Martha Reynolds, our great supporter from the Yellow Rose Rugs Camp, received this huge donation of wool for Las Rancheritas. 85 lbs of wool!!! However we need to get it from Dallas to Austin.It would be very expensive to mail. Anyone heading this way in the future that could bring the wool to Austin? We can make it easy for pick up and drop off. Please let me know so I can bring it to Mexico in July. Thanks. Give me a call. 512 447 2150
One thing that I have always appreciated is the project has never needed money. It is a self perpetuating endeavor. Of course part of this is due to the generous donations of wool from many of you. That certainly constitutes an immense savings. But in terms of cash they manage to pay for the base fabrics, entrance into art shows and any other expenses themselves.
However the store is a onetime need. Luckily it was kicked off with a donation from Mujeres en Cambio and Judy Christofferson and friends. They also had accumulated enough savings from sales to contribute $900 themselves. They have proved that they will work hard and product great results with little money.
Now to finish the project we need about $1000 more, actually only around $900. A friend gave me 100 check this morning.
Of course if any of you would like to make a personal donation that would be splendid. But another way to help would be to research small grants that we could apply for. Or maybe you could ask at your church or at other groups you are invloved with. I can send you some materials describing the project and stating that 100% of the money will go directly to the store remodeling.
I will be heading to Mexico for the summer at the end of June and will be doing whatever I can to get the store/restaurant up and running. My hope is that my fall we will be open.
Any other creative ideas are welcome.
By the way. This will be an eco store too. There will be water collection, small lights that work with bleach and water, dry eco toilets and more.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!!
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
San Miguel has an amazing writers conference every year. http://sanmiguelwritersconference2012.org/
It is a wonderful event lots of learning and lots of fun.
