Power fanzine.
On the 5th Day of Christmas
5 out of the 40 brands on our inaugural Fashion Transparency Index were publishing their factory lists.
However, since April we have seen Gap, Marks and Spencer, VF Corporation (who owns The North Face, Vans, Wrangler and others) and Jeanswest publish a list of the factories where their clothes are stitched and Inditex, who own Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull and Bear among other brands, has published a list of the facilities where its clothing is dyed, washed, printed and where leather is tanned.
The 2017 Fashion Transparency Index will cover 100 of the world’s largest fashion brands.
4 campaign hashtags used during 2016
#FashRev (general), #whomademyclothes (ask to brands) #imadeyourclothes (producer photos and stories) and #haulternative (alternative ‘hauls’) generating 156 million impressions during Fashion Revolution Week.
For 2017 our hashtags will be #FashionRevolution, #whomademyclothes, #imadeyourclothes and #haulternative.
On the 3rd Day of Christmas
3.11 million views of Fashion Revolution videos in 2016.
Fashion Revolution Brasil’s Fashion Experience: o outro lado da moda, Fashion Revolution Germany’s The Child Labour Experiment, #Haulternatives by Cutie Pie Marzia and Maddu, plus over 60 more #Haulternative and Love Story videos posted by people around the world.
Find out how to make your own #Haulternative and Love Story videos on our website.
On the 2nd Day of Christmas
2 founders of Fashion Revolution, Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro were named amongst the most influential people in London 2016.
Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro were listed in the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 Awards in the Equality Champions category which included the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cornwall, David Beckham, Richard Gere and Stephen Fry,
On the 1st Day of Christmas
One global campaign changing the fashion industry.
Please be a part of the Fashion Revolution and help to make our voice even louder in 2017. Be Curious. Find Out. Do Something About It.
Help us launch our 2017 theme MONEY, FASHION, POWER.
Please donate to keep strengthening the movement.
From the very beginning, our artisans have always been our partners in positive change and empowerment! The journey of R2R, after all, really started with them. It was through their amazing talent of weaving and this artistry’s capacity to transform lives for the better that R2R became what it is today.
We’re pretty sure you’ve met some of our artisans in our Weaving with the Weavers events or even in our stores –– yes, some of our store ambassadors are artisans, too! But we have a wonderful (but very elusive!) group of artisans we’d love to introduce to you. You don’t get to see them often because these are our workshop artisans! They’re the ones running our humble workshop, assembling your bags to perfection before they land in our stores.
In honor of Fashion Revolution Week, we’re going to take you through our workshop and introduce to you the faces behind our production process!
1. NHING ESTABILLO, WORKSHOP SUPERVISOR
Ate Nhing started as an urban artisan from our Payatas community back in 2008 and since 2012, she’s been in charge of our workshop’s overall production, monitoring targets and making sure her team of amazing artisans create high quality bags and home items for you, our dearest advocates.
Update: Ate Nhing is now our Sales Ambassador! You can meet her in our Trinoma or UP Town Center stores!
2. BERNABE “BING” LOR, TEAM LEADER OF CUTTING
Kuya Bing, as we call him, is the lead of our workshop’s cutting team. Cutting is the very first step in our workshop’s production process! He and his team lays out the foundation of the bags by cutting and preparing the raw materials needed to make R2R bags. Once they’re done, the materials then get passed onto the other steps of our production process!
3. RUFINO “JUN” GAYANILO, JR., TEAM LEADER OF ASSEMBLY
Kuya Jun leads our workshop assembly. Once all the raw materials –– from the handwoven fabric to the bags’ hardware –– have been prepared, he and his team take all these different parts and put them together to build the R2R bags that you own and use today.
4. JIMBO ZIPAGAN, TEAM LEADER OF SEWING
Kuya Jimbo is our workshop’s sewing team leader! He’s in charge of the major and minor sewing of all our bags and home items. Even with that big of a responsibility, he’s one of the people in the workshop who’s always wearing such a huge and happy smile! It’s SUPER contagious, we swear!
5. FLORENCIA “FENCIA” FONTE, TEAM LEADER OF QUALITY CHECKING
Ate Fencia leads the workshop’s quality checking team or QC, as we call it! They’re the ones making sure that each and every bag is up to par with our standards of excellence. We don’t just QC the pieces after it’s done; we also check per stage so we see if each part of the bags were prepared properly, from the handwoven fabric to the cut leather. It’s a very important step of our production process because we always want to deliver high quality pieces to you, our advocates.
In R2R, we believe that fashion can be made in a safe, clean, and beautiful way and where creativity, quality, environment, and people are valued equally. That’s why we think it’s super important to ask the questions: #whomademyclothes, #whomademybags? Join the Fashion Revolution!
Header photo: Carry Somers, co-founder of Fashion Revolution, visits the Rags2Riches workshop in October 2016.
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