Cresencia (right), El Quetzal's agent, collaborates with the Presidenta of the women's group in S.A. Palopó.
The resplendent quetzal bird, found in southern Mexico and Central America, is a traditional symbol of liberty in the land of the Maya, as it does not live in captivity.
Legend claims that the bird, which used to sing brilliantly, has been silent since the Spanish conquest. As the national bird of Guatemala, it is also on the flag and national seal. The country's currency is named after it.
La Cooperativa Ruth y Nohemí has an office and store 25-30 minutes outside Chichicastenango, Guatemala. The group was formed in 1986, in response to the severe economic straits of the local inhabitants following extreme repression and a massacre in the town in the early 1980s. The group employs 50-70 women weavers (many widows) at any given time, depending on the quantity of orders, as well as a group of machine sewers, generally young men attending high school in the evenings and/or weekends. The organizer and manager, the Reverend Don Diego, is a Methodist Minister and receives his salary outside this project. The weavers live in various surrounding cantones, or neighborhoods, of Chichi. With the help of his sons and wife, Director Don Diego distributes work to the women weavers, supervises the production room, manages clients’ orders, runs a well-stocked store as well as many other projects for the benefit of the organization. There are many women, families, and young people who have been able to survive, progress, attend school, and help support their families due to this project. Some of El Quetzal’s most popular bags, coinpurses, wallets and other accessories are purchased from this group, which has several clients throughout the U.S. and Europe.