Palomas Family Co-op Plans Events

August 24, 2008

The members of the La Cooperativa de Familia de Palomas / Palomas Family Cooperative met at their workshop site on the corner of 18 de Marzo and Calle Lerdo, which is just three blocks north of the border and 5 blocks west of the main street, at the residence of Socorro Palacios on Saturday, August 22. La Cooperativa de Familia de Palomas in Palomas, Chihuahua, is a group of mostly women and their family members that are trying to improve their lives by the making and selling of hand made products.

The group of mostly women made plans to continue developing their crafts cooperative. The women make fiber arts crafts, such as crochet shoes, hats, purses, rugs, table cloths and covers. They make jewelry, floral arrangements and individually designed childrens’ clothing. The clothing is made by a lady named Socorrito who pieces together the clothing from different scraps of materials, crochets the pieces together and emboiders designs on the clothing.

The members planned a Festival of Artisanry to take place on September 27th and September 28th at the Palomas Family Cooperative Site. It will showcase their products. Besides the ladies products, there will be a showing of Paquime pottery by potter Jose Raul Ramos de Casas Grandes, who will be a new member Palomas cooperative.

There will be Mexican food at the event, and delicious cakes and pasteries and aguas frescas (delicious natural fruit drinks).

At the event there will be a presentation of fire fighting equipment to the Palomas Fire Department and to the Red Cross from the Mimbres, NM fire department. The fire departments of Columbus, NM, Mimbres, NM and Palomas, Chihuahua will be honored.

Pottery Classes from Paquime Potter

Jose Raul Ramos, a well respected and gifted Paquime Potter, will be teaching a 6 day Paquime Pottery class at the Palomas Family Cooperative workshop site at Calles 18 de Marzo and Calle Lerdo. The classes will initiate the learner in the methods and intricacies of creating pottery in the Paquime style of hand formed pots without a potter’s wheel and are fired outside in a charcoal brazier.

The classes will be held at the Palomas Family Cooperative workshop site on three different weekends, Saturday and Sundays, in September, Sept. Sept 2 and 3, Sept. 13 and 14, Sept. 20 and 21. The classes will be 6 hours each day on Saturday and Sunday. The cost of the classes will be $80 a weekend and that will include both on Saturday and Sunday a Mexican home cooked dinner at midday. The cost of the three weekends will be $240.

The Palomas Family Cooperative would like to host a graduation, showing and celebration of the students’ creations at the Sept. 27th and Sept. 28th Festival of Artisanry.

Participants can camp at the Palomas Family Cooperative site in Palomas for free, in tents or Motor Homes or they can camp at the beautiful Pancho Villa State park in Columbus, NM just 3 miles north of Palomas.

For those unfamiliar with Palomas, Edgar Mendoza, Socorro Palacios son or Janet Shepard of San Lorenzo, NM, will meet participants at 9:30 am in the morning at the famous and beautiful Pink Store, that is just one block and one half from the border crossing point. Then participants can be escorted to the workshop site. For information and enrollment call Janet Shepard at 1 575 313 9685 or write to Janet at janetsh@homernet.net

A Description of the Palomas Family Cooperative

Cooperativa de Familia de Palomas/Palomas Family Cooperative We are a group of women and their families on both sides of Mexican border in Palomas/Columbus. The aim of the cooperative is to improve the lives of the members through sales of handcrafted products. Although the cooperative is a family cooperative and does include men and children, it is composed of more than 85% women. In Palomas, we meet at the residence of Socorro Palacios, who has made all of her property available to the development and use of the cooperative. A group of women work on fiber arts projects as their children do small arts and crafts projects in the same room. In Columbus, we meet at Our Lady of Las Palomas Interfaith Hermitage and Retreat Center where regular fiber arts classes for women from both sides of the border will be offered in the fall. Our coop is also promoting low cost, “green” technologies like solar water heaters and ovens, dry toilets and gray water to garden systems. In addition, we are working with the Border Health Network to offer classes on various aspects of health and nutrition, in Palomas.

Written by Steve Klinger · Filed Under Border | Leave a Comment