All activities / Craft Skills (Bladesmithing, Pottery, Glass) / San Juan La Laguna
Craft Skills (Bladesmithing, Pottery, Glass) in San Juan La Laguna
San Juan La Laguna is a Tz'utujil Maya town on the quieter southwest shore of Lake Atitlan, known for its women's weaving cooperatives that grow organic cotton, make natural plant dyes and weave on the backstrap loom in workshops open to visitors.
Why here
San Juan La Laguna is the place to learn Maya backstrap weaving from the women who keep it alive. While its neighbour San Pedro draws the crowds, San Juan stays calmer and has built its identity around textiles and natural colour. In the town's weaving cooperatives you see the whole chain that most textiles hide: cotton grown in native brown, green and cream shades, thread spun by hand, and dyes cooked up from plants, bark, seeds and the cochineal insect rather than chemicals. The women demonstrate the backstrap loom, tied at one end to a post and at the other around the weaver's waist, and run hands-on sessions where you card, dye and weave a small piece yourself. It is a genuine craft skill taught at source, and the income stays with the cooperatives that keep the tradition and the community going.
Best months
The workshops run year round and are indoors, so weather is rarely an issue; the dry season from November to April is simply the most pleasant time to be at the lake. Sessions can be a short demonstration or a half-day hands-on class, arranged on the day or a little ahead. San Juan is quieter and less touristy than other lake towns. Demonstrations and classes are led in Spanish, sometimes with some English, and the natural-dye process is best seen when the women are actively dyeing.
Getting there & around
San Juan La Laguna is reached by public lancha boat across Lake Atitlan from Panajachel or San Pedro, a short and scenic ride, with the cooperatives a walk up from the dock through the painted streets. Most visitors base in Panajachel, San Pedro or San Marcos and come over for a half day. Drop in for a demonstration or arrange a longer weaving class ahead; bring cash, as the cooperatives sell directly and card payment is limited. Combine it easily with the town's murals and cafes.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Casa Flor Ixcaco
SchoolCasa Flor Ixcaco is a women's weaving cooperative in San Juan La Laguna, founded by Teresa Ujpan Perez in the mid-1990s and now made up of thirty-four women. The members grow organic cotton in four natural colours and dye their thread with plants, seeds, bark and cochineal insects rather than chemicals. In the workshop they show the whole process on the backstrap loom, from spinning and dyeing to weaving, and run hands-on sessions where visitors try it themselves.