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- Esmeralda Jimenez
Esmeralda Jimenez
"At the age of 17, I met my husband, which led me to start a family. After several years and four children, I moved home with my family. While my husband worked, I stayed at home taking care of our children and working the land. One day in the field, I saw a group of ladies in the distance gathering to chat. I was curious to see what they were doing, so I approached them to introduce myself and get to know more people in my community. I encountered a wonderful surprise: the ladies gathered to weave using native cotton on a backstrap loom, something that reminded me of my dear grandmother, who used the same technique to weave beautiful cotton fabrics with Amazonian motifs. I introduced myself to these ladies, and they immediately welcomed me into their weaving project.<BR><BR>
"Initially, we had a lot of support that invested in craft development projects and research on our ancient raw material: native cotton. Thanks to these incentives, I had the opportunity to participate in a competition where the largest and most complete compost system would win, and I won! The prize was the implementation of a systematic irrigation system in my field. Thanks to that prize, I was fortunate to be able to plant and harvest native cotton in different shades to later use in my weavings.<BR><BR>
"Although everything has changed nowadays, and only two of us from the original group are dedicated to weaving with native cotton, it has been extremely beneficial for me. Thanks to craftsmanship, I can say that I have been able to send my children to school and have the opportunity to receive training for my growth as an artisan.<BR><BR>
"I dream of one day having my own shop with my family, who join every day to learn this ancestral technique. I am passionate about seeing the final result, taking care of every detail of all the products that come out of my workshop. Additionally, it is very important to me that people can get to know native cotton, a cotton that has more than 30 natural shades, a true wonder of the world!"
