Programs
Corazon Center
At the Corazon Center in Chimaltenango women and their children receive skill
development workshops, as well as programming that increases creativity,
reading comprehension and self-esteem.
Student Scholarship Program
Amigas de Corazon provides 27 scholarships annually to the weavers' children.
These scholarships cover school expenses, such as supplies,
exam fees, books and uniforms.
Corazon Scarves
Amigas de Corazon is committed to helping artisans from Central and South
America access markets in the United States. We purchase their products based
on fair trade standards. The artisans set the prices and revenue from product sales
are invested into purchasing additional product and supporting education initiatives.
Meet the Artisans
Corazon de Mujer
(Heart of Woman)
The group’s members are indigenous women who suffered from the armed conflict in Guatemala during the 1980’s,
but joined to form a weaving group in Chimaltenango, Guatemala in 1991. Approximately 16 members weave traditional textiles on the back strap and foot looms, generating income to support their families. They create
our beautiful Corazon Striped, Vibrant Guatemala Series,
and Corazon Casual Scarves and our cotton single-color shawls. Some of their members are widows and weaving
is their only source of income, as they have never had the opportunity to study and are illiterate. As an organized
group of women, they are able to solicit training and
are learning new skills.
Voz de Tz’utujil
The Tz’utujil are Mayan people living in the town of
San Juan, on Lake Atitlan. "Voz" means voice. There
are 15 women members in their group. Many are raising children on their own. Some of them are widows because their husbands died during the war; others lost
husbands to sickness; some of them have been
abandoned by their husbands after they brought their children into the world- an all too common story here.
Their natural cotton scarves are tinted using natural
dyes from the plants, herbs, flowers and trees that
grow around Lake Atitlan.
Association of
Mayan Women
The Association of Mayan Women is located in
Solola, Guatemala, overlooking Lake Atitlan. Their
specialty is Chenille scarves and handbags made
from both cotton and bamboo. They use natural
dyes to create their rich color spectrum.
The Elderly
Bead Center
The bead-making workshop/store and elderly center are housed in the same building and are located in Santiago,
the largest municipality on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.
Proceeds from the bead shop's jewelry sales are used to
feed 65 impoverished elderly three meals a week. Many
of the elderly are homeless. The majority of them are
women, and many are also widows from Guatemala's civil war. The center also provides the elderly with an annual Christmas party and other social activities throughout
the year. It is a place where the elderly can feel safe, eat a nourishing meal, and receive a little dignity and social time. The jewelry makers are women displaced from Panabaj,
a town of 1,400 people that was washed away by a
mudslide during Hurricane Stan.
We believe all women can embrace who they are,
can define their future, and can change the world.
