Zoya works in a small room just off the shortcut I take into town every day. She says she learned how to sew when she was 17 at classes she took at the cultural house in Yeghegnadzor over 30 years ago. She along with her soviet era sewing machine...
As a small business development Volunteer, I worked with carpet weavers in developing their organization. I also worked with cave dwelling nomads that lived in the hills surrounding the village. This is Zahra, one of the nomads who is a weaver....
As a small business development Volunteer, I worked with weavers in a rural village in Morocco. The hills surrounding our village were filled with cave dwelling nomads. I became very close with one of these families, the Lahcen Eshu family, and I...
The first official meeting of our Mayan women's arts collective- part of the larger cultural preservation/ tourism project called Runawal Tinamit, Aldea El Pajuil, Chicaman, El Quiche. El Pajuil, where my primary project was based, is a small ...
Women from a small village on the island of 'Eua spend the day painting tapa cloth. These cloths can be up to 50 feet long and are made from the bark of a tree. The cloths, once finished are given as gifts at many events, such as weddings,...
This is a picture of my host mother's eldest sister weaving silk on the loom outside of her house. This practice is traditionally passed down to women from generation to generation. Women all over the village (mainly the elders) can be seen making...
artisans; Women and Development (WID)/Gender and Development (GAD); business development
I met Chantal in a neighboring village and due to our shared connection in the arts, I focused some of my work as a small business development PCV on promoting her and her craft. When I met her she only dyed and sold the printed batik cloth she...
Learning about Ukrainian follklife traditions was a highlight of my service. Marta is a well-known and esteemed embroiderer in the old tradition, a real cultural treasure.
In the historical town of Kruje, in northern Albania, you can wander through this well-kept market where you will find all kinds of traditional handicrafts being made in front of you. Walk into a one of the stores and watch as women work together...
A history of the Peace Corps in Chile, prepared on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the US Peace Corps, for distribution at the reunion of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who served in Chile, hosted by the Embassy of Chile in Washington DC...
PCVs Sharon Keld and Brian Kremer present a sign to the Azrou rug cooperative president, Azrou, Morocco. Also in the picture is a metal artisan at the Azrou Ensemble Artisanal.
I took this photo in August 2011 in Ecuador at the famous "Poncho Plaza." This is largely an indigenous community that successfully markets its traditional Andean textiles and goods throughout the world. This photo depicts the Panama hat, a symbol...
Peace Corps Trainnes Orianna and Sharon visit Dar Neghrassi in Azrou during training. Abdou was great company for many Volunteers, serving tea, helping with language, educating SBD volunteers about rugs - and maybe even selling them some!
I took this photo during one of my visits to a silk weaving group in my community. I was located in a subdistrict of 13 villages. Almost every house in every village had a weaving loom -all day you would hear the wood hitting the loom to make the...
In this photo, I am weaving (talitali) a mat with two friends, Serema and Kata. We are weaving in their home in Natuvu Village, Fiji. The photo was taken in 2010. The mats are made out of a plant called 'voivoi' that the women grow and process...
This is a photo of my host mother during Pre-Service Training from March 3, 2010 in Matshipe, South Africa. A Sotho mother of eight, she loved to spend the hot South African summers laying on her woven straw mats underneath the shade. One...
Artists and Artisans at Stari Zanaeti along with Peace Corps Volunteer, Tracy Sparks, are studying methods of 3D sculpting and Adaptation of Traditional Artisan Motifs with plans to develop market ready functional objects, such as housewares and...