A day trip to the Los Pinos Cooperative in Patanatic, Guatemala -

Patanatic is a small rural village, located in the hills by Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Together with Maya Traditions Foundation, I visited the Los Pinos Cooperative members that work together to create handmade pine needle products as well as tassels and randas in Patanatic. In this post, I will share with you some information about this cooperative, the products they make, and some photos I took.

Patanatic is located just above Panajachel and overlooks Lake Atitlán. In the back of a pick-up truck, a very common form of transportation amongst the locals, we arrived at the border of the village. To get to the village we had to hike up a very steep hill, but we were rewarded by one of the most amazing views of the western highlands of Guatemala. These people make the climb up and down these stairs and trails every day, sometimes 3 or 4 times a day!

The Los Pinos Cooperative was founded in 2007 with support from community leaders and Maya Traditions Foundation. A group of women came together to participate in a pine needle basket weaving class organized by Maya Traditions. The cooperative was founded to provide an opportunity for its members to earn additional income, and an education for their children. The Los Pinos Cooperative members work together to create handmade pine needle products as well as tassels and randas.

Many of the women in Patanatic wear traditional red huipiles, traditional blouses, with black and white designs. The red represents the blood that runs through veins of the Maya people, the white the clarity of the day, and the black the sunset. The community remains connected to these cultural symbols and they serve as an inspiration for the artisans.

During the day, we met with the women for a picnic with traditional dishes.

After the picnic, we watched and tried to weave baskets from pine needles. I love their handmade pine needle (Fair Trade) products and of course bought some of them!