Growing up, Rosalinda admired the jewel-toned fibers her mother and grandmother created with cochineal dye and other organic coloring.
“I loved the [dyeing] processes because they were natural,” Rosalinda says. “They used leaves and tree bark and cochineals.”
Cochineals are insects famous for the deep red coloring of the carminic acid they produce to repel predators. For centuries, it has been the foundation of a unique red dye used to color the lively textiles that are a core part of Guatemala’s heritage.
By the time Rosalinda married and started a family of her own, these traditional methods had become less popular and the increase in coffee farming led to the destruction of the Nopal cactus the insect needs to survive.
Rosalinda dreamed of reviving those practices. “I realized that preserving it was important not only for me, but also for my community,” she says.
Thus began an odyssey during which she organized local women and sought training for them — not in weaving or dyeing, which they knew, but in self-esteem, women’s rights and leadership, traits essential to overcoming the biased machismo culture that has long held women back in Guatemala.
When Rosalinda joined Heifer, she not only had a chance to expand her capabilities and solve some of her business challenges but she received training and became an expert in cochineal production.
Rosalinda harvests Nopal cactus paddles from her garden to continue the lifecycle of the cochineals. The cochineals grow in the spiky cactus's large paddle-like segments where they burrow and hatch. Once the insects have completed their life cycle, they are collected for dye production.
Rosalinda and her group created increasing numbers of intricately designed garments dyed and woven with the ruby red of cochineals and colors from other natural dyes. Heifer helped them create a marketing plan and branded labels to give their products added presence in the marketplace, develop new designs and patterns, tap into the growing tourist market, and negotiate fair and competitive prices to ensure a good income.
Your monthly gifts help women like Rosalinda overcome hardship, gain confidence and skills, and build thriving business enterprises — so they can hire others and lift more families out of poverty! Thank you for your steadfast support as a Friend of Heifer.
