ORGANIZATION RECORD

Location: Guatemala

Website: http://www.mayatraditions.org/

Mission: To empower and improve the quality of life for Maya women artisans and their families and to contribute to the preservation and promotion of traditional knowledge, art, and culture in Guatemala. To do so, we offer the women artisans and their families education-driven social programs and market access to international Fair Trade and artisanal networks so that they are able to develop and sustain a stable income source driven by Maya traditions and cultural preservation.

Year Founded: 1997

Preferred method of contact: Email

Project Information:

• Availability for Summer 2017: Stay tuned
• Future project ideas: Depends on time of year, but always have smaller projects available such as help with catalog, photos and documentation of craft inventory
• Accommodations: Homestays
• Skills: Spanish skills, business skills, film and marketing
• Reported costs to interns:
  •  Program in-country costs (reported by partner):
    • Accommodation: $100/week/student
    • Transport: $60/student
    • Lunch: $20/week/student
  • Average Total costs (reported by interns – includes airfare, accommodation, visas, vaccinations, spending money, etc.): $1,747
  • Range of reported intern total costs: $1,500-$2,000

Partnership History:

• Summer 2016
  • Chapter(s): University of Pittsburgh
  • Project: Worked with Maya Traditions through their Artisans Teaching Artisans program by creating promotional material about backstrap weaving to ultimately tell the stories of the artisan women and their way of life. Supported an expansion of the medicinal herb garden
  • Investment: $2,610
  • Project team: 5 interns
  • Project Blog
• Summer 2015
  • Chapter(s): University of Pittsburgh
  • Project: Support in the installation of a community medicinal plant garden in San Juan La Laguna. Work in educational health workshops. Help prepare and support the medical clinics. Teach local students English.
  • Investment: $2,245
  • Project team: 5 interns

• Summer 2014
  • Chapter(s): University of Pittsburgh
  • Project: Support in the mother medicinal plant garden in Panajachel. Build new plant driers. Repair green house roof. Help prepare and support the medical clinics. Design a new Fair Trade product using scraps of backstrap woven material.
  • Investment: $3,600
  • Project team: 7 interns

Media

University of Pittsburgh 2016