Guate Time

For as long as I have been in site, the past 16 months, there has been a countless number of yards of fajas sitting in the display case. From the start, I have been pushing to get gringo-styled belts made out of them, having local carpenters make wooden belt buckles, but the for whatever reason, the local carpenters said the detailed work to make the buckles wouldn't be worth it for the amount they would get compensated... not really sure why, but the point is that they weren't willing to do the job.

Still wanting to keep the work in the community, I looked for other options but found nothing in town. I pretty much gave up, but continued to ask Isa about local carpenters in the communities, with no luck.

Today when I went back to the tienda after making a round in the market ($0.15 avocados are to die for), Isa surprised me with the gorgeous leather-lined belts with the ladies' back strap weaved fajas.

The leather smith, Gabino, is from Chixal, a community that already has an artisan group. He handcrafts the belts from cow and sheep hide. The quality of his work is top-notch... exporting these, along with the kippahs, would be amazing.

So I guess the moral of the story is that if things happen, they happen in "Guate time." I think these were well-worth the wait.

My lovely ladies. And Bobby. Yes, one of them is wearing a kippah. My ladies are not only awesome, but they also have a great sense of humor.

Isa is still figuring out the prices, but the belts will probably range from 7.50 - 10 USD, depending on size.

Gabino, a leather smith with some 20 odd years of experience, has perfected his trade.