Tomas, Tailor

Ruth and Nohemi was started in the 1980's to generate income for widows who had lost their husbands in the civil war in Guatemala. It started as a project of the Methodist Church, whose church in the village of Chontolá near Chichicastenango in the central highlands, was bombed, killing 40 people inside, all Mayan Quiché people. The widows were left to do all of the farming and take care of their children as wll as those of relatives who had been killed. They turned to the church for help. The Ruth and Nohemi crafts project was started to provide them with alternatives. The widows developed products from the traditional Mayan back strap weavings and were able to work at home and earn an income. 

Today, the program continues to provide a source of income for women, and also includes a training center for young men, many of them sons of these widows. They learn incomegenerating skills while receiving a basic education.

SERRV has been working with Ruth and Nohemi since 1994, purchasing their colorful woven and crocheted products.