Welcome to Fundraiser Foods! :: Rewarding Fundraising With Quality Meats That Sell Themselves

Stories & Histories Behind Our Products

GUATEMALAN QUILTS, TAPESTRIES, PILLOW COVERS

Our Guatemalan quilts and pillow covers are renowned for their beauty and are truly treasured works of art. Many people use them for tapestries or wall hangings. They are handcrafted from cotton patches and each is unique. They have tabs sewn on the corners to allow them to be hung as tapestries. Like most hand-made patchwork quilts, they should be hand washed using cold waterand either cool dry or hung.

Our cooperatives begin the work of designing a new quilt by laying out the patches on plastic which has been measured and cut for king, queen, and twin-size quilts.

The patches come from the fabric the women have sewn to make their skirts and "huipiles" (pronounced "way peels"), which are the traditional hand-woven and embroidered blouses that Mayan women originally began wearing around the time of the Spanish conquest. This clothing varies from region to region within Guatemala and the secrets of this beautiful craft have been passed down at the family and village level for generations. The quilts are made of patches from various regions of Guatemala and reflect a variety of styles and colors.

The women then move the patches around until they have a design which is pleasing to them and satisfies a basic pattern and color scheme. Once they have captured their intended design with the patches, they will begin sewing them together. Some of the quilts are then dyed (with vegetable dyes) to reinforce the overall color scheme.

Once the quilt dries, the women sew a solid colored backing onto it to complement the color scheme. Finally, they go over the entire quilt to cut loose threads and fix any imperfections they might find. The resulting quilts are unique, museum quality works of art!

In addition to quilts, tapestries and pillow covers, our Guatemalan Cooperatives design beautiful table cloths, throws, shoulder bags, and scarves that are all made with the same attention to design, detail, and traditional heritage as our quilts, tapestries and pillow covers. See all of these beautiful works of art on Our Products page.

GUATEMALAN CERAMIC COOPERATIVE

Our ceramic pottery cross is produced by a Mayan cooperative in San Antonio Palopo next to Lake Atitlan . This group was trained by World Famous Potter, Ken Edwards. The clay in the region is perfect to create these wonderful crosses. The Mayan families Ken trained hand paint each piece and all the work is done with kilns, ovens and wheels they have built in their small shop. Each ceramic piece is a one-of-a kind work of art, reflecting the talent and artistic vision of its creator.