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Stories from the global community
Come along on the journey!
Day 33: Saints and Angels in the Guatemalan Highlands
Destination:
Guatemalan Highlands
The Guatemalan Highlands lie on the western side of Guatemala, stretching from Mexico to Honduras and El Salvador. The Highlands comprise Guatemala's most breathtaking region. "Guatemala" means "land of trees" in the Mayan language. Guatemala City is the capitol.
The Highland weather and landscape is defined above all else by altitude. At lower levels the vegetation is almost tropical, supporting dense forests and crops of coffee, bananas and vegetables with an average temperature of 80°F. Higher up in the hills, pine, cedar and oak forests are interspersed with patchwork fields of maize and potatoes and the average temperature is 68°F. In the highest terrain, known as the altiplano, the land is largely treeless and often wrapped in cloud, suited only to hardy herds of sheep and goats.
Fun Facts:
Lago de Atitlán is a spectacular azure lake considered the "most beautiful lake in the world" according to British writer Aldous Huxley. The word "Atitlán" comes from the combination of two Nahuatl words, "Atl" meaning water, and "Titlán" meaning "between", so it is interpreted as "the water between." The lake is surrounded by three spectacular volcanoes called Tolimán, Atitlán and San Pedro.
Also:
Mayan identity is strong in the Highlands and over a dozen distinct groups dwell within the region, each with its own language and beautiful traditional indigenous clothing.
Art Form: Saints and Angels
Guatemala is fortunate to have a long, rich history of artisans working in many media going back to pre-Colonial times. John and Shari from the company
Altiplano could not be prouder of the group of artisans they work with in Guatemala. They have been working with many of the same artists since its inception.
The quality and design of their saints and angels reflects years of experience.
Each saint or angel is made of a single piece of wood, hand carved by artisans using a machete, a knife and a chisel. The carvings are then painted and decorated by hand so each is one-of-a-kind.
Watch a carving take shape from a piece of wood. . .
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| Carving Saints in Guatemala |
Beside the wood carvings, Altiplano also works with many textile weavers and jewelry makers. Oh, but those are stories for another day!
The Company: Altiplano
Twenty-five years ago John von Wodtke and Shari Zarin, both experienced travelers, foot loose and fancy free, set out on a 6-month journey through Central and South America. They began their trip in Guatemala, where they were thoroughly enchanted by the beautiful Mayan people, their rich traditions and rugged land. Their travels took them to many countries on that trip, but it was clearly Guatemala that stole their hearts.
Shari and John eventually began to design their own products and to live part of the year in Guatemala. They raised three children who call both the Green Mountains of Vermont and Lake Atitlán in Guatemala home. In their two diverse, small town homes, all three children have grown up with a strong sense of community and their responsibility to it.
Altiplano is a small company working with many cooperative groups, small family businesses, and their own fair trade workshop. They are committed to creating innovative products that support indigenous communities and the environment.
It is their mission to bring sustainable, dignified employment to women and men, and it is their hope that the effects of their work and subsequent fair pay, echoes into their families and communities.
(In 2000: John & Shari in the middle, their children in the front & their artisans, many of whom still work for Altiplano)
Postscript:
From Shari: "These last 3 photos are of our recent food relief effort. Many of our wood working artisans live in more remote areas of Guatemala which made reaching them during the stay at home order more complicated.
Lucas is a fearless leader and he jumped at the opportunity to help.
He and his sons prepared and distributed food to all 23 workers, sometimes hiking a distance to reach them.
(this is the wood carver seen first in the video)
They were well received with the full spectrum of appreciation including some tears and some very elaborate prayers.
We feel fortunate to be able to help in this way, but of course, generating work is what they need most."
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Shopping . . .
Are you ready to explore
what we have in our store?
Saints and Angels and the Virgin Mary
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Don't forget to stamp your Passport!
Click on the
"stamp" to add to your "passport."
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"Collect" at least 12 different "country" stamps during the second 20 days of our around-the-world trip to
be entered
into the drawing for a $25 gift card.
At the end of our 80-day
Around the World
excursion, all eligible travelers (minimum of 48 country stamps)
will be
entered into a drawing for . . .
a Grand Prize
$100 shopping spree gift card!
Thanks for traveling with us today.
Where to next? Stay tuned!
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Once again, what began as a story about folk art became a story of family and community. Sometimes customers ask how we know that a company is "doing good" in the world. It's conversations with people like John and Shari and so many others. It's hearing about our world and seeing it through their eyes. I am so grateful for these stories, especially during this time when much of the political world wants us to polarize rather than come together.
Our Brookside store is open from 11 to 5 today (Saturday) and will be open through Sunday. Our current hours are posted below my signature and we look forward to seeing you!
For those of you who cannot or choose not to shop in our Brookside store right now, we thank you for your continued online shopping support. And, yes, we plan to continue our global "journeys" with daily additions to our online store.
And I can't say it enough times -
YOU are an important part of what makes World's Window so special! THANK YOU!
World's Window
"Nobody can define you like you."
P.S.
We are glad to be on this around-the-world virtual journey with you and delighted that you are traveling with us. We hope you are learning some new information as we travel along.
If you haven't already done so, invite some friends to come along! There's still room on this journey!
Send an invite
P.P.S.
We're keeping our trip "log" up to date. If you think you've missed a day or are new to our journey, click
here
to review where we've visited the last 32 days.
Temporary Hours
CLOSED Monday and Tuesday
OPEN Wed through Sat, 11 am to 5 pm
Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm
As always we are "sharing the world" through clothing, jewelry, folk art, textiles and hand-selected gifts -
and
buying locally-owned is a gift to your community!
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One way to support us
right now
is to purchase
World's Window gift cards.
In-store gift cards can also be purchased by calling
us at 816-361-2500.
And, with all gift card purchases
we'll ADD 10% more
to the value of your gift card as a "Thank You" for shopping small and local.
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