Pride and profit: Why Mayan weavers fight for intellectual property rights

The vibrant, woven huipil Florentina Con Juarez wears while spooling thread this morning took her more than four months to complete. The bright primary colors on her shirt combine to make an intricate piece of woven art, but even here in her Cachiquel Maya community, many don’t know their deeper meaning, the octogenarian says: red for the blood of ancestors, blue for the heavens, and green for life and hope.

“Many go to study and work, so there’s not time to weave,” says Ms. Con Juarez, who started weaving when she was 7.

But there are deeper challenges to preserving this historic art. That includes widespread discrimination against indigenous Guatemalans – particularly women in traditional dress – and their communities, and the exploitation of their ancient crafts. Tourism plays up Maya weaving as a national treasure, but handwoven textile

Stolen designsRisks of legislation‘It’s up to indigenous women’