The Wool Project:
working towards a sustainable production line
Wool is the raw material of our products and the soul/heart of our work. All the wool we use in our creations is spun by hand with a pre-hispanic drop spindle by around 60 indigenous Chamula women from different villages in the highlands of Chiapas.Processing wool is very labor-intensive work. It takes more than 20 hours to process 1kg of wool and often a rug will have more than 20kg of wool. It must be sheered off the sheep, washed in warm water, carded and cleaned, and then pulled apart and spun - all by hand.
The volume of wool required for our orders and the commitment we maintain with different collaborators, has led us to work closely with the non-profit association El Camino de Los Altos. El Camino de Los Altos is located in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas and is comprised of 130 women textile artisans.
We have worked closely with El Camino de los Altos to develop a range of wool tones that we currently use in our textiles. Most recently, Madda Studio worked with El Camino de Los Altos to secure funding for the Wool Project from Los Amigos de Arte Popular.
The funds raised for the Wool Project assist in further developing the group of the spinners in Bautista Chico, a Chamula ethnic group that is part of the association El Camino de los Altos located in the highlands of Chiapas. These funds were used for providing tools, training and raw materials to support their business.
The growth of the market that El Camino de los Altos and Madda Studio are in the process of developing will support the Chamula women and their families through employment opportunities. In a region with few opportunities to find consistent work, this provides the women with culturally appropriate employment, whilst also preserving the ancient tradition of spinning wool on a Pre-Hispanic spindle.
Due to our growing demand for raw material, this year, 2018, we have resumed the collaboration which started many years ago with three additional spinning groups. We are committed to ensuring that our demand is constant to guarantee a stable source of income for these women.
