I have been working in the main office for the past five years. During that time I have had the opportunity to travel to the United States, Canada, and Norway to do weaving demonstrations.
I am involved in different aspects of production: I help in the dying process, inspect products (and there is a lot to inspect), arrange the products, do shipping and packaging tasks, make the tags for individual pieces, divide the chenille thread, distribute the raw materials to the communities, and make color combinations.
Before I came to the association, I worked as a domestic servant in Guatemala City. There, I earned 300 quetzales (about U.S. $40) a month. I had to stay in the city for the whole month and seldom got to go home. Now I get paid much more and enjoy my workplace, and I can go home for the weekends.
I have not studied much but my experience with the association has given me valuable skills and knowledge about the products and business. It will be easy for me to get a job elsewhere with the experience I have now.
While I am still at the association, I would like to find new colors and new styles for the weavings to help improve the quality. I would like the office to be closer to my home, so I do not have to leave and come back every week, but my work now is a significant improvement over my past job.
This interview was translated from Spanish by Agnes Portalewska.
