Kim Groves came to Oaxaca in May 2011 to volunteer with Fundación En Vía and has been living here since.

One of the ways that she has learnt about and explored Oaxaca is through the lens of her camera. “I have tried to capture in my photos the feelings of hope and pride that come from the women and families that I have had the privilege of meeting during my time working in Teotitlán del Valle.”

When Shelley offered her the chance to become involved in Manos Zapotecos, she says she was honoured to accept. “I believe the company has a lot of potential and has the noble aim of really making a difference through fair trade.”

Over the past month taking photos, she has crawled about on dozens of floors arranging hundreds of rugs to sit straight, teetered on stacked chairs searching for the best angle, and rearranged rooms in search of light and shadow, all with the aim of best portraying the true beauty that exists in the products that are handmade by the people of Teotitlán.

“If my photos can reach out and speak to the clients and customers of Manos Zapotecos then I will have done a good job. Behind every product there is a story, and I hope that my photos can introduce you to it. If you think the products look good in the photos, you should see the real thing!”

Fun facts About Kim Groves.

Hometown Brisbane, Australia.  Lives in Oaxaca, Mexico

Age 26 years.

Interests: Women’s roles in community development. Photography! Oaxacan food and culture.

Have degree in Peace and Conflict Studies with Honours in International Relations.

Liz Moffett became a part of Manos Zapotecas through her love of fiber. An avid spinner, collector and dyer of yarn she finds the Zapotec people and their way of life a dream come true. Her experience in ecommerce and social media were skills she readily offered in order to become involved in keeping the artistry and heritage of the Zapotec weavers alive and thriving. She was ecstatic to find that her belief in the fair trade movement and the beauty and satisfaction of items handmade were the very mission and tenets of Manos Zapotecas. She finds her role as Web Operations Manager the perfect fit for her skills and ideals.

We asked Liz to describer herself in 500 characters also!

Liz Moffett

Spinner, knitter, dyer. Fiber addict. Collects drop spindles. Loves to have and make anything handmade. Movement oriented. Loves learning new crafts, books, coffee and the smell of fresh linen. Hates people who take advantage of others, weeds in my dye garden, and half finished work. Grew up in Oklahoma and transplanted to California. Can’t imagine not living in the mountains. Decade of experience in ecommerce. Antique store and flee market haunter. Loves the strange and the beautiful.

Manos Zapotecas is a distributor of fair trade woven rugs, small kitchen and entry way rugs, handbags, computer bags, tablet computer covers, and wallets made by artisans in Teotitlan, a village in the state of Oaxaca at the Southern end of Mexico.

All of our weavers are independent artists, and we exist to:

- Distribute their wares
- Advise them on design trends and business practices
- Assist them in understanding the American consumer

The lack of tourism in Mexico has profoundly affected the economy, and, if the weavers do not find markets outside of Mexico, their way of life is in peril. We guarantee every weaver is compensated fairly for the fruit of his or her labor. Every product comes with a hangtag. The hangtag is signed by the artist and certifies ‘fair trade’ practices.

Contact us for price quotes and special orders. Our weavers are happy to create new designs.