Living in Color!

My friend Adrian says that anyone can be a photographer for national geographic in Guatemala because it is just so beautiful! This is true! I took this picture of the little girl hiding behind her mother´s scarves with my meager photography skills at the Ruth and Naomi project in Chichicastango. The project is run by the Methodist Church in the area and is operated by their pastor, Diego. They make all sorts of bags, purses, skirts, dresses, wallets, belts, table clothes, and some jewerly. The project started in the late 80s when woman would come to Diego and ask for food for their children and he had none to give. So Diego went to the conference office and asked for money there. They had none but suggested that Diego start a project with the woman. He came back and told them he didn´t get any money but they could make some if they were willing to work. Ofcourse, they were willing to work! Like Ruth and Naomi the generations of women without husbands started out on a new journey together, and like the story in the Bible, God blessed them indeed! The project now produces hundreds of orders for fair trade stores all over the world, including a lot of work for Ten Thousand Villiages.

What intrest me most about this project are the women themselves and their ability to create such color out of their very grey lives! The civil war in Guatemala lasted for 36 years and mostly affected women like those photographed above who lived in small villiages in the mountains. At the time of the war and today many were poor in the country and some in the country did not think this was right and some just didn´t care. There was a guerilla army and an army of the government. Some in the guerilla army were hoping for a revalution in the country and would meet together and plan. Whenever the army from the government thought that the guerillas were meeting in a certain town they would go and shoot and sometimes burn a whole city, targeting men mainly, because they believed they were the ones that could be apart of the guerilla. It was very sad and sad also to learn that in the 80s while Jimmy Carter was calling for Peace in Guatemala, the CIA was sending billions of dollars of guns to the government army! Peace was brought about after 36 years and in great part by efforts of the Catholic church and other churches which gathered Guerillas and Government officals together to reach a peace agreement. They have tried to establish a truth and reconcillation project but because of the great amount of impunity here it is hard to punish or pin point any of the wrong doers!

So in the midst of many men fighting these very strong women suffer the consequences. Many of their husbands left never to be found again, or to be found dead in ditches and ravins near their houses. Young boys were even taken from their homes and taught to fight for the government army. Houses and churches were burnt down leaving many already poor people homeless. Yet, in the midst of this very grey cloud that has sat over their simple lives, these women create things in color! It is interesting that even the bases of the belts they embrodier come to them in black and white and they sew beautiful flowers and birds and shapes in the brightest color combinations I have ever seen! And they not only create things in color but they also wear skirts and shirts and belts in brillant colors of bright pink, green, blues, and yellows! It is hard to seperate them from their art work! There is not doubt in my mind that their works of art while someday be hanging in museums all around the world, displaying not only their craftsmanship and creativity but also their perservence and choice to live in color!

Suena, me, and Diego