Weaving Bench Project | Asociacíon Maya de Desarrollo, Sololá, Guatemala

As a result of my many visits to Guatemala and, more recently, a friendship with several women of the Asociacíon Maya de Desarrollo of Sololá, and an article in the United States about improved ways for women to weave (sitting on a chair rather than on the floor), I decided to look into the weaving benches I had only read about earlier.

The weaving bench was developed by an ergonomic specialist, Dr. Karen Piegorsch, of Synergo Arts.

From Synergo Arts:

The cumulative trauma to the bodies of women weavers inflicts pain as it slows down productivity and creativity. These indigenous artisans are empowering themselves by adopting a new ergonomic bench that helps preserve important aspects of their culture.

The bench is a project of Synergo Arts, a nonprofit whose purpose is to enable artisans around the world to use ergonomics to maximize health, income, performance, productivity, creativity, and craft quality. Ergonomics has to do with designing systems, tools, work methods, and environments to support human capabilities. The weaving bench project is a good example of ergonomics in action. It combines the introduction of a piece of ergonomic equipment with training to support the use of new postures and movements.

For centuries, Maya artisans in Guatemala have created beautiful textiles with the backstrap loom. The weaver straps the loom around her hips, and then rocks back and forth to adjust the tension on the cloth throughout the weaving process. In effect, her body becomes integrated with the loom, and while the loom itself is quite simple, the weaving process is dynamic and sophisticated. Both the loom and the textiles woven on it have deep significance within the indigenous community, and have come to symbolize the culture to the outside world. Backstrap weaving is also important economically: it enables women to sustain the family unit by working at home. However, pain, numbness, and fatigue limit the length of time a weaver can work, and are readily evident in how slowly and stiffly a weaver moves when she leaves her loom.

The benches are beautifully made and have a padded seat and a rounded front, allowing the women to rock back and forth as they weave. They also include a separate piece which is a foot rest, giving the women something to push against as their tighten the tension on the loom. The bench and the foot rest are fully adjustable and can be shared by several women in one home.

Another important component of this project is that the benches are constructed in the carpenter shop of Mario Chavajay Navichoc and upholstered by custom tailor, Javier Navichoc. Both men live in the Tz'utujil-speaking village of San Pedro. This provides employment for these local Mayan craftsmen, keeping the entire project one focused around Lake Atitlan, by and for local Mayan residents.

We have been able to deliver 83 weaving benches to the cooperative, at a cost of $70 each. In 2014 I hope to order about 25 more benches; will have a scarf sale in my home in the summer. The weaving benches are proving to be a huge success with the women of El Triumfo.

Donations are gratefully accepted, and these are tax deductible. Please write for information about the weaving benches, as well as about the women of Sololá and travel opportunities in Guatemala with my groups.

With thanks to the remarkable women of the weaving cooperative of the Asociacíon Maya de Desarrollo for their friendship over many years and with great appreciation to Barbara Ancheta and Alex McConnell of San Pedro and Eliza Strobe of A Thread of Hope for their help with the project.

Vivian Harvey

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