Fair Trade Quilts & Crafts works with a variety of small cooperatives in different regions of the world.  From the Ends of the Earth is proud to carry quilts, pillows, table covers & runners, bags, and more from their hard-working coops including:

CHUCAM is a community located in the municipality of Chichicastenango, Department of El Quiche, Guatemala. The meaning of the word Chichicastenango in Quiche language is nettle field. In this community live 17 families which make the patchwork for producing quilts and other textiles. Each family is formed by at least 7 members. Chichicastenango is located 66 miles away from the capital city. These families as well as the rest of the families in the community suffered for 36 years the civil war in Guatemala. They are very poor but the women know the ancestral art of weaving and they find in this activity a very important source of income to give a better life to their children. Women learn to make the weaving since they are very young because they make their own clothes. They usually weave in waist mills. Their blouses “huipiles” have symbols which represent the universe, corn, birds and others. Men work with wool to make their own black belts and jackets. Their suits, pants and jackets are like the ones used by the Spanish soldiers during the colonization. The illiteracy in the community is very high , about 60%.

For their dances they wear masks made of wood and painted like the faces of the Spanish soldiers. They also use very luxurious suits for their religious dances. Their main days to celebrate are the days taken from the Christian calendar and the most important celebration is the day of Santo Tomas which is the Saint of the Municipality. The community of CHUCAM is located about 3 miles away from the town of Chichicastenango. The road is not paved and its access is very difficult during winter. The community is formed by about 60 families, all of them Maya Quiches. Their main activity is growing corn, beans, apples and prunes. During the season of sugar cane harvest (January to March), men emigrate to the south coast to work in the fields for a very low salary (less than $200 per month). The members of the 8 families involved in weaving for Fair Trade Quilts don't have to go anymore to work outside the village because  they now have a new source of income within their community. Their incomes now are twice or three times the amount they used to earn in the farms.