Regina makes the traditional skirts of her village
Her husband used to handle the weaving; today she knows every step of the work
In Nuevo Paquisic, Guatemala, Regina Tziquin makes traditional skirts called cortes. Today, she knows every step of the process: preparing the threads, setting up the vertical loom and weaving the designs. But for a long time, when she worked with her husband, she received the threads ready to use, while he did the weaving.
When the community was invited to form a women’s group, Regina seized the opportunity. She wanted to learn, follow the work from beginning to end and make cortes herself. Her husband, who already knew how to use the loom, helped her get started. Through training supported by ActionAid, Regina learned to prepare the threads and set up the fabric on the vertical loom.
“We used to receive the threads already prepared. Now we do everything ourselves,” she says. With the backstrap loom, the work was slower and earnings were lower. The vertical loom allows her to weave faster and take part in every stage of the process. When her family responsibilities allow, Regina makes around five cortes a month.
The skirts are sold in Nuevo Paquisic and nearby communities. For Regina, making them in her own village means more than just work: “Before, people often bought them elsewhere. Now we make them ourselves, and when we need them, they’re available to us.” The colours hold meaning too. The blues remind her of the sky, while the full range of colours evokes the earth and its many shades.
The women in the group have also learned more about their rights. Regina remembers a time when women’s worth went unrecognised in the community. Today, thanks to what they have learned together, they feel more able to stand up for their rights and respond to situations of violence.
ActionAid supported the group with threads, a loom and the training needed to learn the different stages of weaving. Regina is grateful for this experience and for the support she received: “Without this support, we wouldn’t have been able to learn the work we do today.” She also thanks everyone who helped make it possible: “Thank you for helping us learn how to make the cortes of our community.”