Aj Quen

Guatemala

Aj Quen is made up of 27 artisan groups and employs 800 Mayan women from the Quiché, Cakchiquel, Tzutujil, and Kekche tribes. Aj Quen has widened its focus from empowering women solely on an economic level, to empowering women on social, cultural, and political levels as well. Artisans receive professional and technical training, along with women’s rights and civil rights training. The women of Aj Quen are often their families’ sole wage earner and are able to provide for their shelter, education and nourishment through the sales of their woven products. Additionally, Aj Quen advocates for artisans’ legal rights so that they may have access to the socioeconomic tools necessary for strengthening impoverished Mayan communities.

Artisan Voices

"Before forming part of the association, we were shut up in our houses. Now we have overcome our fear and shame of going out and seeing new places, and we are bringing money in for our families."
— Nicolasa Raxtun