So excited to introduce to you, GUATE BOOTS!

Job creation, craft preservation, community empowerment

Our first week back in Guatemala has been a whirlwind of creation and excitement. We have been rocking and rolling gathering groups of artisans and boot makers to create the world's coolest boots.

• Job creation: The making of ONE pair of boots helps supplement the daily wage for at least 10 different artisans here. It truly is a community effort where everyone shares the work in order to create a pair of boots. In most cases, each of the ten artisans are working on several pairs of boots which further increases their day's wages.
  
• Craft preservation: Continuing Teysha's model of bringing together different groups of artisans to be stronger together, we are working with weavers all over Guatemala to source their magical Huipil blouses, woven fabrics, and embroideries. These art forms have been practiced for hundreds of years here, and we hope to support the artisans in making a living and passing the art form on to their children.  The process of making boots is also a very traditional art form here. There are hundreds of people who have been making boots all their lives, and each person has their own specialty in the process. By bringing the weavers and the boot makers together, we are helping to create new opportunities for all stakeholders.
• Community empowerment: When artisans are able to make a living and continue their craft, the benefits spread throughout their families and their village. While here we are engaging with the artisans to learn more about their lives and what would benefit them most, to see how we can all work together.

One of the things that has impacted us most this week has been the process of creation and collaboration between the artisans dreaming up beautiful and traditional designs and creating them from memory, our team getting to curate the textile options, our customers thinking hard about how to build their boot, and then the community of boot makers putting it all together. Everyone benefits from a creative outlet, and it's all the better when that creation spreads opportunities around the world!