Men’s Leather “Bandolera”, Pedal Loom & Leather

Artisanal fabrics represent a large portion of the effort to preserve the indigenous’ people’s legacy, because their knowledge and techniques are usually passed along from one generation to another.

The currently used garments of the women in the town of Zinacantán, consists of a blouse, a strap-tightened skirt, and a  “mocheval” (a form of cape), which are woven using traditional Backstrap Waist Looms and Pedals, while men have adopted the use of pants and Shirts, made with traditionally woven Backstrap Waist Looms’ cotton.

The blouse, skirt, “mocheval” and cotton, are decorated with embroidery that can either be cross-stitch, fill stitch, or machine sewn, even using other techniques, such as drawings or hand-paintings. No matter the technique these pieces are adorned with, they all have something in common: colorful flowers.

The colorful flowers have evolved in size, shape, and mostly in the colors used to make them. This change can be appreciated every 6 months, when the families use their new pieces for the first time, using new color schemes embroided specially for the San Sebastian and San Lorenzo Carnivals in January and August respectively.

The flowers embroidered both on the Skirt and the “Mocheval” are made into symmetric groups and applied using aesthetic patterns so that the final design on the skirt is seen from every angle.

Anastasia, just as several Tzotzil men and women from Zinacantán, Chiapas, learned and has dedicated to the weaving of garments and several pieces using traditional Backstrap Waist Looms and embroidered with beautiful floral motifs since a very young age. Some years ago, she gathered a group of Tzotzil fabrics artisans to form the “Nich Chiapas” cooperative, dedicated to the production of fine and innovative artisan products using traditional techniques and themes, which are and have been a very close and intimate part of their culture.

The Zinacanteca woman, using compositions that harmonize with different types of environments, from the most conventional ones, up to the most contemporary expressions and pieces, all without setting aside the sentimental and significant meaning of each piece.

Nich Chiapas’s products reflect the diversity and richness of the Tzotzil peoples, achieved with the proper creative vision

Nich Chiapas has become a change agent regarding fair-trade and artisan craft, as well as Backstrap Waist Loom workers, letting them keep on expressing their passion and tradition by keeping it as their main activity. Barriers have been broken, traditionally textile activities were relegated to women, nowadays 50% of the pieces and activities by Nich Chiapas are performed by men, most of them sons of the women who started this project. Nich produces its source materials, and also counts with several Backstrap and Pedal Looms, in which the fine fabrics are made for elaborate clothing confection, all in the sewing workshop, before going into the embroidery shop, either done by hand or with the aid of a machine.

This cooperative counts with the work of over 30 people and 100 external collaborators all around the state of Chiapas, which produce fine fabrics using their backstrap waist looms, and help with the handmade embroidery, pieces that require deeper effort and more time to produce.