It’s been a while since we gave you an insight behind the scenes of Trama Textiles and our wonderful employees. It’s time to introduce some of our new team members.
Diana Mendoza – first coordinator
“Hola! My name is Diana Mendoza, I am a 32 year old textile and fashion designer from Mallorca, Spain. Usually, the highlight of my day is waking up to a steaming cup of cocoa and coffee. It’s always a pleasure starting my morning with this lovely combination of flavors.
What made you choose to travel to Guatemala in the first place?
“I came here in 2017 to work for a German designer. At the time the designer was producing clothing in Guatemala to sell in Mallorca. My job was to oversee the production in a village called San Miguel Sigüilá. Working there for 9 months gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and get to know the women at a personal level. Building these relationships and experiencing Guatemala at a personal level created my long and lasting love for the country.”
How did you find out about Trama Textiles?
“When I started designing my own clothes I would buy ready-made fabrics for my designs. Bringing my designs to the next level meant creating my own fabrics, this is when I turned towards Trama for help and found the organization for the first time. Four years later I returned to Guatemala and met the coordinator of Trama at the time. She was looking for help so she invited me to work with her which is how I found myself here today.”
What was your motivation to apply?
“I liked to help in this difficult moment that they were having after the pandemic. I believe I have the right experience to be helpful for the organization. However, I do realize now that the NGO’s here are very dependent on international volunteers and my ambition is to help them become more independent. I hope to spend my time here to help Trama with that transition in having more local coordinators, besides the international volunteers. So, when another pandemic hits, they have better knowledge about how to sustain themselves and their international contacts.”
What is the most valuable thing you have learned during your time at Trama Textiles so far?
“It helps me to understand better the value behind textiles. It’s not just about the aesthetic of women dressing so colorful and beautiful in Guatemala, it’s also a political act of reclaiming their culture and identity.”
What has been the most surprising experience you have had during your travel in Guatemala so far?
“My most impressive experience has been visiting a little village in Colomba, called ‘La Florida.’ Here you can find a sustainable coffee association, which is fighting for the rights of their land. The nature is very impressive there, a lot of flora and fauna. But I was the most impressed by the mentality of the people. They have a very communal and sustainable way of living together. They value what they have and are and are ready to fight for that.”
What would you want to say to people thinking about volunteering for Trama Textiles?
“It’s a very cool experience to come here and get involved in the association. It’s better to feel and experience this instead of just thinking or reading about it. From there you can build something beautiful and helpful for the organization by bringing your own special talents and passions.”
Laura Fores– first coordinator
“Hello! Nice to meet you. My name is Laura, I am 27 years old, I am from a small town in Catalonia, Spain. My background is in psychology, and I am now doing a master in humanitarian action in which I focus on migration and human rights of children and teenagers. I am working on my thesis in this moment here in Guatemala, were I found out about Trama. In addition, I am also a yoga teacher. My happy moment of the day was to share ginger tea this morning with my roommate.”
What made you choose to travel to Guatemala in the first place?
“I am here since July because of the master I am doing, on the third semester we could go on an exchange and Guatemala was offering a specialization that I liked. So, the reason to came here was meanly for study reasons, although I have been attracted to the culture of Guatemala before and wanting to visit for a longer time.”
How did you find out about Trama Textiles?
“I knew Trama textiles for a while because I knew some volunteers working here when I was doing the exchange, so I got to know about the amazing projects Trama works on as well as the values and mission it has.”
What was your motivation to apply?
“I knew Diana and she asked me if I wanted to help with the job here. I thought it was great opportunity for me to put into practice my studies, about cooperations and humanitarian actions and see how NGO’s ork and develop myself personally and professionally. I found it very interesting that it is a local woman cooperative. I believe that NGO’s need to have this local engagement to work so I was curious to see this into practice.”
What is the most valuable thing you have learned during your time at Trama Textiles so far?
“How to be both professional and personal in an NGO. Working together and learning everyone’s perception, finding a way to unify them to bring Trama to the next point.”
What has been the most surprising experience you have had during your travel in Guatemala so far?
“For me it was really interesting and enriching to spend some times in indigenous communities when I was doing the internship. To get to know different lifestyles, learn about the traditions in Guatemala. It’s a very rich and authentic culture with a lot of sacred rituals. Also, it has been cool to live in another country, spend time with other internationals and locals, learn about our differences and similarities.”
What would you want to say to people thinking about volunteering for Trama Textiles?
“I would say that if you consider working in a local NGO in Guatemala and your passionate about women rights and indigenous Maya traditions, then I would really recommend people to try. It can be a very fulfilling experience, an opportunity to grow personally and professionally. It’s a great experience to get to know people with the same values. Also, we are open for receiving different ideas from everyone so everyone can play their own special role within Trama.”
Marie Martin – volunteering for 3 months
“Buenos dias! My name is Marie, I am from Belgium, I am 21 years old. I started studying in interior architecture, but I dropped out. So, instead of studying last year, I did a citizen service in the cultural event industry. It was like 6 months of volunteering, and after that I got engaged by the citizen service association as an ambassador for another 6 months. I learned a lot during this experience. This was my first-time volunteering and it introduced me to the idea of giving your time to an association I believe in, which was a very fulfilling experience. And my happy moment of today was an interesting and fun conversation I had with my roommate about French politics.”
What made you choose to travel to Guatemala in the first place?
“I want to study art and textiles, which is starting this September. This means I had 5 months left, after working for the cultural association in Brussels. And I love traveling so I knew I wanted to use this empty space to go abroad. Also, there is a great opportunity in Belgium that can give you financial support for doing an internship abroad, called the BIJ (Bureau International Jeunesse). So of course, I wanted to take this change. Trama appeared to be the perfect place to do this internship. Because it’s also a great opportunity to gain more experience with textiles and work on my portfolio at the same time I am working here.”
How did you find out about Trama Textiles?
“I realized that I found Maya textiles the most beautiful and interesting so I knew I wanted to go into this region. Which made me search on google for a volunteering job combined with Maya textile art and this is how Trama popped up.”
What was your motivation to apply?
“Well, I have no experience in the fairtrade business side and I wanted to learn more about that. I also really love the fact that it is a feminist association, it is so empowering, and I just wanted to be part of that. It’s amazing to be able to give my time to other women that need it, especially women from indigenous cultures. In Belgium we can still have this idea of indigenous cultures living naked in the forest, but I wanted to discover what is real and stand for their rights. And now I think we can learn a lot from the indigenous cultures because they seem so human and living in this beautiful collective way, while people in Belgium are living more like individual robots.”
What is the most valuable thing you have learned during your time at Trama Textiles so far?
“I think it’s about slowing down, for me this is the most valuable thing. I feel like Trama is a bubble in space and time which invites you to slow down. I feel very connected to myself spending my time here. Being surrounded by the families that live here, being immersed in the Maya culture, in which rituals and family is more important than being productive.”
What has been the most surprising experience you have had during your travel in Guatemala so far?
“I think it is the welcomeness of people. I didn’t expect the people to be so friendly and welcoming, especially in Xela. People look you in the eyes and say hello to each other and in the family of Trama has been so welcoming. To me this was so surprising considering the history of this land, they would have all the right to not be this friendly, but they are.”
What would you want to say to people thinking about volunteering for Trama Textiles?
“I think that if you doubt about what you could bring to this association, you are already thoughtful enough to come here and help. All the help from all the different backgrounds, personalities and genders are welcome. In Trama there is the freedom to be helpful in your own personal way.”