home shopping (with a twist)

Shopping at home for an American might conjur up images of pouring through catalogues and, well okay, this is the 21st century, perhaps web sites too. Guatemala home shopping is different. With our improved Spanish, neighborhood women are able to approach us, ask us into their homes for us to see what (usually home woven) articles they have to sell.

Pictured here is Willa and her first friend in Nebaj, Norma. Willa and Norma see each other just about daily while in Nebaj. In fact one day, Norma took Willa to school with her. Linda and I had a preview of available items during our previous visits. We wanted to wait until Julie had arrived to do any serious thoughts of buying. They live in a two room house (one bedroom and one eating/living room,) and have an outdoor kitchen. Included are pictures of Norma's Mom weaving, their wood burning cooking stove and their pila. The family picture shows Norma's brother, mother holding their baby, Norma, Willa, Julie and Norma's father. Missing is another of Norma's brothers.

Even under the best of conditions, most people in these outlying villages and towns, (and probably alot in the cities) are desparately poor, living hand to mouth. With the world economy slowing quite noticeably, conditions are worse. Norma's family made a list of the considerable expenses of sending their kids (4 total counting the baby) to grade school and linked that with the need to sell some of their weavings. I'm convinced some of the items were right out of their closet (literally.)

We were invited over for a light lunch. The lunch was a special local dish that is made only in this immediate vicinity of Guatemala called boxbul. When in season, hueskill leaves are rolled around corn made in about the same way as for tortillas and then boiled. When hueskill is not available, they can be made with swiss chard or other similar greens. The resultant broth made a really great thick soup to drink, tasting surprisingly like chicken broth.

There was a weaving (huipil) that Norma's Mom had made extra tall. She had been nearing the completion of the three month weaving process during our first visit, and when we said we wanted to wait for our very tall Julie to arrive, she finished the weaving for extra tall. A beautiful weaving it is, and maybe partly or mostly out of their truly desparate need, perhaps sprinkled with the idea it was finished just for her, Julie bought it.

We have purchased items directly from other families as well, this was not our only such experience.