Designing with the Chol Chol Foundation;
January 15, 2010
A Contemporary Fair Trade Mapuche Product Line
double wrap belt in textile and leather
thick belt in textile and leather
textile purses
textile purse on form
black and white quartered cowl
large-buttoned cowl with fringe
wrapped scarf with button and fringe
looped shawl with fringe
crocheted sweater
dress with floral pattern
*Ruana designed in 2006 by Fundacíon Fundesarte (Fundacíon para la innovacíon de la artesanía)
These designs are in production and will be available to the public in 2011. (Except the ruana, which is available now.) For wholesale or retail inquiries, please contact the Chol Chol Foundation at info@cholchol.org.
Fundacíon Chol Chol;
January 9, 2010
Hand Crafted Mapuche Textiles
Fair trade indigenous art: preserving culture and relieving poverty.
The Foundation specializes in traditional, completely natural, Mapuche textiles and knits ranging from wall hangings, rugs, blankets, and table cloths to ponchos, shawls, scarves, hats, and gloves.
Chol Chol Foundation's exclusive fair trade store
All patterns and symbols are uniquely Mapuche, and represent cosmological stories of their religion as well as elements of the natural world.
Folded textiles woven by Mapuche artisans
The yarn used for each piece is hand-spun, and every color is dyed from natural brews of native plants and fruits.
Mural Trarikan: ceremonial Mapuche wall art
As with this Trarikan, some textiles are still made with ancient techniques involving dying with mud that is knotted with reeds. Mapuche textile art is still intimately connected with spirituality of the Mapuche people.
Artesanía Mapuche; Textile
October 27, 2009
Traditional Mapuche Loom
Weaving knowledge has been passed down in the Mapuche communities of Chile from mother to daughter for countless generations, and even today most women report having learned from their families. Tapestries, blankets, and clothes are woven from traditional rectangular looms built of wooden frames. This weaving technique allows for the weavers to blend symbols, patterns and textures.
Mapuche ladies weaving in their kitchen
Mapuche weaving is made completely sustainably using traditional techniques on home-built frame looms. Weaving is liberating to women of the Araucanía region because it can be done from home, meaning they can raise their families in their communities. Women can make an income without having to leave for cities to find employment, presenting an alternative to rural flight.
Diagram of a Mapuche Loom
Weaving is key to environmental and cultural preservation in the Aracaunía region. As opposed to deforestation seen often in struggling indigenous communities, when a craft uses only easily replenishable materials, no plants or animals are destroyed in the process. Furthermore, the Mapuche weaving technique relies solely on hand-spun yarn and natural dyes crafted from 100% sustainably harvested vegetation: no pollution results from machines or harmful chemicals. Mapuche weaving is a productive livelihood that results in a net-positive affect on the environment (as it encourages bio-diversity in the plants used and the dye pulp can be used as fertilizer).
More importantly, weaving helps preserve the culture of the Mapuche people. The more weaving is practiced, the more Mapuche craft techniques and styles are shared. The symbols in the textiles refer to images from Mapuche history and cosmological beliefs, and are often used to tell graphic stories. When women can make a living from weaving, they are able to practice and teach their culture as a part of their profession. In the process, much of this knowledge is imparted upon the younger generation. Furthermore, when those textiles are created and circulated, the Mapuche story is also celebrated beyond the rural communities of their creators.
Mapuche Lady Weaving
Artesanía Mapuche; Hand Made Yarn
September 21, 2009
Textiles at the Chol Chol Foundation
The weaving from the 38 Mapuche communities we work with is beautiful, with earthy tones and graphic symbolic patterns representing different visual elements of Mapuche spirituality. All wool is carded from sheep in the Aracaunía region, and shipped locally.
raw wool drying before being spun
The women spin the wool by hand into variety of different textures of yarn: thin, thick, smooth, textured, with single or double fibers twisted.
Mapuche mother spinning wool in her kitchen
The yarn is then dyed naturally with plant or mud brews from materials harvested sustainably in their communities. Read the rest of this entry »
Artesanía Mapuche; Palacio de la Moneda
September 7, 2009
Palacio de la Moneda, Artasania de Chile Mapuche exhibit, Santiago
The Mapuche are best known for their craft traditions in textiles, silver jewelry, wood, and basket weaving. Many of the patterns, symbols, and techniques still used date back to pre-colonial times.
Here are some examples from Artasanía de Chile’s gallery at la Palacio de la Meneda in downtown Santiago.
Plata
(Silver)
silver and beaded traditional Mapuche jewelry
head pieces, worn in a circle around the top of the the head.
These are clothing pins, used to hold wrapping sweaters together as you wear them.
Design in Santiago: the time is now.
August 30, 2009
Azul advertisement, Providencia bus stop, Santiago, Chile
a contemporary design, Galeria Del Mundo, Santiago, Chile
When exploring the streets of Santiago one sees throes of elegantly clad Latins rushing to their destinations and stores which explode with colors and shapes. You cannot help but feel you are witnessing an exciting new design era take root in Chile’s capital city. Neighborhoods such as Lastarria, Bellas Artes, and Bella Vista are springing up with interesting boutiques, experimental fashions, theaters, and fancy restaurants. Fledgling creative ventures ranging from stores that only support unique Chilean designs to art collectives, seem to be flourishing in uncharted territory.
According to an interview by LAMA, Latin America in the Modern Age blog, with designers Rina and Pamela of Santiago’s Studio Grafíkk:
“The design scene in Santiago is growing and growing every day. There’s a lot of talented designers and very good manufacturers. Also it helps that there’s emerging neighborhoods with young design studios and shops. In six years, everything changed a lot, with the emerging Chilean economy (despite of the latest world economy crisis), design has found its place.” Read the rest of this entry »
Investigación Santiago
August 24, 2009
Provedencia Sculpture Garden, Santiago, Chile
Things become even more interesting when I began interviewing boutique vendors and citizens of Santiago, the design and culture capital of Chile and the Chol Chol Foundation’s priority target market. I noticed a surprising lack of Mapuche textiles or goods across all the traditional artisan shops in touristy locations. There were explicit messages from citizens and implicit messages from shop inventories that the Mapuche culture was apart from Chilean culture, and that the Mapuche faced discrimination both in social perceptions and the marketplaces. People interviewed across Santiago did not perceive the Mapuche people as educated or artistic, and did understand why I had chosen to work with them. Many explained to me that anti-Mapuche racism is deeply rooted in the Chilean culture and was one of the major obstacles the Mapuche people faced in entering the design market here.
Opinionated Chilean at a BBQ in Southern Santiago, "Why the Mapuche?"
“But their cultural history is not interesting or artistic, why do you want to design with them?” – The man pictured above.
“People don’t want to hire [Mapuche] because they are not seen as good workers, because they are angry that they are forced to be menial workers in a country that was once theirs […] I don’t mean to be racist the facts are the facts, they are at the lowest levels of society, in terms of money and education” – Philipp K.
“Here in Santiago, the women have deep pockets but how do you say it? They will not spend on Mapuche.” – Anya K.
Though many talked about discrimination, most did not feel that way. People I spoke to – most importantly shop owners – were quite interested in hearing more about the project. Read the rest of this entry »
