Above: Group photo with the tejedoras of “Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Rial Poop B’atz”, Chamelco, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
Photo credit: Lyndsay Harshman

by Bob Miller

The most recent WARP online panel discussion “Follow the Thread: Textile Tours and Traditional Craft” provided a welcome hour for many of us, whether experienced past or hopeful future textile travelers, to vicariously journey to the special places in the world where exquisite handmade textiles are a part of everyday life.  A textile tour is an opportunity to meet the beautiful people that create such treasures and to learn a bit from their wise cultures — not to mention to purchase textile treasures directly from the artisans who create them — and to take home not only a fine piece of cultural heritage, but also the memory of a person, a name, a home or community, a smile — maybe even a shy hug.

Such is the joy of well-done textile travels, and those of us who are involved in small or big ways in connecting textile lovers with underserved artisan makers know the power of bringing the two together with a textile tour. Many of us can recall our own first textile trips and know that handmade textiles are merely the “gateway drug” to a love of people and cultures around the world and a passion for recruiting other textile lovers — or even textile “sorta likers” — to share the experience.

Unfortunately, since early 2020 the pandemic put a stop to most organized textile travel. Many weaving communities dependent on tourism have suffered greatly, with few visitors to buy their textiles on top of the suffering that covid itself brought. Mi encantadora esposa Jean and I spent all of last year and much of this one waiting for a promising trip announcement and for conditions to again begin to feel safe enough for visiting to be a positive thing for all concerned. So when this spring Mari Gray of Kakaw Designs announced a trip in November, 2021 to textile communities in Guatemala we sat up and took notice. Covid seemed to be waning (at the time), Guatemala was accepting vaccinated visitors, and we were willing to take whatever additional steps were needed to keep everyone (especially our hosts!) safe. We asked an expert friend for their opinion (answer: “Mari’s one of the good ones”) and so we signed up.

There were a lot of covid-conscious precautions and adjustments that Mari put in place for the trip, and which we heartily agreed to. And the arrival of “delta” caused us all concern. But the trip was limited to only six participants, and we all were fully vaccinated (and where recommended, “boostered”). Thankfully, vaccinations are starting to be more available in Guatemala, and all of our hosts, teachers, and presenters that we spent more than incidental time with, including in the weaving cooperatives where we visited, were also vaccinated.

Masks were de rigueur. As the first outsiders since covid to visit some of these communities, we took great pains to be above reproach. Guatemala is serious about covid, and everyone wears masks in public. Temperature checks and hand sanitizer are everywhere. We all brought self-tests (Mari had extras) and tested before we went into vulnerable remote communities. We were prepared to have to quarantine if we had a positive test (no one ever did). Classes (and most meals) were in open-air settings and we sometimes stayed where we could prepare our own meals in order to avoid crowded restaurant situations. Additionally, Jean and I severely limited our outside contact for two weeks before the trip and tested one last time five days after returning.

Well, how was it? I am delighted to report that we had a glorious time! Mari did a fabulous job organizing and planning and watching out for us; we spun, we wove, we dyed, we embroidered, we laughed, we ate home-cooked Guatemalan meals, and sipped home-prepared Guatemalan cacao. We studied juicy cochineal bugs sucking on cactus paddles. From our rooftop patio in Antigua at night we watched Volcán Fuego belch fountains of incandescent lava. We wandered around in amazing places and took in amazing sights. We were guests of Maya men and women who made us feel more than welcome. And of course we saw (and bought) glorious textiles. We reunited with old friends and made new ones. And there was more than one quick hug as we said our farewells in each community we visited. I have a small swarm of new Guatemalan Facebook friends. I need to work on my español… and tz’utujil and q’eqchi and… oh, bother!

Doña Amalia says that she can teach me to weave pik’bil — and to speak a little q’eqchi — if I come to stay with her for two weeks in Samac.

I’m ready to go back! How about you?

Bob Miller is a handwoven textile enthusiast and devoted student of backstrap weaving. He and his wife Jean went on their first textile tour (to Peru) in 2018. He currently serves on the Education Committee of the US non-profit Andean Textile Arts which seeks to introduce textile lovers to the exquisite textiles of the Andean highlands and to the equally beautiful people and cultures that produce them.

by Brenda Rosenbaum

“Between 2013 and 2014, several of us weavers started noticing a practice that was becoming common.  Businesses and individual designers who sell pieces of our clothes, especially huipiles, were approaching us and requesting us to weave textiles with certain changes in their figures and colors.  Even when these changes were minimal, once they had the pieces in their hands, they said we were forbidden to make similar ones…. And threatened to sue us if we did because that “design” no longer belonged to us the weavers, but to them, the ‘designers,’ that just by altering a small detail from the original, transformed them into the “intellectual creators” (and proprietors of the design).”

p 17, “Nuestros Tejidos son los Libros que la Colonia no Pudo Quemar.  El Camino del Movimiento Nacional de Tejedoras Mayas de Guatemala.”   (Our Weavings are the Books that the Colonial Authorities could not Burn. The Journey of the National Weaver’s Movement) Asociación Femenina para el Desarrollo de Sacatepéquez (Afedes) (The Women’s Development Association of Sacatepéquez)

Thus begins the journey of the National Maya Weavers Movement Ruchajixik Ri Qana’Ojbäl, which in just a few years has risen to national and international prominence. Thanks to the movement, for the first time in centuries, we have the opportunity to hear the voices of Maya women who live traditional lives in their villages as they formally commit to protect and defend their textiles and their way of life.  The movement was born of the grassroots, of women practicing the ancient art of backstrap loom weaving that has enabled them to sustain their Maya identity in a society that marginalizes, impoverishes, and discriminates against them.  The movement is a joint effort of thousands of traditional weavers and a Maya women intelligentsia (artists, poets, lawyers, anthropologists, etc.) that has come into being in the last few decades. The latter group, though often not weavers themselves, have listened respectfully to the plight of the former and are fully cognizant of the crucial role weavers have played in the survival of Maya culture.  Working together, these two groups of women have turned their organization into a political force in Guatemala.

Experiences with designers, such as those quoted above, sparked reflections in group gatherings of weavers all over the country, discussions that led to the thorough historical/sociological analysis in the movement’s book. In particular they examine the roots of the underlying ideology that oppresses the Maya population in general and specifically Maya women. Historical sources, for example, show that Maya women were forced to spin and weave to the point of exhaustion for the colonial authorities.  This finds its counterpart in the present when taking advantage of the weavers’ desperate need to sell, merchants purchase textiles at very low prices and resell them at high profits.  Designers and merchants alike, knowing that in the prevailing system weavers have no agency, have no qualms about appropriating patterns, designs, and products.

Identifying the problems and bringing them into national awareness was the first step in the movement’s strategy.  But they have moved forward in several directions to demand a transformation of the system. They have presented formal demands that congress enact copyright laws to protect the collective property of Maya communities to their designs. They have denounced the Guatemalan government’s tourism agency, whose promotional ads refer to Guatemala as “The Heart of the Mayan World” and use images of Maya women and their textiles to foster tourism.  Yet, the government shows no respect for Maya women, allowing the harassment and exploitation they are subjected to for living their culture. The movement is also active in newspapers, social media, and interviews, highlighting the demeaning interactions and damaging practices of specific merchants who deal in Maya textiles.

Another important development taking place as the leaders of the movement travel to Maya communities around the country has been the creation of weaving councils at the local level as well as programs to teach weaving to women who did not learn growing up.

Weaving has been a pillar of Maya culture for hundreds of years, and now, in the 21^st century, it has become, in addition, both a banner, i.e. a focal point to discuss the inequities in the social system, and a catalyst of a movement to change it.

This story will soon be part of the Third Edition of The Legacy of Mesoamerica, History and Culture of a Native American Civilization, Pearson Prentice Hall.

Brenda Rosenbaum, a Guatemalan anthropologist who did her field work among Mayan women in both Guatemala and Mexico, was struck by their great need and their great talent as backstrap weavers. Moved to take action, she and her husband Fredy co-founded Mayan Hands with the aim of providing Mayan weavers with good work opportunities on a fair trade basis. That was 30 years ago, and since that time Mayan Hands has worked with hundreds of women, making a significant difference in their lives. 

The above books written by WARP authors can all be found at Schiffer Books Ltd. (schifferbooks.com)

by Deborah Chandler

Recently we put out a call for WARP authors to send in a list of their books to be included in an online library, or at least reference list, available on WARP’s webpage for the people who want to know more. So far only 15 authors have submitted information, but the range of subjects more than confirms what a good idea this is. Some of the books are bi-lingual, another plus.

In our membership survey people mentioned that they want to learn how to do some of the art forms done in the indigenous and other villages where WARP members work. At least seven of the books cover techniques, from natural dyeing to village-specific textile techniques.

WARP members include many anthropologists – degreed and simply with that mind-set – and books on culture and cloth and how they fit together abound, with at least ten titles in that category already.

Cultural Appropriation, Fair Trade, and other economic issues are the focus of four of the books, and I know there are many more that the authors have not told us about yet.

Many WARP members are makers themselves, and half a dozen of the books are about spinning, weaving, and other textile techniques for non-exotic (to the majority of our members) but always curious North Americans and Europeans.

All that, and it’s only a start. If you are an author member of WARP, even if you think I already know, please send your book list to me, Deborah Chandler, at weavingfutures2012@gmail.com. For each book I need author name, title, publisher, date, cost, where or how it can be purchased, and a short description of the book. WARP members want to know what each other are thinking, that’s what networking is, and sharing books is another way to do that. I look forward to hearing from you.

Here’s a sampling of the books on which we  have received information so far:

Veiling in Africa by Elisha Renne, ed.

The tradition of the veil, which refers to various cloth coverings of the head, face, and body, has been little studied in Africa, where Islam has been present for more than a thousand years. These essays raise questions about what is distinctive about veiling in Africa, what religious histories or practices are reflected in particular uses of the veil, and how styles of veils have changed in response to contemporary events. Together, they explore the diversity of meanings and experiences with the veil, revealing it as both an object of Muslim piety and an expression of glamorous fashion. (Available from Indiana University Press website $28.00)

Cloth That Does Not Die: The Meaning of Cloth in Bunu Social Life by Elisha Renne, ed.

The Bunu Yoruba people of central Nigeria mark every critical juncture in an individual’s life, from birthing ceremonies to funeral celebrations, with handwoven cloth. The author explains how and why this is so and discusses why handwoven cloth is still valued although it is rarely woven in Bunu villages today. (Available on Amazon $50.11)

The Field Guide to Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds and How to Use Their Fibers by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius

This is a pocket guide to one hundred sheep breeds and their fiber. It has animal pictures, fiber statistics, and photos of locks. ($14.95. Available through all normal book channels. https://www.storey.com/books/the-field-guide-to-fleece/)

Swept Under the Rug: A Hidden History of Navajo Weaving by Kathy M’Closkey, PhD

Utilizes copious information contained in the correspondence and business records of the Lorenzo Hubbell family, Ganado, AZ (~ 1860s-1960s). Lorenzo Hubbell Sr. is considered the czar of Navajo trade and the “father” of the Navajo rug. The book historicizes the economic contributions of thousands of weavers and woolgrowers, whose non-waged labor sustained Navajo lifeways in a culturally appropriate manner. University of New Mexico Press.

Creative Crafts of the World – 15 lesson plans for teaching folk arts to groups of children by Marilyn Romatka

Creative Crafts of the World is a practical guide for teaching folk art to groups of children, young adults, adults, even to yourself! www.taprootfolkarts.com

Maya Hair Sashes Backstrap Woven in Jacaltenango, Guatemala / Cintas Mayas tejidas con el telar de cintura en Jacaltenango, Guatemala by Carol Ventura

A bilingual book that features the Jakaltek backstrap loom, backstrap weaving, symbolism, and the beautiful hair sashes of the Jakaltek women from both anthropological and artistic perspectives. ($30 from https://www.carolventura.com/hairsashes.html#Book)

Image Above: Rubona basket weavers with the water jugs they purchased with the WARP grant.

Other purchases included food, investment in artists crops, and artisan training.

by Deborah Chandler

In 1992, at our first organizational meeting of what would become Weave A Real Peace, we had as an invited guest a woman from Potters for Peace. We wanted to know what they were doing, and if it would inspire what we thought we might be doing. As it turned out, they were pretty country-specific, doing most of their work in Nicaragua, helping potters there survive and thrive. A story she told us that has stuck with me forever was of a donation they had received to help a potter buy a sign for his workshop so people would know he was there and had pottery for sale. About the time the money arrived so did a hurricane that took off his roof. Not surprisingly, he asked if he could use the money for a new roof instead of the sign. After some thought the group said no, that he needed to find the roof money elsewhere, this grant was for the sign. So he did that, and within a relatively short time he had enough business from his increased visibility that he was able to pay for the roof, food, and the other stuff of life.

Covid has been like a long hurricane, taking out not only roofs over people’s heads but food and livelihoods. So last year, for the first time ever, WARP gave out grants to artisan groups in seven countries, “for food, medical, and/or housing needs”, and grantees used the funds as they most needed them. The next issue of the newsletter, coming out in September, will have a full report on the grants that were given, where they went and what they were used for. Members of the committee who worked on the grants say that it was one of the most rewarding things they have ever done, and the letters of thanks coming back from the recipients say they don’t know how they would have managed without the help. Supporting textile communities around the world is what WARP is about, and while we are mostly looking at long-range sustainable projects, sometimes feeding people in the short run is necessary before the long run can begin.

Overall we viewed the grant-giving as probably a one-time-thing, depending on how the future would unfold. Well, the future is here, and so far it looks even worse in terms of the pandemic. But it also has brought a shift in WARP’s world such that we are looking at the possibility of continuing with a grant program of some kind. Read the article in the newsletter, and see if it is something that interests you. If it is, contact Maren Beck (maren@hilltribeart.com), the board member who oversaw the last program and will lead the way to determine if WARP can have an on-going, yet-to-be-defined grants program. If it happens, there will be a lot of work to do, both challenging and rewarding, and we would welcome your participation.

In this month’s blog each of the members of this year’s Board of Directors shares their excitement about being on the board and what lies ahead in the next year(s). Read on, get to know us, and then tell us what you want from WARP so we have a better chance of delivering it. If you have questions for any of us, you can ask us directly, or go through our MVP, the incomparable indispensable Administrative Coordinator Kelsey Wiskirchen – info@weavearealpeace.org. And now from the board:

Deborah Chandler – President – weavingfutures2012@gmail.com

This is such an amazing time for WARP, almost a rebirth. Thanks to the groundwork laid by the previous board, we now have 20 projects and committees established, some to be worked on immediately, others longer term. I’m very excited to be part of this very active board and look forward to helping to provide the best jump-start into the new era possible. I will share updates with members in every newsletter, and like all of the board members, truly hope that you will share your ideas and wishes with us.

Hedy Hollyfield – Vice President – hedyhollyfield@yahoo.com

As a new board member I am excited to become more involved in the leadership of WARP.  One of the first things I am working on is a member survey to assess how our members see the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and how it can be improved.  I will also be working with the monthly Panel Presentations. This program, started during the pandemic, was effective at bringing WARP member stories to a larger audience and we want to keep the momentum going on that.  A key interest area for me is DEI – diversity, equity, and inclusion.  I hope to lay some ground work for us to examine the question as an organization, looking at both an expanded membership and the creation of policies that honor those factors in all our activities and relationships. Although WARP is obviously built around the idea of diversity, recognizing and supporting that in new ways is something we need to learn how to do. If you have ideas or suggestions, please share them with us.

Cheryl Musch – Treasurer – cheryl@yachana.org

It’s exciting for me to once again be more closely involved with WARP members who have a passion for supporting artisan production of textiles.  The new ways we’re connecting open up WARP to so many new people, and I’m looking forward to continued international involvement. I’m motivated to keep the good energy going, both online and in person, and look forward to upcoming auctions!

Sara Lamb – Co-Secretary – lambspin@gmail.com

Of all of the gifts of the pandemic, one of my favorites is what it has done for WARP. Suddenly we are reaching people all over the world that we never could have reached before, and international participation has soared. We have a new board full of happy cheerful people anxious to take WARP to new heights and it is very exciting. At the same time, I personally have a weak internet connection, so the in-person parts of WARP are still very important to me. I have worked on several previous live Annual Meetings and will help with our Ohio meeting next year, and look forward to figuring out how to design it so that it addresses both avenues of communication, online and live. This is my last year on the board and it’s going to be a good one.

Cael Chappell – Co-Secretary – cael@basketsofafrica.com

As a new board member, I look forward to immersing myself into the WARP community and learning the organization from top to bottom. I especially look forward to hearing from other members’ ideas about what they see for WARP’s future and how I can help bring their vision to fruition.

Elena Laswick – elenalaswick@gmail.com

How do I hope to make an impact? The first thing that comes to mind is working on ways to make WARP as inclusive as possible. I can imagine contributing to this goal by expanding our reach with younger folks with a stronger social media presence and working to include as many people from different countries and backgrounds as possible.

Sarah Saulson – sarahsaulson@gmail.com

The post-COVID world is emerging as very different from before.  No place is that truer than for WARP.  Our membership blossomed during the Pandemic thanks to Zoom in large measure, and has become much more international.  I’m looking forward to building upon this exciting new development in WARP. As we move forward, I’d like to help ensure that the board builds and maintains strong links with our amazing membership.

Beth Davis – daviswarp@gmail.com

I am a founding member of WARP, but for various reasons I was a passive member for a long time. Now I want to be fully engaged again, bringing not only my connection to the history of the organization but the professional skills I have learned in the meantime. I am especially enthusiastic about User Experience Research as I know it can help improve the website and all of our other online connections to our membership. WARP has changed so much in the past 30 years, I want to be on the team that re-defines it and figures out how to best serve our 21^st century membership. Toward that end, along with Hedy, I am working on the Member Survey that you will receive in August. We urge you to fill it out and return it, as we sincerely want to know what you want for and from WARP.

Maren Beck – maren@hilltribeart.com

What excites me most about WARP in the coming year is the opportunity to expand our regular contacts with our membership through online networking opportunities.  This past spring we started the Business Networking Group, which linked members around specific topics related to members’ businesses, whether wholesale, retail, tours, artisans, or presenters.  We will be starting to meet again after a short break, so let me know if you would like to join the group.  The additional involvement of international members is also something I hope to see grow, as we are able to successfully use Zoom to connect membership all over the world in our meetings.  I’m also hoping that we can continue to have a Zoom component of our annual meetings to better connect our widely dispersed membership.

Who to contact about what: (email addresses above, by each name)

• Member Survey coming out in August – Beth, Hedy
• Monthly Zoom Panel Presentations – Hedy, Deborah, Judi Jetson*, Cathy Jacobus*
• Zoom Discussion Groups, eg Business, Cultural Appropriation – Maren
• Artisan Resource Guide updates – Hedy
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion – Hedy, Beth, Elena
• Auction/Raffle/Giving Tuesday – Cheryl, Elena
• Vendor Event in the fall – Maren
• Website Design and Spiffing Up – Cael, Beth, Elena
• Annual Meeting 2022/Ohio – Sara L, Elena, Cathie Joslyn*, Katie Simmons*
• Grants, Scholarships, Assistantships – Maren, Beth
• Volunteers – Maren, Deborah
• Nominating Committee – Maren
• Board Handbook and By-laws updates – Sara L,, Deborah
• Newsletter – Sarah S., Linda Temple*
• Blog – Deborah
• Social Media Management – Elena

(*You don’t have to be a board member to work in an area of interest. Join us!)

As hundreds of people already know, the WARP Annual Meeting that took place over the weekend of June 18 – 20, 2021 was an amazing event, successful on all counts. Our first Zoom conference, there were almost no technical glitches in spite of the 24 presenters coming to us from not only the full spread of the United States but Bangladesh, Brazil, England, Laos, Lebanon, and Mexico, and participants signing in from countries near (Canada, Guatemala) and far (Thailand, Australia), 15 countries in total. It was, absolutely, the most international of all our international Annual Meetings, an amazing accomplishment by the Board and Annual Meeting committee. The good news for anyone who missed it, and many who want a re-run of all or part, is that every session was recorded individually and will be available on WARP’s YouTube channel soon.

The one thing we did not figure out how to do was recreate the live thank you and gift-giving for the departing board members that is a WARP tradition. This year five board members are leaving us, six more are coming in, so our new board will have nine members, the biggest ever. And we can thank the retiring board members for the need for so many. With the arrival of COVID and Zoom, the most active board we have ever had absolutely jumped into action responding to the new world situation. Their accomplishments were nothing short of miraculous, and we want to acknowledge their contributions extraordinaire.

President Susan Weltman

It would be hard to put into words the joie de vivre y generosity of Susan. Everyone knows that Susan is WARP’s best ambassador. She roams the streets of New York spreading the word of WARP and bringing in new members, and then goes off into the rest of the world doing the same. With a clear focus on inclusion, Susan has kept her eye, and therefore WARP’s eye, on bringing in young people as well as people of every color and gender. She insists that we need to get our act together in this arena, and while everyone agrees, it is Susan who has shown us the way – and we hope will continue to. As the world opens up and we can go forth once again, retiree Susan is going to resume her volunteer work with multiple local efforts, including The Arab-American Family Support Center and Red Hook Farms, an organic farm in Brooklyn! Her favorite hangout is WARP member Cynthia Alberto’s Brooklyn studio Weaving Hand. By way of a sincere thank you, we will be sending to Susan a handcrafted one-of-a-kind necklace from her friend and our Keynote speaker Yasmine Dabbous of Beirut, Lebanon.

Vice President Kate Colwell

Hailing from the opposite end of the US, Kate is a retired physician from northern California. Her childhood in Brazil and other connections have instilled a love of Meso-America, and she has been working for the past six years with artisans in Guatemala to reduce repetitive stress injuries. Her retirement from the board is going to allow her to spend even more time helping the health workers of Petén Health in their quest to support the residents of their part of northern Guatemala. Kate’s most visible contribution to WARP this year has been overseeing our first ever virtual Annual Meeting – no small feat, an invent-it-as-you-go process that led to great growth for WARP. With the help of team mates Sara Lamb and Beth Davis (both continuing on the board), Administrative Coordinator Kelsey Wiskirchen, and lots of input from other board members, Kate shepherded the creation of six panel discussions, five individual presentations, two videos made for WARP (all viewed by roughly 250 people), the member-only Welcome Circle (with 60+ participants) and Business Meeting (with 66 participants), and numerous opportunities for members to hang out and zoom together, talking about whatever they wanted – the networking and camaraderie for which we come together. Kate’s thank you gift is a basket from Mayan Hands, for whose weavers, felters, and basket makers she has done so much for so long.

Treasurer Mary Joan Ferrara-Marsland

After Peace Corps and beyond in Botswana, a year in England, and finally settling back in the USA, twenty-five years ago, through WARP connections, Mary Joan started working for UPAVIM (United for a Better Life) in Guatemala, and soon after that added Mayan Hands to her responsibilities. Living in Maryland, Mary Joan was the representative and distributor for both of these WARP member Fair Trade ngo-s that support women artisans in Guatemala. She has since retired to West Virginia, which gave her a chance to get more fully involved in WARP once again. Coming on to fill out a term as treasurer just a year ago, she helped to assess our overall financial situation and fundraising goals, with the creation and execution of the hugely successful online auction, she advocated for the COVID relief grants given earlier this year, worked with Maren Beck in establishing the very successful business networking zoom group, and took on the task of writing the descriptions of 250 items for the WARP auction, a major contributor to the raising of over $11,000. Upon retiring – well, she said it best herself: I just wanted to let everyone know also that I really enjoyed working with all of you this past unusual year. I was so happy to reconnect with WARP and I would not have done that if Susan had not been persistent in asking me to be on the board previously and as Treasurer this last time. To everyone leaving the board you have done a fabulous job and in particular Susan and Philis who have given so many years and so much of your time. You are very appreciated and will be missed by all.  Absolutely yes, and in gratitude Mary Joan will be given a gift from Mari Gray and Kakaw Designs, a table runner from San Juan Cotzal in the Guatemala she loves, (but not one she has already been looking at for more than two decades!)

Philis Alvic – Member at Large

Philis – artist, author, international consultant, and more – has been a member of WARP just about forever and the board for six years, and when this year suddenly demanded a new WARP, as always she rose to the occasion. The Kentucky mastermind behind our new geography-based series of Zoom panel discussions Continuing Textile Traditions, Philis convinced WARP member speakers from the North America, Asia, Africa, and Latin America to share their experiences and wisdom with audiences that reached into the hundreds. It was a stroke of genius that made her (and the board) decide to make the presentations free and open to the public, and the benefits to WARP have been incalculable. We trust that Philis will feel both warmed and elegant in a handwoven hand dyed shawl from Mekong River Textiles, a Fair Trade ngo that has worked in SE Asia since 1986.

Sara Borchert (and Luna) – Member at Large

Sara’s daughter Luna is four, which means that she has probably attended four Annual Meetings one way or another. We all love Luna, and also seeing what a good mom Sara is. Sara’s very full-time day job is working at Camphill Hudson in upstate NY, one of the many Camphill intentional communities that everyone should know about, communities that have provided WARP (and the board) with members since at least our 1999 meeting at Grailville in Loveland, Ohio. In her one-year fill-in, Sara’s main role was helping Philis with the Continuing Textile Traditions panel discussions, especially early on with designing the format and finding speakers. That plus attending the monthly zoom meetings of the board were about all she could squeeze in, but it was the right thing at the right time, and all are grateful. Our thanks to Sara will be a Peruvian shoulder bag handspun and handwoven by one of the many CTTC weavers who receive market and other support from Clothroads, another Fair Trade member of WARP.

We still wish we could do a grand live celebration, and we for sure will at the next live WARP meeting. Meanwhile, we hope you will also find a way to give your virtual applause and thanks to these wonderful retiring board members. WARP is about to take a giant leap forward, and thanks to these five women we are ready.

NOTA: puede ver la historia en español abajo del inglés.

When WARP began 29 years ago, the primary reason was to create a meeting where like-minded folks could get together to talk about what we do – and dream of doing. There were fewer than a dozen of us then, but it turned out to be a good idea and at our last live meeting we had over 100 people in attendance from a membership of more than 300. In the years between we have had annual meetings in 16 states, the District of Columbia, and three countries. The Annual Meeting has been, by everyone’s account, the highlight and most valuable experience WARP has to offer its members. So it was a blow we shared with the world to have to cancel the 2020 meeting, which was to be in Bozeman, Montana. With great faith we rescheduled it for a year later in the same place, and as everyone knows, 2020 extended itself and we had to cancel the second attempt to meet in Bozeman as well.

But a lot has happened in the past year, the biggest for WARP being that it has morphed into an online organization in ways we never imagined before. And like many big surprises, it has turned out to be a great gift. Now members from all over the world have the same access to WARP services as people in the US. We have always had some international membership, but now it has doubled! and they come from 16 other countries, which is very exciting.

In just a few weeks WARP will be unveiling yet another new experience for its members – and anyone else interested, from anywhere in the world with internet access. We are reclaiming the Annual Meeting, doing it via Zoom. As previously, it will run from Friday through Sunday, but unlike any previous meeting, since we have no site expenses it will be free! Some events will be open only to WARP members, but most will be open to anyone who wants to come. It’s a remarkable opportunity, the result of the hard work of more than half of the Board – and will give attendees the chance to hear from 20 speakers from seven countries, most in panel discussions covering an impressive variety of topics.  All presentations will be in English; maybe in another decade we will have grown to having simultaneous translation. And one more great opportunity will be the return of the Auction, a textile-lover-bargain-hunter’s dream, with dozens of items including ethnic textiles from far and wide, books written by WARP members, and more. Just looking at what shows up in the auction is worth checking in for, a mini-museum created by friends.

To learn more or to sign up, simply go to the Weave A Real Peace Program Website. Registration is now open, and we would love to have you join us!

Meeting Agenda

Friday, June 18 – WARP Members Only:

7 pm: Opening Remarks – Susan Weltman, President of the Board
Virtual Welcome Circle, followed by time to socialize in Zoom “Breakout Rooms”

Saturday, June 19 – Open to Public:

11:30 am: Keynote Speaker: Yasmine Dabbous, Beirut, Lebanon
12:30 pm: Hands Off Hands On – Teaching Textiles in Times of COVID – Panel Discussion
1:30 pm: Mini Presentation: When a Woman Rises, by Christine Eber / 15-minute Break
1:45 pm: The Deeper Meaning of Cloth – Panel Discussion on Art & Activism
2:45 pm: Vendor Show & Tell / 30-minute “Lunch Break”
3:45 pm: Fibersheds: Connecting Farmers, Artisans and Consumers to Grow Regional Economies – Panel Discussion
4:45 pm: Mini Presentation: Interlacements: Threads and Lives, by Marilyn Romatka / 15-minute Break
5:00 pm: Scholarship Recipient Presentations
6:00 pm: Mini Presentation: Field to Fashion in Acadiana by Sharon Donnan / 15-minute Break
6:15 pm: Cultural Appropriation: Where do we go from here? – Panel Discussion
7:15 pm: Mini Presentation: Shipibo: Movie of our Memories, by Nancy Feldman / 30-minute “Dinner Break”

The WARP Auction will be online and available throughout the meeting, so whether you attend sessions or not, you can go there anytime to see – and snag – some treasures for yourself or to give as gifts.

Saturday, June 19 – WARP Members Only:

7:45 pm: WARP Members “Show & Tell”, followed by time to socialize in Zoom “Breakout Rooms”

Sunday, June 20 – WARP Members Only:

10 am: Virtual Coffee: Are you a morning person? Socialize in Zoom “Breakout Rooms” while you have your morning coffee!
11 am: WARP Annual Business Meeting

Sunday, June 20 – Open to Public:

12:00 pm: Beyond the Buzzword: ‘Sustainability’ meets Artisanship – Panel Discussion
1:00 pm: Closing Remarks – Susan Weltman, outgoing President of the Board

Deshilando Barreras, Tejiendo Redes    –    18 – 20 Junio 2021

Cuando WARP empezó hace 29 años, la razón principal fue crear una manera de tener reuniones de personas quienes queríamos hablar sobre nuestro trabajo actual y sueños de proyectos que quisimos hacer. Habían menos que una docena de nosotros, pero descubrimos que tuvimos una idea buena, y nuestra reunión en 2019 tenía más que 100 personas de una membresía de más que 300. En los años entre estas dos reuniones hemos tenido reuniones cada año en 16 estados de EEUU más el Distrito de Columbia, y en tres países. Del punto de vista de todos, la Reunión Anual ha sido la luz más brillante de WARP, nuestra oferta más importante a los miembros. Entonces era una decepción tremenda, que compartimos con todo el mundo, cuando necesitábamos cancelar la reunión de 2020, que iba estar en Bozeman, Montana. Con fe fuerte re-programamos la reunión para un año después en el mismo lugar, pero como todos saben, 2020 se extendió y tuvimos que cancelar el intento #2 también.

Mucho ha pasado este año, lo más grande para WARP es que ha evolucionado a convertirse en una organización en línea en unas maneras que nunca imaginamos antes. Y como muchas sorpresas grandes, ha estado un regalo. Ahora los miembros de todo el mundo tienen el mismo acceso a los servicios de WARP que la gente de los Estados Unidos. Siempre hemos tenido miembros internacionales, pero ahora ¡el número ha doblado! – lo que es muy emocionante – y vienen de 16 países.

En pocas semanas WARP va a presentar una experiencia más para sus miembros – y cualquier otra persona interesada, de cualquier parte del mundo que tiene acceso al internet. Estamos programando la Reunión Anual, por Zoom. Como siempre, va a empezar el viernes y terminar el domingo, pero diferente de cualquier reunión antes, por no tener gastos del sitio, ¡va a estar gratis! Unos segmentos van a estar abiertos a solo los miembros de WARP, pero la mayoría van a estar abiertos a cualquier persona que quiere asistir. Es una oportunidad especial, resultado del trabajo duro de más que mitad de la junta de WARP, y los que asisten pueden escuchar presentaciones de 20 expositoras de siete países, la mayoría en paneles con una variedad de temas impresionante. Todas las presentaciones van a estar en inglés. Tal vez en una década más vamos a tener traducción simultánea. Y una más oportunidad grande es el regreso de la Subasta, un sueño de amantes de textiles y gangas, con docenas de productos incluyendo textiles étnicas de todo el mundo, libros escritos por miembros de WARP, y más. Solo para ver lo que está presentado vale la pena de investigar este “mini-museo” creado por amigos.

Arriba es la agenda de los tres días. Para aprender más o inscribirse, va al website de Weave A Real Peace y las páginas del Reunión Anual. La inscripción ya está abierta, y nos gustaría mucha tener su compañía.

NOTA: puede ver la historia en español abajo del inglés.

by Todd Jailer

Have you been awakened at night by a crying child burning up with a fever, and wondered if you should go to the hospital or just try to comfort her until the sun rises? Or had a friend come to the door with a broken arm? Or eaten or drunk something that made you ill, and you just didn’t seem to get better? For many of us, even if we decide to go online or phone an advice nurse instead of going to the hospital, we have a choice about what to do. But many people worldwide have fewer choices. One resource they turn to is WHERE THERE IS NO DOCTOR, a health manual for people who live far from care first published in 1973, and updated and reprinted almost yearly ever since.

This resource and its companion books like Where Women Have No Doctor, A Book for Midwives, Where There Is No Dentist and many more are published in more than 80 languages and have proven to be lifesavers for people who may live a day’s journey or more away from medical help. They’ve also proved indispensable for people who may live in the shadow of a medical center, but lack the financial resources to receive care.

Published by the non-profit Hesperian Health Guides, these books are written in simple language and are heavily illustrated to make them accessible to people who may have a lifetime of experience but limited reading skills. As new materials are developed, they are extensively field-tested: copies are sent to health workers around the world who use them in their communities. They then communicate back what is clear, what needs more work, and what is missing. It is a process that makes each book take a long time to develop, but when it is finally published, it is sure to meet people’s needs.

The books aim to help people solve immediate medical problems so they can then go on to solve longer-term issues that cause illness. For instance, not only is there information on treating giardia or amoebas, but there’s also a discussion of different ways to purify water and improve cleanliness so that stomach problems can be avoided in the future. And since much illness is caused by poverty and social inequality, the books don’t shy away from discussing the social causes of health and illness.

Often used to train community health workers, the book Helping Health Workers Learn was developed in a Guatemalan refugee camp across the border in Mexico in the 1980s. There were no trusted health structures in the refugee camps, and training people to care for themselves and their neighbors both met that need and strengthened the community. More recently, Health Actions for Women was designed by an international group of women’s health activists to share ideas about how to start conversations about issues that are controversial in their diverse communities such as family planning, abortion, violence against women, etc.

An aspect of the books that might appeal especially to WARP members is that the book covers are often built around beautiful woven, dyed, or printed cloths from Asia, Africa, and especially Central America.

As technology has developed, so have Hesperian’s resources. All of our publications are available for free on the internet, and recently Hesperian has produced 3 women’s health apps that can be downloaded to phones or tablets and used offline. Safe Pregnancy and Birth app, Family Planning app, and Safe Abortion app are all available for free in English and Spanish, with the latter two available in French and several African languages as well.

But for many people, nothing is more useful than a printed book, and Hesperian continues to update and keep all its books available. When travelling, it’s easy to pack a copy in your suitcase for your personal use and to leave it with your hosts when you go home. The Spanish translations are used in US medical schools as a guide to simple language explanations of health issues for doctors and nurses who need to work in a second language — so you can use them to improve your language skills as well.

As immunizations for COVID-19 make travel possible again for people in developed countries, vaccine inequity may leave many of the communities you want to visit unvaccinated for some time. Check out the 9 fact sheets covering aspects of COVID-19, from How to Tell if it’s COVID to Stress and Mental Health to Vaccines — all free to download in more than 32 languages.

Check out all Hesperian’s titles and the languages in which they are available on the website: www.hesperian.org

And one final note: for the month of May 2021 Hesperian will give WARP members a 20% discount on any of their publications that have a cost. Simply go to their website and use the code WARP when you order. What a gift! Thank you, Hesperian Health Guides.

TODD JAILER is an editor at Hesperian Health Guides and co-author of Helping Children Live with HIV and Workers’ Guide to Health and Safety. He worked in El Salvador from 1989-1996 with the Salvadoran Association of Art and Cultural Workers (ASTAC). In awe of weavers, his weaving experience is limited to words, not fibers. 

Unos Recursos Valiosos de Salud Para Gente y Comunidades

de Todd Jailer

Si alguien está leyendo esto en español, por favor nos cuenta. Si no, podría desaparecer la traducción.

¿Ha estado despertado en la noche por una niña quemando con fiebre, y se ha preguntado si debería ir al hospital o intenta dar comodidad hasta el amanecer? ¿O ha tenido un amigo llega a su puerta con un brazo fracturado? ¿O comido o bebido algo que le hizo enfermar y no mejoró? Para muchos de nosotros, aunque decidimos chequear para información por internet o llamar una enfermera de ayuda en vez de ir al hospital, tenemos opciones sobre qué hacer. Pero hay mucha gente en todo el mundo que tiene menos opciones. Un recurso que se usa es el libro Donde No Hay Doctor, un manual de salud para personas que viven lejos de ayuda publicado para la primera vez en 1973 y actualizado e impreso casi anualmente desde entonces.

Este recurso y sus libros compañeros como Donde no hay doctor para las mujeres, Un libro para parteras, Donde no hay dentista, y muchos otros son publicados en más que 80 idiomas y han sido salvavidas para gente que vive un día o más lejos de ayuda médica. También están indispensables para personas que viven en la sombra de un centro de salud pero no tienen el dinero para recibir atención.

Publicados por la organización no-lucrativa Hesperian Guías de Salud (Hesperian Health Guides) de California, estos libros son escritos en lenguaje sencillo y tienen muchas ilustraciones para hacerlos más accesibles a las personas quienes tienen una vida llena de experiencia pero sus habilidades de leer son limitadas. Cuando materiales nuevos están desarrollados los mandamos a todos lados para probarlos primero: copias van a trabajadores de salud en todo el mundo quienes las usan en sus comunidades. Después ellos nos comunican lo que es claro, lo que necesita más trabajo, y lo que falta. Es un proceso largo, y cada libro toma mucho tiempo para completarse, pero cuando finalmente terminamos es seguro que va a satisfacer las necesidades de la gente.

La meta de los libros es resolver problemas médicos inmediatos que les permita resolver problemas más grandes, los que causan las enfermedades. Por ejemplo, no solamente hay información sobre giardia intestinal o amebas, también hay información sobre opciones para purificar el agua y mejorar la limpieza, entonces problemas del estómago pueden ser evitados en el futuro. Y porque muchas enfermedades resultan de la pobreza e inequidades sociales, los libros no son tímidos sobre discutir las causas sociales de salud y enfermedades.

Usado frecuentemente para entrenar trabajadores de salud, el libro Aprendiendo a promover la salud fue desarrollado en los campos de refugiados de Guatemala cerca de la frontera de México en los años 1980s. No había infraestructura confiable para salud en los campos, y entrenar la gente para cuidarse ellas mismas y sus vecinos hizo dos cosas, proveyó la necesidad de salud y reforzó la comunidad. Más recientemente, la Guía práctica para promover la salud de las mujeres fue diseñado por un grupo internacional de activistas de salud de mujeres para compartir ideas sobre cómo empezar conversaciones sobre temas controversiales en comunidades diversas como la planificación familiar, el aborto, la violencia contra mujeres, etc.

Un aspecto de los libros que tal vez va a atraer a los miembros de WARP es que las portadas de los libros muchas veces son diseñados sobre tejidos hermosos, tejidos, teñidos, o impresos de varias regiones de Asia, África, y especialmente América Central.

Mientras la tecnología se ha desarrollado, también ha expandido los recursos de Hesperian. Todas nuestras publicaciones son disponibles gratis por internet, y recientemente Hesperian ha producido tres aplicaciones de salud de mujeres que pueden estar descargadas a teléfonos y tabletas y usadas en modo offline. El embarazo y parto seguros – app, Planificación Familiar app (también se llama Anticonceptivos: Métodos y consejería – aplicación móvil), y Aborto Seguro – app están disponibles gratis en inglés y español, y los últimos dos también en francés y varios idiomas africanos.

Pero para mucha gente nada es mejor que un libro impreso, y Hesperian sigue actualizando y manteniendo disponibles todos sus libros. Cuando va a viajar, es fácil empacar su copia en su maleta para su uso personal y dejarlo con sus anfitriones cuando regresa a casa. Las traducciones españolas se usan en las universidades médicas en los Estados Unidos como guía para explicaciones de asuntos de salud en idioma sencillo para médicos y enfermeros quienes trabajan en español como segundo idioma – entonces usted puede usarlos para mejorar sus habilidades de idioma también.

Con la posibilidad de viajar llegando otra vez gracias a las vacunas para COVID-19 para la gente de países desarrollados, todavía podría ser que no puede visitar muchas de las comunidades que quiere por las inequidades de vacunación. Cheque las nueve páginas de información sobre COVID-19, desde Cómo saber si es COVID a Estrés y Salud Mental a Vacunas – todas gratis para descargar en más que 32 idiomas.

Puede chequear todos los títulos de Hesperian y los idiomas en cuáles son disponibles en su website: www.hesperian.org.

Y una nota más: por el mes de mayo de 2021, Hesperian va a dar un descuento de 20% a los miembros de WARP con la compra de cualquiera de sus publicaciones. Sólo necesita ir a su website y usar el código WARP cuando ponga su pedido. ¡Qué regalo! Gracias a Hesperian Guías de Salud.