Juan Platero

Guatemala

Juan Platero aims to bring Guatemalan culture to women outside of Central America by designing stylish accessories with a Mayan flair. The small workshop is located in San Miguel Escobar, a coffee farming town outside of Antigua. Most families work in the agricultural industry, with most women only having seasonal work picking the coffee bean harvest. Juan Platero gives women the rare opportunity to have stable, permanent employment while learning a new craft-based skill set.

Artisan Stories

Celia and Maribel’s father was a coffee farmer. Growing up in a family of 11, it was not easy to stay in school. Celia dropped off after finishing 6th grade and Maribel finished 9th grade. Celia says “we were many siblings and I couldn’t stay in school because of lack of money, so we had to work to help our parents send the other siblings to school”. Three years ago, Juan Platero had the opportunity to invite Celia and Maribel to join the team. Since then, both sisters have learned to make jewelry, while continuing to tend to their households.