Sustainable Peoples

Sustainable Peoples Blog 10- Mapuche Weavers
Temuco HQ- La Frontera Hotel
6/13/08
10:05pm

I had been looking forward to the last 2 days for about a month. Seriously, ever since Marcela got a line on the community we have spent the last few days with, I have been mentally preparing for what would be one of the most interesting experiences I have had in my (admittedly short) lifetime.

Marcela and I had arranged to spend a few days with a community of natives here in Chile. I don’t mean natives in the sense that I am a California native, but more like people whose ancestors have lived in the area for millennia. The native peoples in Chile are called the “Mapuche”, which, loosely translated means something like, “the people of the land”(incidentally, I’d bet money that more native groups names mean something along those lines than anything else). Naming ones selves “the people” seems only natural if you are the only people you ever interact with, but placing he word for “the land” in your name denotes a specific connection to it. Not a connection like one might have with a nation, but something more primeval and having to do with the physical land itself. It was this ethic I hoped to learn from.

I don’t want to give the impression that Marcela and I slogged through a jungle in pith helmets and khakis to greet some primitive people. There aren’t even “reservations” for the native peoples here. In fact its quite hard to pick a Mapuche out of a crowd of non-native Chileans. The only discernible differences, I was told by my Mapuche friends, are a slight accent, general shortness of stature and an overall stalkyness. Now, that is of course assuming you are a Mapuche who gets those dominant genetic traits. I, for instance, genetically speaking, am technically African American, though you’d never know it by looking at any member of my family. The same degree of mixing has happened over generations to the point that for many, being Mapuche means a set of traditions and culture. Unfortunately, it also often means a lower socio-economic standing as well. This is not a rule of course, but it is not coincidence that groups all over the world that have historically been subjugated have a rough time of it.

What you get here is more a humble small farm with a few small wooden buildings. The homes were cramped, worn, but warm from the wood-burning cooking stoves found in each. They featured precious little furniture, all of which appeared to have been made on the farm. Still, these were places of dignity, not of desolation or surrender. These homes, led by the women in them, were inviting and authentic shelter from the harsh cold of the winter outdoors.

Our group of Mapuche, shared something in common. They all engaged in a traditional practice of weaving and knitting that had been passed down from mother to daughter over the centuries. They still hand dye wool in small batches, over fire. They draw colors exclusively from plants, and then turn their hand-dyed wool into hand spun yarn, using several methods. The hand spun yarn (which until now I didn’t really realize was actually “spun” in the way that you spin a top) is made in most cases with technology that predates even the spinning wheel. The yarn is then knitted and woven into all manner of scarves, gloves, socks, hats and ponchos and rugs. These works are truly a sight to behold. They have intricate patterns with a color palette pulled right from the land itself. Green from the leaves of a pepper, orange from a stringy parasitic plant we call “Witch Hair” in the US, brown from certain kinds of mud, taken from the earth itself. After they are washed and dried, their character shows through. They are as beautiful and intricate as something you could produce on a machine, but they have individuality and a soul that simply cannot be manufactured.

Now, all of this is well and good- I mean, Its nice to know that somewhere in the world, people are still doing things the old fashioned way. But it bears the question, why are they still doing it? And why is it worth looking at for the kinds of lessons I am looking for.

The first answer is one of economics. These Mapuche women, aside from sharing the cultural knowledge of their weaving, also all share a similarly dire economic outlook. Each of them lives on a piece of land that they work in various ways, and all of them are unable to make ends meet with only the hard labor of running a small farm. These women have turned to their yarn work for their very survival. They make the money that fills in the gap from month to month.

Now, at this point I was thinking, “ok, that isn’t so revolutionary” I mean, my father did a few odd construction jobs in trade so my sister could go to pre-school. My grandmother sewed clothing to help support her family during the depression. This idea of using your extra labor to make ends is probably as old as humanity. The real interesting bit here is how these women are using the traditional bonds of their community to work, as a community, for the betterment of all of their members. These 50 some women from southern Chile got together and began organizing their output. With the institutional help of a local program, they have entered the global market as the “Artisenas Chilenas.” With contacts made through the local government, they have gained access to international customers in South America and Europe. This means that they have been able to meld their traditional organizational structure to the modern markets in order to better their own lives. It is fast becoming a belief for me that organic institutions like this, which are shaped by the actors in them as opposed to formulated from the top down, are ultimately more successful, and better serve their communities.

In this case, the organizational structure is what interested me most. The Mapuche women (and they are all women who do this) organize locally, in groups of anywhere from 10-100. These groups are presided over by officers who are chosen through a mix of votes and sort of general communal respect and seniority. All of this happens, mind you, without the aid of Internet technology. These communal groups meet monthly to go over the orders that they have to fill, assign those projects to the various members, and pay a small stipend to each woman.

At the meeting I was welcomed to, they also were setting about the business of establishing their first quality control protocols, and setting prices for the next batch of products. This is where the interaction with westernized economic society got interesting. The representative from the local government was there, basically to advise them on the ins and outs of supply and demand. Ultimately, the women decided, as a group, that they would raise their prices (meaning their individual take-home rate) by a few thousand pesos per item (500pesos is about $1US). They also agreed to justify this additional asking price by refocusing on quality, and agreeing that items that didn’t meet the standard would be returned and the maker would not be paid.

I have not finished reflecting on my experience at the meeting. There are definitely some interesting lessons there, but to be honest I haven’t sussed them all out yet. The thing that struck me most powerfully were the women, and their sense of community. I guess I can only explain what was there in reference to what was not. I feel like if it had been men, there would have been a more solidified power structure, something stiffer, and as a result, something that required enforcing. There would have been people trying to do as little as possible to keep getting the group benefit. The meeting was warm, inviting, communal and productive (if not a bit slow). When a new woman or guest would enter the room, she would go around and greet everyone individually. She would be welcomed to the room by an ovation of surprise and excitement, more like what you would feel in a stadium, when the hometown hero hit one that had to be headed out of the park, but in miniature of course.

This sense of community and social connectivity may have existed for several reasons. I think the first part of it is something generally regarded as feminine. I’m not a sociologist, but there is a difference in the way women and men interact. Men from many cultures I’ve interacted with, seem to have been taught to, or feel the urge to, succeed above the rest. I don’t know if its something dark and ancient like the solitary success of one hunter over another, or if it is just socialization in a single lifetime, probably some of both. Women, on the other hand, seem to have an easier time of judging success as being part of a successful group, defining themselves in reference to others. They understand and value social interactions, and develop skills for them. In this way, if part of the solution to the sustainability problem is remembering that we are all in it together, maybe masculineized, western society should learn something from the strength of its own femininity.

The second half of this communal success, in my opinion, has less to do with the touchy-feelyness of gender, and more with real-politik. These women, like it or not, are bound together in their venture. Each has tasted the benefits of cooperation, and they have come to rely on the success of this group, in some cases, for the survival of their families. Each member has a vested interest in the group’s growth and success at all levels. They don’t want to get a reputation for doing shoddy work, so every retuned garment, no matter who made it, is a blow to all. They don’t want to lose any members, because that means they can produce less and have a weaker bargaining position at the trade table. That means that when a member is sick, it is in everyone’s interest to get her well. When one has been inattentive to her duties for the group, she hears about it- not just from the leadership, but from the rank and file. This type of social group reinforcement is very effective, and has kept this group together, despite the daily hardships of its members and the great barriers to their meeting (none own cars and most live well out of “town”).

These women fascinate me, and I’m sure hold the key to a certain part of the puzzle I’m trying to assemble. I need to think about it further, and I’d welcome your comments and thoughts as I do. For now, you can learn more by going to the photo gallery and checking out the images of the weavers that aren’t displayed here in the post.

Thanks for tuning in.