Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce made from 20-30 ingredients, including chili and other peppers, nuts, seeds, fruits, spices, herbs, and various other items (often chocolate, tomatoes, etc). The recipe and process used by the women in this picture have been passed down through their family for hundreds of years. The making of mole is very labor-intensive, taking 2 days of roasting, drying, grinding, blending, cooking, stirring, etc.
The women seen here routinely spell each other in stirring, as stopping to rest for even a minute would cause the sauce to burn or boil over. The atmosphere is lively, with much gossip, teasing and laughing going on. They are preparing the mole for an upcoming family wedding, ultimately producing 15 pots in 2 days.