Progress on the store/restaurant

Last fall I wrote about the building that was given to the group. Mujeres en Cambio www.mujeresencambio.org give the group $1000 and Judy Christopherson raised an additional $600. When we left Mexico at the beginning of Feb I thought that I would return at the end of March and see things pretty much as they were. Wrong. They are working hard. Here are the before and after shoots. They are so proud of the progress. Here is the group along with Judy, Becky and myself in front of the building.

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Isabel Cazares is also shown with her husband Hipolito, he is Boni's brother. Isabel is the book keeper for the remodeling project and she is showing me how carefully she has kept track of all the money.

I thought is would be fun to show where the village and the store are located. You can find this on Google maps or earth. Agustin Gonzales is on the map!

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The plan for this store is varied. They of course will be selling their rugs. They will also be serving authentic country food which they grow themselves; fresh tortillas cooked over fire, beans also fire cooked, nopalito salad, fresh goat cheese, salsa mild and hot. These are just a few of the authentic dishes which be served. 

There is a local pyramid about 4 miles from the village that was restored in 2011.

To get to the pyramid you must pass through Agustin Gonzales. There are no stores or restaurants in the area. The pyramid was build around 1100 by the Otomi. Many of the villagers of Agustin Gonzales are Otomi. Here is Dona Maria, Boni's mother, who speaks Otomi, preparing tortillas from fresh ground corn.

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The dream is for adventure groups going to the pyramid or just generally exploring the area to visit the store/restaurant view and purchase crafts, have some food and maybe take a burro ride or just walk in the area. There will be many ecological additions: rain water collection, alternative lighting from sun sources and dry toilets.

Please join us in helping make the progress continue. Any amount is welcome. 
Make checks out to The Rug Hook Project and send to: Charlotte Bell, 1403 Kenwood Ave. Austin, TX 78704. 

 

Yellow Rose Rug Camp

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Yellow Rose Rug Camp

I visted the Yellow Rose Rug Camp again this year. Martha and Susan have turned out to be our great  friends. We really appreciate this opportunity to show and sell the rugs. What a fun camp this is and we are invited back next year!!

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Wool Donations

The rug angels have been busy, led by archangel Kate Kiely of Rochester, MN. Kate collects wool from various individuals in her area for us. She sorts it into bright, light and white and then stores it until there is room in my attic at which point she sends it to me. This is the intermediary step to get wool to Mexico. Then we pack it into our car or the car of other drivers, like Shirley Schwantz, and drive it to Agustin Gonzales. Does this sound crazy? It is. But so far we have not found another method that is inexpensive and secure enough to work. Any suggestions are welcome. 

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]Without this wool Las Rancheritas would be making rugs from T-shirts and polar fleece. Good wool fabric is expensive and generally not available in Mexico. When we do find it the color selection is grim: grey, burgundy, dark green and dark blue. So this wool is essential to creating the beautiful, colorful quality rugs of Las Rancheritas.

I have a new collection of rugs which I brought back with me in February. However they will not be on website until next month. We have 3 shows this month. If you live anywhere near these locations you can see them in person.

Clutter Art and Antique Show, Warrenton TX Shirley Schwantz,  March 28 - April 8 
Yellow Rose Rug Camp, Salado TX,  March 21 
Weston Art Show, Weston MI MI, March 31 - April 1 

 

Rug hookers sell at the San Miguel Writers conference

San Miguel has an amazing writers conference every year. http://sanmiguelwritersconference2012.org/

This year Las Rancheritas were accepted to participate. Since there were only 8 tables it was quite the honor. They sold rugs and also made some great connections. This may help with sales and organization of the future store.
Here is a mini video of the conference for those of you that may like to attend in the future.

 

It is a wonderful event lots of learning and lots of fun.

The Future Store

On Sunday my husband and I visited the village to speak with Boni's brother who is very active in the community. Check out this mini video. It will give you a better idea of what the building is like. This time of year everything is very brown but wait til you see it in the summer. It is spectacular.

During this same trip we met with Boni's cousin and uncle. They are very active men in the community. Florentino, her cousin, is a metal worker and he is checking on the building today and will give an estimate of the cost of making the building secure. That is the first step. Then as we purchase material there will be a place to store them.

So enjoy this little video.

Boni gets the news and more sewing lessons

I returned to San Miguel a few weeks ago. Everyone is doing well.
One of the most exciting events was telling Boni that she has been invited to the 2013 ATHA conference in Califonia. I translated the letter, sent to her by Gene Shepherd and Sally Coon, into spanish and had this young womanl read it to her. She is still in shock but very excited to visit the USA and teach hooking without a frame. We are going to purchase some nice clothes for her trip. Her wardrobe is limited to say the least. Another idea would be this: Do any of you have any nice extra large classey clothing you would like to send to her? I'm not sure of her size but I would say in the area of a 22 petit, she is only about 5 feet tall. Email me if you are interested and I will get her measurements. 

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Here is more news about sewing machines.
Judy Christofferson and sister Becky Rhodes, seasonal SMA residents, have been making pillows from the rugs for the past two years since the group had neither sewing machines nor the skill to use them. However the concept of “teach a woman to sew and she feeds her family for a lifetime” gave them the idea of sewing lessons and sewing machines. Becky had taught sewing to Junior high students for years so she agreed to provide lessons. The first one occurred July 2011. The women were enamored with learning this new skill and caught on quickly so they donated a sewing machine to the group. A member of the SMA community donated a second machine. But, with only 2 machines between 18 people opportunities to learn and practice were limited.

            When these resourceful sisters returned to the USA last fall they took on the task of obtaining more machines. Their excitement about the project was infectious and the managed to raise enough money to buy 4 more machines. For teaching purposes the group needed a simple project with high sales potential to begin. Judy, a retired art teacher, whose creative mind is a volcano of ideas, came up with the idea of wine caddies made from colorful local oilcloth. They made 10 samples and brought them to the Mujeres en Cambio luncheon on Jan 19. They sold out and the money wet toward the purchase of more oilcloth.

            On Jan 21, 2012 they returned to the village with the groups marketing consultant, Charlotte Bell. They brought the sewing machine, patterns, ribbons and their characteristic enthusiasm. The meeting took place at the house of Isabel Cazares, whose patio has enough covered space to house everyone plus a large table. It also has one electric outlet. Judy, a novice Spanish speaker, had written simple clear instructions in Spanish by using Google translate. Within ½ hours the women were cutting oilcloth and the machines were buzzing. All the women and many of their children crowded attentively around the machines. Judy commented that it brought tears to hear eyes to see the birth of this new endeavor. Becky commented that she wished her students in the US had been this dedicated to learning. Everyone in the group made a wine caddy.

            The addition of sewing machines has planted seed of many new possibilities in the fertile minds of the eager Rancheritas.

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Stay tuned this is just the beginning. More on Las Rancheritas store to follow soon.