Today I had the opportunity to check out Taller Lenateros, a small workshop that takes recycled materials and produces incredible paper, books, and art. From their website:
A publishing collective operated by contemporary Mayan artists in Chiapas, Mexico. Founded in 1975 by poet Ámbar Past, the Workshop has created the first books to be written, illustrated, printed, bound (in paper of their own making) by Mayan people in over 400 years. Among its multiple objectives are those of documentation, praise and dissemination of Amerindian cultural values: song, literature, plastic arts, and the ancient Mesoamerican tradition of painted books.
The Leñateros’ rescue of old and endangered techniques such as the extraction of dyes from wild plants, contributes to the conservation of Native American languages, and benefits the ecology by recycling agricultural and industrial wastes, transforming them into art and beautiful books.
I’m wrapping up a fantastic in Chiapas, Mexico, where Ariel Chait and I participated in the annual meeting of CoopSol. Small scale coffee producers from around Latin America got together with the roasters and retailers of Cooperative Coffees to talk about the current state of Fair Trade, best practices in Fair Trade and organic coffee production, and where the future of specialty coffee is headed. Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we held meetings at CEDECI, a training center for local indigenous people; in the mountains near Acteal, the home of Maya Vinic coffee; and around the picturesque city of San Cris. For Ariel and me, it was a great opportunity to meet a lot of good people and talk about Acopio Movil, the project we’ve been working on at Cal.
Check out the gallery below for some pictures from the week and a video featuring fellow participants.
