Indigo + ikat
Trust + respect
With relationships based on trust and respect in Guatemala, we provide unique products and experiences that honor the craftsmanship of the talented makers behind them. Many of our artisan partners have deep-rooted intergenerational relationships with Kakaw's founder Mari and her family.
Relationships through experiences
Travel -> Production
Our workshop-filled itineraries provide rare cultural insight and hands-on textile learning. We love getting creative together! This revenue source is reinvested into local artisan production, generating sustainable and diversified income, always supporting the makers.
Craft with us in Antigua
Join us in our central Antigua Guatemala courtyard for a 2-3 hour workshop on a traditional textile craft. Looking for something more intensive? See our Textile Travel options.
Design with us
Increasing impact through collaborative design. Through our network of talented artisan partners, we're able to design and produce for you and your brand. With 10+ years of experience in Guatemala, we understand possibilities and limitations of each regional partner group, and can guide you through the process. We'd love to work with you!
Add a splash of natural dyes
Let customers speak for us
As a sewing and fabric lover I had to take a backstrap weaving class with Doña Cristina. Luckily my weaving project was already prepared with the most beautiful colours and pattern. With a lot of patience and humour Cristina taught me all the steps and slowly I started seeing my progress, which is an amazing feeling. The more I improved, the more personal tips Cristina gave me to improve the quality of my weaving. I felt super at ease and relaxed, thanks to Cristinas lovely energy and in this super idillic garden.
100% recommendable, also for beginners.
Don't forget to take a look in the shop, there are so many lovely designs and products.
Exquisite Corte
I am using this beautifully woven and hand-embroidered Corte as a bedspread. Joyful and striking. Thank you Kae!
I love these coasters! Beautifully made with delicate crochet. Kakaw brings more beauty and joy to our lives! Thank you! Will buy more coasters as gifts for friends.
These beautiful mugs truly are things of beauty and give me great joy! I bought two -one in blue and lime and another in peach and lime- - beautiful for morning or afternoon coffee or tea. Smile bringers ....
This beautiful clutch, the brocade withe colors and the leather are a beautiful combination. It will give me many years of joy. Lovely to look at.
I love my new clutch! Beautifully made and versatile. It will get a lot of use. Very elegant.
This corte will be used as a bedspread. It is beautifully embroidered and a joy to behold!
On April 1, 2024 I spent a joyfilled 2 hours with Eve at Kawkaw learning backstrap weaving. Her patience and skill made for a delightful class.
Yes, I had fun. Yes, I will make mistakes while I attempt to do it at home. No, I will not be a master weaver, but joy will fill my thoughts every time I pick up my weaving because of Kawkaw Designs.
This trip was incredible. As someone who doesn't really speak Spanish, Mari and her team organized an incredible trip where I felt like I learned a lot and was comfortable getting around. All of the logistics are handled for you - you just need to get to Guatemala city and then Mari and team will take care of you from there, including arranging additional classes with local artisans if you've got time before and after the trip. Definitely recommend staying an extra couple of days in Antigua if you can!
As a weaver myself, this trip was great to see natural dyes in practice and also get some exposure to weaving and other fiber arts along the way. It was really cool to have several artisan partners participating in an exchange between the different towns we visited - they were exchanging information between each other and it was really great to see what excited or interested them. Overall a great trip with a great group - everyone on the trip brought some cool bit of knowledge or experience that added to the overall learning and experience of the trip!
The trip was an exiting experience from the first to the last day. The whole week was perfectly organized by Mari and her Team - thank you very much ! Starting with collecting the plants for dyeing, transforming the colorless fabrics into colorful textiles - what a pleasure; at the end a pleasant day of weaving. In addition occasionally much more: a visit at the foot-loom weavers in Santiago, greeting the sunrise from the canoe on Lago Atitlan or a historical lecture about the past of this impressing country. The program was very appealing and stimulating to dive into the most beautiful, radiant colors of Guatemala:
Please have another great trip !
I purchased a backstrap weaving kit from Kakaw Designs and registered for this online class with Doña Lidia. It was an extremely informative and emotional experience for me. Doña Lidia is a really great and knowledgeable teacher, and she shared a lot about her own background and the history of Guatemalan weaving. I’ve woven on a rigid heddle loom and on a floor loom before, but a backstrap loom was a very different experience and Doña Lidia was great at guiding me through it. The class featured two camera angles: one camera focused on Doña Lidia’s hands, and the other camera showed the whole set-up with the loom and how Doña Lidia was sitting, which was extremely helpful! In backstrap weaving, your body is part of the loom itself, so I’m super glad that the class featured both views!
Everyone on the team was also very nice and helpful, and I’m really really glad I took this class.
We took a backstrap weaving class with Dona Everilda as a couple earlier this month and had the best time. Everilda was a great teacher, very clear with her instructions and very patient with our mistakes! Our arms were tired by the end of it but we learnt a lot and had a really lovely time. There was a break halfway through the session during which we ate some delicious banana bread and drank cocoa tea. We really enjoyed learning the basics of weaving but also just chatting to Everilda and getting to know her. Also, the venue is amazing, the class took place under the shade of trees in a nice courtyard with a fountain. Thank you Evelyn for setting this up :)
I did this class for fun while passing thru Antigua. I have just started Heddle loom weaving and was keen to see the setup for backstrap weaving. Not gonna lie, having a simple project already warped and started was great as it gave me a chance to sit and both see, and then try, myself. All the ladies are fabulous but I have to really compliment the instructors. So patient when dealing with adults on a system they teach to young kids! Thoroughly enjoyed my two hours and bought one of their beginner backstrap kits to try a project back home in Alaska. Highly recommended. Not intimidating at all and super great to get some hands-on help before going back to the videos.
