Weaving for the Soul
By: Teresa Guerra

Most women have a story. The stories of the women at Tres Manos are that of isolation due to poverty, language barriers, cultural issues and lack of opportunity. In a region where few jobs are available to women of limited experience, Tres Manos offers women meaningful work that allows them to make improvements to their personal living conditions. From its inception, the program has evolved and has developed into a support group providing a sense of camaraderie between the women, significantly changing their lives. The participants are women from the local “colonias” including women who had never earned a pay check prior to selling their work through Tres Manos.

The life changing experiences that many of these women have had to over come have simply been a stepping stone to a better life. Dolores Dorado has been a part of Tres Manos since the beginning.  With a household of 9 people, her saying is "Tres Manos is my vacation." Another woman, who was clinically depressed and extremely shy, came to Tres Manos and was completely intimidated. With encouragement and patience she has become one of the top weavers. She is no longer depressed and takes much pride in her work. Besides weaving for Tres Manos she does contract weaving for a weaver who sells across the country. “Tres Manos has changed my life and when I sit at my loom I feel at home. My worries melt a way for a short time,” she explains. She has a disabled son and her husband is also disabled, so the extra income has been a blessing for her family.

Tres Manos has been in operation for 5 years and is a non-profit textile arts program of Community Action Agency. This program was created as a rural economic development program with goals aimed at fostering economic development through the creation of home-based micro-enterprises, fostering human development and confidence to encourage participants to make their own decisions about their future, and building partnerships through networking and collaboration. Since the inception of the program there have been over 80 participants who have benefited from the services provided.

Once the participants have moved beyond the training period and have gained the skills to make sellable items, they are hired as piecework employees. Their work is then sold at our retail shop in Old Mesilla and at various art and craft shows. Half of the participants loom and weave at home, making it a convenient personal progress. The program provides materials and the women receive 70% of the retail cost of each item once it has been sold. With the earnings that the women receive, some have been able to help their spouses with extra income. Many have made enough money to pay the rent, renovate their homes, pay off small medical bills and even purchased a used car. Most importantly, they have gained a sense of worth and pride from the realization that a customer finds their weaving worth purchasing.

In 2005, 2006 and 2007 some of the women traveled to Santa Fe to speak to legislators and the Governor on behalf of the program. In 2005, Tres Manos was invited to Governor Richardson’s round table along with other groups from the southern part of the state to discuss issues pertinent to the southern Doña Ana colonias. For some of the women who went on this trip, it was the first time they had ever stayed in a motel while others had never left their families for an overnight trip. Martha Gonzalez had never even been north of Las Cruces. During our visit with Governor Richardson, Martha courageously said to him in Spanish, “don’t forget about San Miguel and Tres Manos when you are planning for the colonias.” As a result of the trips to Santa Fe, Tres Manos has received funding support from the legislators. Other funding for the program comes from New Mexico Arts, New Mexico Women’s Foundation, New Mexico Community Foundation, and McCune Charitable Foundation.

The Tres Manos Boutique is located at 1910 Calle de Parian in Old Mesilla. Hours of operation are Saturday and Sunday 10:00am to 5:00pm. The Tres Manos weaving center is located in San Miguel, 3 miles south of Stahmann Farms on Highway 28. The public is invited to stop in and see the ladies weaving. For group tours please call in advance. For further information, please call (575) 233-1106 or (575) 644-6489.