Santiago Atitlan

Santiago, located on the shores of Lake Atitlán, is the home of the artisans of Chuchiyá. These artisans come together along the lake to crochet MayaWorks' handmade fair trade kippot or yarmulkes and to enjoy each other's company. Each handmade kippah takes approximately 4 hours to crochet. The artisans of Santiago not only crochet but are very skillful with embroidery. The Chuchiyá artisans designed this beautiful Olive Branch yarmulke. The women crochet to generate a steady income for their families. They are paid a fair wage for each yarmulke. The Chuchiyá artisans receive literacy trainings, eye exams and eyeglass donations, skills and leadership trainings, low-interest microloans as well as scholarships for their daughters to attend school. Several years ago on a MayaWorks tour to Guatemala, a Jewish friend saw MayaWorks artisans making hacky sacks. She said if the women can make hacky sacks they can make kippot! And thus a new MayaWorks product was born! MayaWorks hand-crocheted yarmulkes are its best selling product and create much needed work for our artisan partners many of whom have limited economic opportunities in Guatemala. The Maya are a very respectful people and take extra care when crocheting our handmade yarmulkes because they understand the importance of kippot to the Jewish community.