CHULA BAGSPRESENTS

La Choza Chula (The Cool Shack) is a social enterprise based in El Paredón on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, established in June 2012.

We are proud to present our new range of locally-made products which blend a unique Guatemalan identity with high quality craftsmanship and practical functionality. Support lo-cal makers both at the lake and on the Pacific coast whilst helping our community education projects. Kit yourself out for the perfect coastal adventure with our beach-ready yoga mat bags and surfboard socks - Guate-style!

INTRODUCTION

Our products are born from a partnership between La Choza Chula, a weaving cooper-ative at Lake Atitlan and our three seamstresses in El Paredón. We work closely with Ade-laida at Asociacion La Voz De Los Tzu’tujiles - a weaving cooperative, based in San Juan on the shores of Lake Atitlan, to create unique fabrics with a story. The fabrics then arrive in El Paredón where they are turned into our unique products by our team of local makers Sandra, Mildred and Angelina. This creative triangle ensures our product line remains lo-cally driven, socially responsible and of the highest quality from the raw thread to the end product.

By purchasing our products, not only are you supporting the weavers at the lake and our women in El Paredón, you are contributing towards our education projects through our locally run community library: la Biblioteca Buena Vista. The library provides dynamic educational activities and resources for the primary school and wider community to help increase local literacy levels.

MEET THE MAKERS

Sandra / Local Production Manager

I’ve always liked to sew. I love to mix and match the colours and choose the fabrics. This is my art and I’d love my sons to learn to sew in order to produce menswear

Mildred / Seamstress

I learned how to sew from my mum and after that I took a beginners class. I started to work as a seamstress with La Choza Chula over a year ago. I’m really happy because every day I learn something new. Thanks to my income from this work I am able to buy things for my family.

Angelina / Seamstress

I took the beginners class with the oth-er women. I love to sew and I make sure my work is perfect because I hate having to unpick my sewing. I want the products to be well finished. I use my income for my children and my home.

Each of our products are hand-made by our team of local seamstresses in El Paredón - a small rural coastal village with few employment opportunities for women. Unlike in other parts of Guatemala there is no heritage of weavers or artisan crafts. Since 2014, La Choza Chula has been working with this small group of makers to train and develop their skills to create quality products, enabling them to earn a fair independent income whilst still caring for their families.

Our 3 colour combinations represent ‘Sunset’, ‘Ocean’ and ‘Sand’ to reflect life at the beach. Our weavers use the traditional “jaspe” or ‘ikat’ dyeing technique of the yarns to create meaningful figures and symbols as found in Mayan textiles. The yarns are then woven on a man-ual wooden foot-loom, created to our specifications.

Add some style to your beloved board with La Choza Chula’s custom-made board sock. Choose from our range of 3 colour combinations featuring Mayan wave symbols. Every sock comes with added protection around the nose and a drawstring on the tail to keep your board safe on your way to the beach and dust-free when resting at home. Choose between our three sizes of short board, fish and long board.

SandOceanSunset

BAGS Surfboard Socks

In this collection the white peak jaspe represents waves at Lake Atitlan. This is echoed perfectly by the waves on the Pacific coast that locals and visitors love to surf, completing a fluid connection between our makers both in El Paredón and at Lake Atitlan.

Keep your mind, body and soul in harmony with our new yoga mat bag designs. Our bags fit the balance of your body with specially chosen fabrics to keep you comfortable on your way to and from the studio. Each bag has a drawstring closure and a small pocket on the side to keep your valuables safe, so you can tune into your session with peace of mind.

Sunset Ocean Sand

Yoga Mat BagsBAGS

To place a personal order please fill in the Customer Order Form or purchase directly from our Etsy shop. We will then be in touch to confirm your order and arrange payment.

If you are a retailer or distributor and would like to stock our products please get in touch directly at: info@lachozachula.org

We will then be in touch to confirm your order and arrange payment. DELIVERY

We dispatch our deliveries worldwide - costs of deliv-ery will be added to the total amount. We will calcu-late this based on your shipping address. Please get in touch for a quote including bulk shipping. PAYMENT METHODS

Payments can be done via PayPal or international bank transfer. Other methods can be discussed. CONTACT INFO

For more information, get in touch: info@lachozachula.org

Please keep in mind that we work with highly skilled artisans to bring you 100% handmade products. Re-gardless of our quality control systems, some minor var-iations may occur.

BAGS Ordering

LA CHOZA CHULA

The Organisation

La Choza Chula’s (registered Community Interest Company no.487948) vision is for coastal communities in Guatemala to ben-efit from quality education and sustainable local enterprise oppor-tunities.

We aim to support local people in El Paredón to become the entre-preneurs of the future. Working in collaboration with local and inter-national partners, government and visiting volunteers, we develop and enable creative projects focused on education and social en-terprise. We also work to enable tourists to leave a positive footprint during their travels through community tourism. Through our social enterprise projects, local women and young people earn a supple-mentary income in a safe a flexible environment, whilst developing skills and a basic understanding of business and entrepreneurship.

This provides a platform from which local people can launch their own initiatives and begin to benefit from the growing opportunities that tourism is bringing to the area. Proceeds from the sales of our products are reinvested back into the community via educational programmes such as our community library and English language classes.

To learn more please visit us online www.lachozachula.org @lachozachula