People with Disabilities: Weaving the fabric of change

Written by Arya Iranpour, Communications Officer, Trickle Up

Back-strap weaving is an art form passed down from generation to generation among the descendants of the Mayan peoples in Guatemala. It is a process that hasn’t changed much over the centuries, which is what I think makes the guipiles (traditional garment) and table runners created through meticulous work so beautiful. For people with disabilities, the threads they weave together represent so much more than just striking colors and complex designs. Each thread represents the hard work they have endured in overcoming the stigma of their marginalization, physically and figuratively weaving change in their communities.

These communities I visited in Guatemala are ones where many inhabitants live in the conditions of ultrapoverty, characterized by chronic food insecurity and poor health, insufficient and irregular income, minimal productive assets with high vulnerability to shocks, and the need to prioritize consumption over investment. Historically excluded by governments and NGO programs alike, the ultrapoor tend to be disproportionately women, rural, indigenous and people with disabilities.

This is why two years ago, Trickle Up, backed by USAID, began its Microenterprise Opportunities for People with Disabilities program to promote “inclusive development” in Guatemala – that is, development projects that include people with disabilities (PWDs). Experience has shown us that while people with disabilities number disproportionately among the ultrapoor, the stigma they face because of their conditions means their exclusion is more pronounced. Indeed, poverty and disability are correlated, and are often both a cause and consequence of one another. Poverty can lead to disability through malnourishment, poor access to health services, poor sanitation, and often unsafe living and working conditions. Conversely, having a disability can trap an individual in poverty by limiting his or her access to education, employment, public services, and even marriage. Still, it is the stories of the prejudice they must break through that are most striking.

Take Magdalena Tambiz Cuc de Xolcaja, a strong-willed woman who has been able to rise above the stigma not only coming from her family but also from her community. All her life, many in Magdalena’s family were not supportive of her and often did not allow her to leave home. In fact, her family initially feared that she would be a burden if she joined the Trickle Up program. It took field staff seven different visits to convince them that Magdalena can be a productive and independent woman if given the opportunity. When they did, Magdalena immediately began planning for a French fries vending business with her sister’s help—one of the few members in her household who believed in her.  Trickle Up provided Magdalena with business training as well as a grant to get her going.

Then, Magdalena’s sister was able to get a scholarship to go and study far away, making her unable to support her sister. Magdalena, who needed the help of her sister to get her started up and running, decided to turn to weaving, a skill she and her sisters had learned from their mother. With her Trickle Up grant, she bought thread to produce traditional clothing and table runners to sell in the local tourist town of Panachachel, a 2-3 hour drive away. She would weave table runners for 60 quetzales ($9), and then sell them to her aunt for 200 quetzales, or about $30, who would then take it to sell for 300 quetzales, or about $45. Her family was beginning to see that her effort was producing beautiful work, while also making her a more independent, productive member of the household.

Her community took note as well. Indeed, Izabel Tzaj Gturchay, the head of the Municipal Women’s Office, was waiting in front of Magdalena’s home when I visited. She beamed with pride discussing how her community was beginning to overcome their prejudices towards women, people with disabilities and supporting programs that help empower people who live in ultrapoverty. Using her networks, Izabel has been instrumental in bringing in her community’s support for Trickle Up’s work with people with disabilities, men and women like Magdalena.  “The Municipal Women’s Office exists to train women in productive accounting and do sensitization training for our community. I want to end discrimination against women and people with disabilities.” she explains.

Magdalena’s plans for the future reflect her hopes for greater inclusion in her community. While her weaving has given her an income, she wants to grow and thrive. She is hoping to save enough money to eventually hire an assistant and restart her abandoned French fries business. “I can make 2-3 times more in a day selling local fried goods like chicharrones and chips at soccer games than I make in a week selling my weaving. Everyone in the community comes out to watch and everyone wants a snack at halftime.” For a woman who, eighteen months ago, lived in a home where her family didn’t want her to be seen by other members of their community, this is ambitious. Magdalena has been able to not only intricately weave a more hopeful future with her handicrafts, she is now weaving tolerance and acceptance for people with disabilities among her family and community.

Trickle Up empowers people living on less than $1.25 a day to take the first steps out of poverty, providing them with resources to build sustainable livelihoods for a better quality of life. In partnership with local agencies, we provide training and seed capital grants to launch or expand a microenterprise and savings support to build assets. We work in Central America, West Africa and India.