Indigo And Ikat

Ikat has become really popular in the last few years for home furnishings even though it has been used for centuries in woven textiles. Various styles of Ikat are produced around the world including the Ikat of the Mayans in Guatemala. Especially popular in home decor is the deep marine blue of indigo with the ikat.

The artisans we work with in Guatemala use a lot of ikat in their weavings and have designed some of new weavings and products with ikat.

Check out our online store for more Ikat and Indigo handcrafts!  Education And More Store

Blue Placemats with lots of ikat

Pillow covers for your home!

 

Good News Gospel Bracelets — Spanish and English

We have just received a shipment from our artisans of more Gospel Bracelets and we also received a shipment of the newly designed card sharing the Gospel story in the Spanish language.

Spanish Salvation Bracelet

These bracelets are such a fantastic tool to share the Gospel with your friends and acquaintances and now we have them in both an English and a Spanish version!

If you are going on a mission trip into a Spanish speaking country be sure to order lots of these to give out to the children you meet on your trip.  Our webstore  has them in quantities of 1 dozen but if you need a large quantity we do sell them in bulk quantities too.  Be sure to email us!

Choose from English or Spanish and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Perfect gift for your Sunday School or Vacation Bible School classes! These bracelets are made by our artisans and they receive a fair wage for their work which helps them feed and educate their children.

Your purchase of these will help you share the life saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and also help an artisan support her family!

Education And …………….. More

Recently a supporter asked why the name  ‘Education And More’   for the organization when we do so much with artisan groups and helping them earn a fair wage– “What has that got to do with education?”

Maybe we don’t often explain the reason for our name, but we are all about education.

We believe education is vitally important to reducing poverty and there are many types of educational opportunities that we offer. Just helping a student with a way to attend school isn’t often enough in a developing country because the students face so many problems outside the classroom.  They lack sufficient food in their daily lives and are often less healthy –  therefore are at a disadvantage in learning.  By focusing our work on helping in many aspects of their lives, the students, their families and communities  can look forward to a better future.

What types of educational help do we offer?

1. Sponsorship to Public Schools — Primary grades, Junior High grades, High School, Career schools, Technical school, and University
2. Practical Education — sewing classes;  marketing,  technical , and product design help and education
3. Christian Education through Bible study, Vacation Bible School presentations, Christian films
4. Schools — we offer help to small schools by providing the administration and teachers the tools they need: textbooks, computer labs, school supplies for the teachers as well as students, repairs and upgrades to the school building, and more.

What is the ‘And More’ in our name…………..

1.  help to artisans through a Fair Trade wage.
2. increased self worth and dignity to the artisans and students because of achievements in their handcraft businesses and in their education
3. sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
4. building relationships with trust and  friendship
5. interest free micro-credit loans to help them expand their handcraft businesses
6. giving cash advances for family emergencies
7. long term relationships with the students and parents so they know someone cares if they succeed

We would love you to become involved in helping us provide Education ……….And More!

She Wants to Help Abused Women and Children

There are many young people in Guatemala who would like to be able to continue their education but never get beyond Junior High or High School because of the cost. Floridalma is one.

We have added her — a wonderful Christian, young lady– to our list of students needing help to go to the University.  She has been out of school for several years and has not been able to go to university because she cares for her ailing father and works whenever she can find a job so she can help pay for their food and other needs.

Her dream is to return to school – the nearby University – and study to become a Clinical Psychologist so that she can help women and children who have been abused as well as other women who need counseling and help.  She is a very intelligent and compassionate person and we feel will be a great candidate to return to school. She speaks Spanish, Kakchiquel,  some Queche, and is learning English!

The University she wants to attend has a program for working adults so they can attend classes on Saturdays and keep their job during the week.  Floridalma cleans homes  for people because that is the only work she can find.

She will be a wonderful asset to her community and especially to the women and children! If you would like to help Floridalma return to school please contact us for the costs per year for a sponsorship.   Perhaps your Bible study group or your women’s group could work together to sponsor her for a year.

Please pray that she will be able to return to school!

How Busy Are You In Your Daily Life

Not enough hours in the day?  Too many chores with working a job for 8 hours and then coming home to all the household chores?  Isn’t it wonderful that we have a car to get where we are going, a dishwasher, a washing machine  and clothes dryer for the clothes, an electric stove and refrigerator? Even with all these appliances we still never seem to have enough time.

Most of the artisans we help in Guatemala have none of these conveniences.  Their lives are extremely difficult.  Their hand weaving is their job during the day and they work at weaving for about 4-6 hours or more to help earn income for the family.

They do a lot of walking every day — none of the artisans have vehicles.

Many of them have kitchens that consist of nothing more than what would be called a cooking pit — like an outdoor campfire.  This is extremely dangerous because it is so easy for the children to get burnt.  If they have a little more money they may have a wood burning stove which is like a concrete barbeque grill.

Many families cannot afford a bed and  mattress and use these woven reed mats as their beds.

Some women use a large rock to wash clothes while many others have a pila — which is a large outdoor sink with a washboard built right into it.  This large sink is used for all types of washing — dishes, clothes, bathroom sink to brush your teeth, etc. Often you will see women washing clothes in the lake because of no running water at home.

Families don’t eat much meat because they can’t afford it but when they do want chicken for dinner, the work involves butchering a chicken.

Shopping for groceries involves walking to the local market or to one of the stores and then carrying back whatever is purchased.

Most times they work together with other women in the community or with extended family members to get the large jobs done.   Even with all the hard work they are joyful and appreciative of everything they have in their lives.

We are all busy — no matter where we live — hectic and busy daily lives caring for our families. Will you take a moment to pray for our artisans and their families?

Need a Bag?

The sewing centers and sewing classes that our groups have received have produced great results! We have 2 new bags that are fabulous and have been made by our fabulous seamstresses after receiving 6 months of sewing classes.

 

The first bag that our artisans recently finished is our order of a sport / travel bag.

This is a nice heavyweight fabric that was handwoven on a backstrap loom and then the artisans sewed the fabric into these overnight / travel bags.  There are two colorways — black with silvery stripes and maroon with silvery stripes.  Perfect for the gym or for a weekend trip. What a great Christmas gift and available in our webstore!

Our other new item is a coin purse with zippered pockets on each side and a zipper at the top.  Great to separate cash, credit cards, etc.  Check out all the many colors and sizes in our online store.