House of Design Pixan is a unique, innovative and ethical social business model that give us as indigenous women, access to opportunities in a globalized world. Pixan, AMA's fair trade textiles workshop is up and running and about to really ramp up production. Contracting with designers and retailers from all over the world, Pixan operates on a direct trade model which cuts out the middle man and
eases a flow of trade directly from the artisan to her market. Pixan is made up women from AMA women's circles from indegenous communties in the highlands of Guatemala. They come from cultures and communties torn apart by war and globalization and lack access to basic opportunities to disrupt the cycles of poverty that plague their communties. These women are also skilled tailors, embroiderers, leather workers, jewelry makers, and a host of other crafts. After waves of delighted clients and developing the methods and confidence to expand production, Pixan just launched its official website in April, 2013. While the workshop doesn't have official fair trade status yet, the workers not only make fair wages to bring back to their families and their communities, but they also participate in women's circles and attend regular trainings on improving their crafts, market research, product placement, and entrepeneurial skills. Although the specific project of House of Design: Pixan began only three years ago, women's independent business is the spark that birthed AMA over twenty years ago when founder Guadalupe Ramirez bought the women of her first women's circle high quality thread to weave textiles for the market in Chichicastenango and for church sales in the United States. With this business, they were able to make money to support their families after their husbands and fathers were burned to death during Guatemala's 30 year internal conflict. These women who had relied solely on men for income were able to support themselves and their families, and the support of the circle helped them through the tragedy. Ramirez went on to open AlterNatives Boutique in Richmond, Virginia in 1992, one of the first fair trade retail stores in the United States where the creations of Pixan are sold today. Even though these artisans were skilled crafters and had found their markets, there still wasn't nearly enough work to keep these women employed full time, year round. First was lack of innovative designs in a competitive market. Although the women were skilled weavers, it's the design that sell, not the fabric. They needed to find a way to bring in designers who knew international markets and could design unique creations that sell so the artisans can keep working. The women needed an expanded market to work all year, and that required capital for marketing and travel that the women simply didn't have. The solution was the House of Design: Pixan. The idea behind Pixan was to enable design entrepeneurs to have production capacity in a fair trade shop. The women of Pixan would weave, embroider, and assemble for international designers, who would provide new innovative designs that would sell in international markets, which would provide the women with year round work. While Pixan's artisans would weave, embroider, and sew, its administrators would transcend the language and cultural barriers of international markets to bring even more designers, retailers, and entrepreneurs right to the workshop. Women's circle members met with organizers at AMA and worked out the logistics of this undertaking. AMA compiled an independent grant proposal for funding to improve the skills of the weavers, sewers, and embroiderers, and to establish a business structure for marketing and administration, and it got accepted. The women's circles were involved in Pixan from its infancy. Project coordinator Juanita Hernandez Velazquez explains, "It's more of a partnership between the community, AMA, and the funders. The women's input made the project realizable because they must put in the time, training, and materials, and be in agreement to make this a realistic objective." While Pixan seeks to create modern and innovative designs, these products never loose sight of their Mayan origins. Each product is inspired by and symbolic of Mayan cosmology. For example, Pixan put out a line of bags made of woven thread and up-cycled leather, the Diamond Marauchi collection. On each bag, a pattern of smaller diamonds within larger diamonds represent Mayan cosmovision. The larger diamonds represent the four corners of the world and the smaller diamonds contained within represent the sun. Through their craft, the women of Pixan can educate happy customers about their culture while creating products that are attractive to the markets of the United States and other countries. According to Velazquez, the biggest hurdles Pixan had to surmount are over. Even though many women's circle members were involved in the planning process, it was still hard to get women involved in the workshop, and to understand what Pixan was all about and how it would work. By just the second year, the project became more tangible and more women were jumping on board. They had a production manager, orders kept coming in, and the women of Pixan were bringing home incomes to their families and communities. This boosted the moral of both the artisans and the project's organizers. "The team is a lot more motivated because we can see that we're giving women a means to make their own income, offer trainings, and exporting products," explains Velazquez. "There is now a great commitment within AMA to this project because we've begun to see results." The results Velazquez speaks of are profound. Women like Pascuala of Xeabaj Il's women's circle, which started up in 2006 in response to the devastation following Hurricane Stan in 2005, have been able to save the money they make from working at Pixan to help their families. Thanks to the money she made weaving scarves, earrings, and jewelry, she was able to buy her father medicine for his heart disease. Her village is very isolated and the only other work available is working in the fields for half the wages she makes at Pixan. This is just one example of the immediate benefits this project is already creating. AMA understands poverty as lack of access to opportunities. Employment availability is only part of the equation. In addition to working in the workshop, these women also attend AMA women's circles where they get the opportunity to speak in front of audiences and develop their leadership skills, receive social and emotional support from their peers, attend health and nutrition classes, and qualify to receive fuel efficient stoves. Every woman in the Pixan workshop has received a fuel efficient stove, freeing up hours of time previously spent in the kitchen. Just this change in time availability gives women the freedom to persue their interests and find meaningful and well paid work, which in turn gives them even more freedom and independence. For Velazquez, the most exciting part for her is seeing the differences in the women of Pixan. Velazquez explains, "Especially in the very isolated communities, the women were very timid and shy, and now they're more open and communicative." The presence of these women in their communities has made an impact on the culture of machismo in the highlands. Like Pascuala of Xeabaj Il, the women of Pixan are putting their money to work making their families healthier and happier, and their husbands have noticed. Presently, two women still have to come to work at Pixan in secret. It's a big deal for women to be able to leave home to work. Now, since their contributions have become tangible, their villages are beginning to see that women can be more than just housewives. With income and education made possible by Pixan, they're making decisions about where their money, time, and energy goes. "These women are going back to their communities empowered, they are taking all of their leadership skills and confidence and putting it to use in the wider community," Velazquez explains. "This is attracting more women to women's circles, so more women and their families and communities can benefit from other programs offered by AMA like fuel efficient stoves, children's arts programs, and community building centers." In the next few years, Pixan hopes to attend many international vendors fairs and connect with potential buyers. They're searching for funding to train the artisans of Pixan vend directly at these fairs, but for the time being the women work the booths at local and national vendor fairs. The ultimate goal of Pixan is to provide 150 women full time work with fair wages, and the knowledge and skills to start their own independent businesses. While AMA and Pixan are fantastic resources for Guatemala's indigenous women, the goal is complete independence. The tipping point between teaching dependency on an NGO and teaching independence is education. The women of Pixan are learning to run their own fair trade workshops, start their own businesses, do effective market research, and network with potential buyers. Meanwhile, they're already earning fair wages, developing confidence, and creating independent lives of opportunity for themselves and their communities. The goal is that one day when AMA isn't there, the women will have the skills to support themselves and break that dependent relationship.
