Handmade Pixan Face Masks Help Support Three HSP Initiatives
We are thrilled to now be selling handmade Pixan masks through our AlterNatives store, located in Carytown. You can pre-order one to be shipped to you today!
We love these masks! Their 2-layered design keeps you healthy and their Guatemalan prints add a pop of fun to wearing a face mask. Even better, these masks are supporting three Highland Support Project initiatives.
First off, these masks are made by hand by the women of Pixan in Guatemala. The Indigenous women have varying skills depending on the community where they grew up, and the mask production is using both our weavers and seamstresses. COVID-19 has taken a serious economic hit on all of Guatemala, but disproportionately so in Indigenous communities that are often in an already delicate economic environment. Public transportation has become extremely limited and curfews are strictly enforced, so traveling into town to work or to sell goods is difficult. Given this challenge, the income these women earn from mask production has become incredibly valuable. The masks provide them with the income they need to continue to foster their culture, strengthen their communities, and provide for their families.
Second, we are working alongside Luis Alberto Tuaza Castro, a university professor in Ecuador, to establish an innovative irrigation system in a mountainous Indigenous community. We know that most of our supporters are more familiar with our work in Guatemala, but unfortunately, the Indigenous populations of both regions are facing challenges. In both countries, the Indigenous populations face much higher rates of poverty and are up again severe discrimination. 79 percent of Indigenous people live in poverty in Guatemala, and in Ecuador, Indigenous people are 4.5 times more likely than the rest of the population to be living in poverty. Our latest project with Luis is working in the community of Chilsmalte to install a micro-dam system that will improve water access at higher elevations. We hope to continue our involvement in Ecuador and eventually expand our available engagement trips there as well.
Lupe on a recent trip to Chilsmalte
Lastly, these masks are helping support the expansion of our Healing Through Food program. This program promotes at-home horticulture through sustainable, nutritious, family gardens. The gardens are environmentally and economically friendly for the families, while also serving as the perfect outlet to both educate on and provide healthy food. We have been creating family gardens in Guatemalan communities, which has been especially opportune since the strike of COVD-19, but are now continuing to expand this program within Arizona through our collaboration with Cheryl Pailzote.
A family garden in Guatemala
These masks will help you stay safe and healthy while continuing to support Indigenous communities across the Americas, thank you!
Pre-order your mask here!