KIDS and FAIR TRADE Lesson 3

Lesson 3 - People in the USA and Canada Buy Maya Arts:

How people outside of Guatemala buy and use Maya arts and crafts and why many want to buy them in Fair Trade stores (Grades 3-5)

Background

People from countries such as the USA and Canada make use of arts and craft in very different ways than the Maya in Guatemala. One reason is that foreign buyers generally are city dwellers and, of course, do not need to carry home crops from fields in baskets and nets as do people who live in rural areas of Guatemala. See Maya Arts and Crafts of Guatemala, page 22 for drawing of a man carrying a bundle with a net around it.

In the USA, Canada, and elsewhere, people buy Maya clothing and other crafts because they appreciate beautiful, colorful artisan made work. Often they hang a Maya woven textile on the wall of their home as they would a picture.

In contrast, in Guatemala, many Maya people regularly wear hand woven clothing every day because it is part of their tradition and they are proud of belonging to a particular Maya group. So while beauty is important to them, that is not the only reason they wear it.

The masks carved by Maya artisans also serve as an example of the different way Maya people use arts and crafts, as contrasted to US purchasers. Here, buyers put masks on the wall as decorative objects and to recall how rich and unique Maya culture is. On the other hand, in Guatemala, the masks and other carvings of Maya artisans are actually worn to represent the different characters in their traditional dances and plays.

So the mask that is used by a participant in a play in Guatemala has one kind purpose and the mask hung on the wall of someone's home have very different purposes. But the viewers of the mask in each place are affected by the artistry and mystery of them. Maya masks and other traditional crafts communicate to their owners whether in Guatemala or in far countries lessons about the history, talents, and imagination of Maya people. In this way, these crafts become an instrument of communication between Maya peoples and others throughout the world.

As more and more people in the USA appreciate and learn about arts and crafts in Fair Trade stores and on line and buy them, they can feel good about their purchase as they know that they are helping out individual artisans to earn a living wage to support their families.