SALE
LEARN ABOUT
An Itza Wood Initiative That Weaves Fibers From The Peten Jungle Into An Income For Rural Women
Story by Diana Keeler
The Mother and Daughter team behind Itza Wood, Suzanne and Eliza Babarczy, are unstoppable
forces of nature doing good for people and the planet. They founded Itza Wood to showcase
the region’s beautiful natural woods, to support the local economy, and to fund social
initiatives including employment and education. And they created the new Fiber Collection
initiative to help women from isolated rural communities learn a valuable new skill set
that would help generate much needed income for them and their families.
“IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY CONVERSATION I WOULD HAVE, PEOPLE WERE ASKING IF I WAS HIRING.” -Eliza Babarczy, co-founder Itza Wood This new need dovetailed with conversations the Babarczys had been having with the Rainforest Alliance about a new initiative, with three priorities: to create jobs for women; to provoke product development using sustainable, natural resources; and to connect those goods to viable markets. From those discussions came a new association of crafters, producing a unique collection of products while restoring generations-old skills in weaving and basket-making to members of the local communities.
Above, weavers display handmade creations crafted using fibers from the
junlge like Bayal, Mimbre, Mahagua, and Enea.
“While there is a tradition of weaving a couple of fibers from the jungle, it is dying out, and very few community members actually know how to weave the local fibers,” Eliza Babarczy says. “There was no established group in our communities to simply dive into product development with — we had to create the skill sets and found many women that were interested in learning.” “WHILE THERE IS A TRADITION OF WEAVING A COUPLE OF FIBERS FROM THE JUNGLE, IT IS DYING OUT, AND VERY FEW COMMUNITY MEMBERS ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO WEAVE THE LOCAL FIBERS.”
“WE ENDED UP FINDING 30 FIBERS IN THE JUNGLE THAT WE COULD DEVELOP PRODUCT WITH, AND WE WERE ABLE TO HIRE THE LOCALS WITH THE KNOWLEDGE TO TEACH A GROUP OF 20 WOMEN WANTING TO LEARN AND PUT THEIR HANDS TO WORK.” All the participants underwent six months of training — not only on weaving techniques but on sales strategies and basic business practices as well. Instead of creating an in-house atelier, the women established a worker’s association and a brand: Fibras de la Selva. “All of the women are from the Itza Wood area and the villages that surround us, and while they don't work on site, we often have meetings at the Itza Wood offices, and they are always welcome in our space,” Babarczy says. 
Itza Wood’s Fiber Collection initiative enables women from isolated rural communities to
transform fibers from the jungle into beautiful, functional, and sellable wares,
helping them to break out of the poverty cycle.
Each worker creates the baskets in her own home, allowing her to manage her family responsibilities while earning money. While the Itza Wood team “guided” the designs of the group’s first collection of baskets, Babarczy says that she hopes the crafters will take those shapes and push them in new directions. “We encourage them to use their creativity in product development,” she says. “Although these are our designs, we love to see the women come up with new ways to better their work and quality.” “ALTHOUGH THESE ARE OUR DESIGNS, WE LOVE TO SEE THE WOMEN COME UP WITH NEW WAYS TO BETTER THEIR WORK AND QUALITY.”
“MOST IMPORTANT, THE WOMEN OF FIBRAS DE LA SELVA NOW HAVE MORE AGENCY WITHIN THEIR HOMES, THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEIR WORKER’S ASSOCIATION, AND THEIR OWN CREATIVE IMAGININGS.” |
