Illuminate Fair Trade is now offering two new throw blankets from our artisan partners in Guatemala. Both are based on unique designs and not available anywhere else in N. America or Europe. The first is our Guatemalan Mixed Huipile Embroidered Lap Blanket or Throw. They are created with the traditional Mayan designs found in the large embroidered patches of Guatemalan Huipiles [Mayan Embroidered Blouses]. Each is beautiful, colorful, and unique! 60 x 50 inches. Perfect to cu

As many of you know, Illuminate has supported cooperatives of Mayan women artisans for more than 20 years. We are a "social business" that adheres to "Fair Trade" principles. We were established in November 2000 to support craft and weaving cooperatives in the Guatemala. We strive to preserve traditional methods of hand weaving while providing a steady & fair income to the artisans. As "Fair Traders," we pay artisans at least 50% more than they are paid within their local ma

As many of you know, Illuminate Fair Trade supports artisan cooperatives in Guatemala. Your purchases sustain our work there and in the United States. We are a "social business" that adheres to "Fair Trade" principles. We were established in November 2000 to support craft and weaving cooperatives in the Guatemala. Every product we sell is handmade by talented Mayan artisans. We strive to preserve traditional methods of hand weaving while providing a steady & fair income to t

We have been involved in the Fair Trade movement since it picked up steam back in the 1990s, first with the NGO World Share, then with Fair Trade Quilts & Crafts in 2000, and now with Illuminate Fair Trade. Simply stated, Fair Trade means working directly with artisan cooperatives, instead of exploitive middlemen, wholesalers, and brokers. We let the artisans set the prices so that they receive a fair return and assist them with product design and marketing. We have been work

Zacualpa is a small town in the Guatemalan department [state] of El Quiché that has become known for its fine backstrap woven textiles including huipiles [blouses], bedspreads [see above], and table coverings [see below]. Zacualpa is home to thousands of Indigenous K’iché Mayan families who make a living farming and weaving much as they have done for hundreds of years. This region of Guatemala is quite poor and the people here suffered horrendous abuses at the hands of milit

We are now offering traditional handmade wool bedspreads from Momostenango [Momo], Guatemala in the Illuminate Fair Trade store. The wool blankets from this village were recently designated as part of the "National Cultural Heritage" of Guatemala. The artisans of "Momo" have been making them for centuries. Momostenango, in the department [state] of Totonicapan, has been the center of wool textile production in Guatemala since the late 1700s. Sheep, which were introduced by th