This is a dynamic project with recycled fabric scraps that are turned into visual patchwork stories by the women of San Francisco Tanivet, Oaxaca. In this project the women are encouraged to talk about their cultural memory on maize cultivation and their family recipes, which uses these native seeds. The history of patchwork techniques has been used by women around the world Oaxaca has its own tradition with recycled cloth which grandmothers used to make family clothes, pillows, sheets and bed covers. The technique has been lost in most communities, members of MAMAZ whom use cloth in their own artwork are teaching the women from Tanivet (a village that has no traditional craft experience) how to recycle their cloth scrapes and make contemporary products that they can then sale at local markets, giving the women an additional source of income.
This project started with an invitation by Ac Ferdanmi of Oaxaca, a civic organization that promotes the development of women, children and communities in the state of Oaxaca, with its education and training in gender equity and human rights. Ferdanmi aims to improve economic and social condition for these communities with their educational projects. Ferdanmi and MAMAZ, have been working together for over a year in their different areas of expertise to make this project: “Patchwork Stories and the Origin of a Culture” economically sustainable for the women of San Francisco Tanivet so that they may value their traditions and their cultural memory of the planting native maize.
