Here to share the beauty of Guatemala!

Hi Steemit!

I'm Laura Pineda, founder of Guatechula. I am a clinical psychologist and fashion has always been my passion.

laura_headshot .jpg

My boyfriend has been into cryptocurrencies for a while and told me about this new social media outlet. It looks like a fun way to share my passions and projects, so I decided to jump in.

I hope you all enjoy! : )

Guatechula is an online boutique of luxury designers with the common goal of making Guatemala a better country. With Guatechula, we are able to support the foundations that are contributing to the development and training of a new generation of Guatemalans.

It is hard to imagine that in Guatemala, almost half of all children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Poverty is favored by poverty, that is, the lack of education, unemployment, and low income to provide basic necessities.

We work with designers who, in turn, work with artisans to make handmade products in fair working conditions. Each product is inspired by the colors of the Mayan culture. The techniques used to manufacture the fabrics are the waist loom and the standing loom, with cotton being the main raw material used in the production. Learn more about our designers.

With your purchase, you are investing in the future of a child. Children with an education, are children who will later make Guatemala a better country. This feeling is based on the creation of all of our garments.

The idea of Guatechula began in 2015 when I returned to Guatemala after spending a few months in Buenos Aires completing my master's degree. Being outside of your country makes you value more what you have, and to make it known to everyone how beautiful your home is. So, I decided to go to different communities, buy some of the crafts, and sell them in Buenos Aires. This was the beginning of the pilot test.

During this time, the project was called "Los Colores de Maria". Upon returning to Buenos Aires, the crafts sold very well. Many doors were opened, and we were able to be a part of the fair "Buenos Aires celebrates Central America". Given that we were the only stand of Guatemalan crafts, “Los Colores de Maria" was a success, but it was time to move to Barcelona.

When I arrived in Barcelona, I decided that I wanted to make the project bigger, to have pieces of higher quality, to help the communities even more, and to make Guatemala known even more. That's when Guatechula was born. I changed the name because I wanted Guatemala to be the main focus of attention and also because I want to respect the designers who have decided to support this idea. My dream is to be able to form a shelter for children of limited resources and to be able to finance it with the sales of Guatechula. This is where my two passions come together, psychology and fashion.

Top - A picture of Volcano Atitlán. Lake Atitlán is a large fresh water lake in a massive volcanic crater.
Bottom - Semuc Champey, which consists of natural limestone pools formed by the underground river Cahabón.

All pictures of taken by my boyfriend.

Thank you for reading my introduceyourself! With Steemit I hope to share with you all how beautiful the nature and people of Guatemala truly are. Please visit our site Guatechula.com to learn more about the project and to purchase items.