Guatemalan Indigenous Find New Markets

Terra Experience is an organization which
sells quality, Guatemalan indigenous hand-
made products online. So what? you might
say. You can ask your cousin in San
Antonio or Tucson to go downtown to
the artisan markets and get one for you at
half the price. Or, you could buy a similar
product at WalMart or Target.

The reasons are many why this organization is significant. In Guatemala, over one half of the population lives in a rural setting and belongs to one of the twenty-two ethnically and linguistically distinct indigenous communities. Guatemala just fifteen years ago, ended a thirty-five year civil war which divided the nation along ethnic lines and left its population in economic and social crisis. Indigenous communities are isolated by both linguistic and geographic barriers as the state offers no educational or infrastructural relief to communities in desperate need of basic necessities.

Oftentimes, the indigenous sell or trade on a local scale, limited to an extremely local market, or if they're particularly lucky--with access to one or two small tourist sites. Otherwise, the products such as traditional blouses (huipiles), wooden furniture (muebles tradicionales), or paintings (pinturas) are brought to a retailer in a city by bus and sold to a retailer at a reduced profit. Unable to communicate well in Spanish, pay transportation costs, or dedicate time away from their corn plots (milpas), the indigenous of Guatemala are at a great loss.

Through forceful integration into commercial practices, the indigenous of Guatemala are faced with a decision to migrate to the city and adopt the Spanish language or remain in their communities without a means to provide for their families.

Terra Experience is a non-profit organization which promotes indigenous products as well as respect for identity. It gives clients access to who are producing the goods they purchase, where they live, what langauge they speak, and provides an online medium through which one-hundred percent of the profits are returned to economically disadvantaged producers. It allows for the indigenous to remain in their respective communities, speak their native language, and at the same time, sell their products. The organization provides an opportunity to keep communities together and strong by promoting products online.

http://terraexperience.com/