Maya Women War Testimonies Through Embroideries

Projects: Women's book on Civil War

"Threads Breaking the Silence"

Maya Women tell their War Testimonies Through Embroideries. The inception of this book goes back to 1999 when I talked with a group called "Communities of the Population in Resistance-Sierra" in the small village of Santa Clara, Chajul, El Quiché. I wanted to do something to help the women. This special group of 30 Maya women hid in the mountains of Chajul, El Quiché, for 14 years, during the 36-year-old civil war until peace accords were signed in 1996.

My thoughts were to help the Maya women earn some money through the making of embroideries. The women decided that they wanted to express their feelings about the war through their embroideries. Scholarship students interviewed the women about their embroideries and the final result is this book that was put together with love for these courageous women. The book is in english and spanish so that the women can share their stories with their children and other Spanish speaking people. Their book will always be part of the history of Guatemala. Foundations for Education (Cimientos de Educación) paid for the publication of the book and all the proceeds will go to the women towards the construction of an educational resource house.


The women's group	Meet Lucia

In honor of the lost children	Animals eating the dead

The hanging of children	Caos

The cost of the book is $15 plus postage of $8 for a total of $23.00 and it takes approximately 2 weeks. All proceeds will go to Foundations for Education. Contact Ramelle Gonzales.