Lili Carmen Osario (Guatemala)
Lili Carmen Osario is the founder of the Tzanjuyu MayaWorks group and has spent many years as a skilled weaver creating products for the organization. She was born in 1975 and lives in the town of Comalapa, within the department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Lili has three children – two boys and one girl. Her 14 year old daughter, Veronica, is a MayaWorks scholarship student and has inherited her mother’s weaving ability. She makes huipules (traditional womens’ blouses) on a backstrap loom for herself and to sell in the market. Lili’s husband is a farmer and works the milpa, or corn field. He is also a weaver, and often helps Lili with her work.
Lili is a quiet, soft spoken woman who is very generous and is always willing to help her friends in the group when they have difficulties weaving fabric. Her talents include preparing thread and warping the treadle foot loom, weaving fabric, sewing products, and creating embroidered designs on products.
Lili is the first artisan to weave the MayaWorks fair trade tallitot, which is made of a lightweight ivory cotton fabric and is embroidered with colorful stripes and Mayan-inspired star shapes. Lili also sews the MayaWorks baby products including bags, bibs, and blankets and other woven items.
