Potter women from Amatenango: part 2
Together we can achieve great changes, local consumption, do not ask for discounts, be fair to value the handcraft made with love!
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Albertina and Maria received support from some government programs, thanks to which they were able to build a workshop and a showroom where they and other artisans display their products, waiting for buyers. They are not part of the artisan parador that is on the side of the road. "We did not want to be in that parador. It's impossible for all artisans to fit in in this small room, so they offered us support to have a workshop at home. Here, we are already 48 women who work together, some only bring their handicrafts to display and others burn pieces together with us ", says Albertina.
Albertina and Maria take care of a small museum and they explain the whole process to us through the photographs and stories. In their kitchen, there is a traditional wood stove. They have chickens and several dogs and cats that scare away the mice from the place. They always greet us with a smile and they like to tease visitors. People who have visited them and who have experience making pieces of clay have been surprised by their skill. They do everything with their hands, using that ancestral knowledge that has been passed down for generations.
Proud of what they do, they like to make friends and welcome them into their home .... Albertina and Maria prepare a delicious breakfast for us that includes coffee from their own field. They are very nice and chatty women. They have already got used to the güeros and they tell us stories of life, kneading the mud at the same time and adding details to their pigeons. Sometimes we say to Albertina: "Albertina, wait for us, we're already behind you, we lost your pace! My pigeon is already ugly!" Of course the workshop participants do not have to make a dove: you can let your creativity flow, free the child inside you and create what you want. The moment of sitting with these women will remain forever as a magical memory of Chiapas.
Amatenango del Valle is located on a small elevation called a fertile valley covered with cornfields, located 38 km from San Cristóbal de la Casas on the federal highway to Comitan de Domínguez. It's best known for the excellent pottery made by its inhabitants, who still use pre-Hispanic methods.
