We believe that by adopting the structures and efficiencies of

traditional for-profit enterprise and changing the target – from

profit to impact – We can change the World.

together we can channel the power of our consumer choices for social good and

create true, tangible change. together we can offer employment opportunities in

unemployable areas, help alleviate poverty, and educate future generations.

our inaugural project works with indigenous maya women in the highlands

of guatemala who hand-weave the textiles that we manufacture into a range of

innovative yoga bags and straps. our model offers the women a higher and more

sustainable income while maintaining an important symbol of their cultural heritage.

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a country interWoven With striking

features and strong indigenous culture,

guatemala’s natural beauty stands in

stark contrast to its bloody past and

troubled present.

The indigenous Maya of Guatemala make up around

40% of the population. During the 36 year civil war,

which ended in 1996, the Maya were a target of

state sponsored violence. The Guatemala Genocide,

a year-long campaign in 1982, saw soldiers attack

hundreds of Maya villages, massacring civilians,

including children. Of more than 200,00 people

killed, 83% were Maya; some 440 massacres were

committed in indigenous communities.

One legacy of this civil war is the large number of

Maya women widowed, many single mothers, and

families mired in poverty. “Most people can’t even

imagine the kind of poverty these people live in,”

Amnesty International has said.

But this bleak picture is not woven in the people we

meet here who possess a beauty that defines all

hardship. “They’ve been through pain and suffering

unthinkable for most of us but when you look into

their eyes you see nothing but warmth, love and

strength.” – Will (founder of i am.)

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For Maya women, backstrap weaving is an

integral part of daily life and an important

symbol of cultural heritage and identity. The

weavers rely on income generated from

selling their textiles to support their families,

but with no market place they can go for

months without selling anything at all.

The women already work hard and need only

a helping hand to establish a more sustainable

market. This is exactly what the I AM. model

offers them – the ability, through their own

work, to escape the poverty they find

themselves in, and to secure a future for their

children.

Across rurAl GuAtemAlA, thousAnds

of women depend on trAditionAl

bAckstrAp weAvinG to support their

fAmilies. weAvinG is one of the few

jobs they cAn do in the home while

lookinG After their children, but

As cheAper mAchine bAsed textiles

flood the mArket, this Art, And their

livelihood, is dyinG out.

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Maria ElEna MEndoza Maria alEjandra ana Maria MEndoza

We have 6 [people] in our family. I live

with my husband and have 2 sons and 2

daughters. For me, I hope one day, that

every day we have work. I always work

with weaving, but now it is difficult

because there is much competition, the

thread is expensive, and we don’t get

paid well. For me it is very good that you

give us work. I hope the people who buy

this know that it is a benefit for me and

for my family. Because when they are in

school, the children ask for money to buy

their school supplies. Without work, if my

son asks me for 5 or 10 Quetzal ($0.65-

$1.30USD), how can I do this?

I have 2 children. Pedro is 8 years old and

Noe is 3 years old and is now starting

preschool. I want my children to study

what they like and be able to earn money.

When I was 12 years old I learned to weave.

When I learned we wove narrower

weavings, but now I have become

accustomed to weaving this size. Hopefully

this project will continue because if there

is work, there is money, if not, there is no

money.

I am a single mother and have one

beautiful daughter. I am living with my

parents; we have 5 people in our family. My

dream for the future is to continue to have

work and that the I AM. project succeeds.

Because I live with my parents, my dream

would be to have my own house and to

earn my own money – I want to improve

my life and my daughter’s life. We

struggle day by day, so I want to do

better. I like weaving because I have

always worked with this since I was small,

it’s what we did as children, and now

everyday I do better.

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favorite color: blue favorite color: all of them favorite color: blue

aura Sac navichock PEtronila hErnandEz antonia MEndoza ujPan

I have two daughters and two sons and all

are in school. The oldest is in high school,

the second is in secondary school and my

youngest are in primary school. My dream

is that the I AM. project continues forward

and that I continue to have the work to

help keep my children in school. To the

person that buys these bags, the fabric is

made with love. Tell your friends!

I have 7 children, [originally] 8 but one

died… 3 sons and 4 daughters. Thanks to

God the first ones have finished their

studies. But I have responsibility of the

3 still studying; one in first grade, one in

third and my youngest is in kindergarten.

My mother taught me when I was 8 years

old to make small weavings. I like to weave

because I can earn money for my

children. If I have more money I will help

my children study and buy things I need

for the house. For example, where I am

now, I have no kitchen. Thank you for

coming to San Juan La Laguna and for

giving us work.

I am a single mother and live in San Juan

with my daughter. Since I was 15 years old,

I was taught to weave. I like to weave, I

like to make huipiles (traditional women’s

tops). Weaving has always given me my

living and I am supporting my daughter

now who is studying. I would like to thank

you for helping us. We can only support

ourselves by weaving, and while we are in

this group, we will be able to earn a bit.

Thank you for giving us work and we hope

you will continue helping us. May God

bless you.

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favorite color: purple favorite color: purple & rose favorite color: light blue

catarina juarEz iSabEla Pichilla raMoS Flora catarina MEndoza

I have 7 in my family, two sons and one

daughter, and my grandson lives with

us. My oldest two children have finished

school. When I was young, my mother

taught me how to weave. I continued to

weave and did not go to school. I began

weaving small (narrow) weavings when

I was 10 years old and now I am weaving

the widest weavings I have ever woven. My

dream is that this project continues, and if

there are more requests I will benefit with

more work – I would like my last child to

finish school.

I am 22 years old and a single mother living

with my father and my mother. My sons

name is Jorge and he is four years old. At

8 or 10 years old I learned to weave from

my uncle. I never had a chance to study in

school. For my future, I want to give my

son a better life because I was not given

this. He can earn his title, study in

university, whatever he wants. It is my

dream to go forward, with my baby, with

my son.

My family is four – my husband, me and

three children. That is why I weave, for

necessity. My husband doesn’t earn much

so I help with my weaving. I have to work

and my husband must work so that our

children can have a better life. So they will

have good work – this is my dream for

my children. My dream when I was a child

was to be a teacher, but I married very

young and then that was not in the reality

of my dreams. I want to save money with

my work and buy some land and plant a

garden, vegetables, for the family to eat. I

hope you like the fabric – it’s good fabric.

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favorite color: blue favorite color: all of them favorite color: blue

MarcEla MEndoza ujPan MicaEla talE Sicay Maria vicEnta PErEz

I have 1 daughter and 1 son. My son

studied to be a teacher and my daughter

is still in middle school so who knows what

she will choose to study! When I was small

I did not have the chance to study because

there were many children in my family, so

my mother taught me to weave. That was

ok because this is what I like to do. To the

person who buys this bag, please invite

more people to buy, because this fabric is

made by hand with love.

I have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. They

are studying and I want them to continue

their studies. My husband is working in the

fields but he doesn’t earn much. I want

my children to be professionals, to have a

good job, to work for a business – that’s

why I am weaving. I am working for my

family. I want to be able to buy corn so

they aren’t hungry, to pay for school and

to buy bread every day.

In my family I have a daughter who is 32

years old, my grandson and my husband.

I worry about my daughter because she

is sick...she has cancer. She has 3 children.

They killed her husband 4 years ago so

she is alone. We took her to the hospital in

Guatemala City but they did not want to

operate, I don’t know why. The most

important thing is that my daughter is

cured and that she returns to her children.

It’s important for me to work to help her.

She can’t work – before she could weave,

but not now – she has not worked for 1

year.

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favorite color: all of them favorite color: purple favorite color: yelloW

MicaEla cholotio MEndoza julia ujPan hErnandEz juana hErnandEz tEMó

I have 4 in my family. My son is 11 years

old and helps in the house so I can do my

weaving, my daughter too. I had a dream

since I was 8 years old to weave, and now I

am weaving the largest fabric I have

woven! I want my children to finish their

studies, I don’t want my children to suffer

as I have suffered – I want them to have an

easier life. I hope the I AM. project

continues, when I was working with other

groups the pay was not just, but now I am

earning well – I hope we will continue so I

can prosper.

I have an 8 year old daughter. My husband

works in the countryside, sometimes he

has work and sometimes there is no work.

That is why I weave. When I was a child,

we lived with my mother and she was very

poor. We did not play much, we would

work. Father grew onions and tomatoes

and we would water and take care of them.

That was the way it was when I was small.

I hope that God gives my daughter a good

life, that she does well in school and that

she has a better life. Thank you for helping

my family.

I have 9 children and 22 grandchildren. For

the moment, I live with my husband and

one child who is in school. He is disabled

so is struggling to complete his studies.

This is why I am weaving, to help my child.

When I was little, a bit bigger than my

granddaughters, I began to learn to weave.

It was difficult to learn; when I was sitting

they would put a rock in front of me so

the weaving wouldn’t pull me forward. But

now I don’t need a rock!

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favorite color: purple favorite color: red favorite color: all of them

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will baxtEr jESSiE baxtEr nadja vorMann

Jessie combines the aptitude and diligence

of a trained mechanical engineer with the

style and operational talent of a former

General Manager of a Melbourne based

fashion agency.

Managing everything from the website to

media relations & marketing, to product

manufacturing and operating procedures

- she is the backbone of I AM. and is the

reason we continue to achieve so much

with such a small team.

Two words best describe Jessie - “re-

lentless execution.” Without Jessie, I AM.

would never have got off the ground.

When she’s not GSDing (Getting Sh*t

done) at I AM. she loves spending time

with friends and soaking up what her

amazing new city has to offer.

Nadja is courage incarnated. German-born,

Nadja inspires everyone with the

unwavering bravery she brings to follow-

ing her heart – even when it leads her well

off the beaten path. It was that courage

that led her to the Yoga instructor

training course in Guatemala where she

met Will. Nadja lived in Guatemala for over

12 months during the initial stages of I AM.

Her enthusiasm, energy and indomitability

is an inspiration.

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executer - san francisco, us courage - Wuppertal, de

Will’s philosophy on life is simple - to LIVE

– life in every breath.

The right mix of creative & ambitious with

a track record for making ideas happen -

Will is motivated by doing the seemingly

impossible.

From simultaneously completing the

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) &

Chartered Accountants (CA) program in

Melbourne, Australia, to finishing an

Ironman triathlon with only 10 months of

training - Will is always up for the

challenge.

It was while completing a Yoga teacher

training course in Guatemala, however,

that he was inspired with the idea for I AM.

- although it took him taking to a treadmill

for 50 hours to make it a reality. He did.

ideas man - san francisco, us

olivia colEMan lEo chEung aliSon kElly

Leo was born and raised in Vancouver,

studied marketing, trained as a yoga

instructor and now teaches yoga in the

Greater Vancouver area. He is an

absolutely incredible human being.

He has been involved with I AM. from the

very beginning after he met Will in

Guatemala following a one month

meditation retreat.

Leo came down from Vancouver to join

the rest of the team and was the linchpin

of our Kickstarter success. As an ambassa-

dor for I AM., Leo focuses on spreading the

joy of yoga through his amazing teachings.

When he’s not on the mat, Leo is

connecting with yogis and like-minded

people helping to spread the I AM. story.

Alison lives on Lake Atitlan and runs

operations on-the-ground in Guatemala.

She is bicultural, bilingual and bi-awesome

with a Guatemalan American heritage. The

former principal of an elementary school in

Berkley, –CA, Alison brings years of

valuable experience to her role as I AM.

Project Director. With grace and control,

she is the glue that holds everything

together on the ground in Guatemala and

the reason the rest of the I AM. team can

sleep so soundly.

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go-getter - vancouver, ca guat go-getter - panajachel, gt

Olivia is a Seattle native living in San

Francisco. She is full of life and energy and

an absolute joy to be around. As a writer

and web PR strategist she puts what we’re

doing into words and helps us to share this

amazing little story. When she’s not busy

scribbling she is helping with partner

outreach and connecting I AM. with the

seemingly in-connectable. Olivia’s little

secret: no fear! She was also the brainchild

behind our Global Game of Tag campaign

on Facebook. Olivia is creative, inspired

and incredible at managing differing

opinions between brother and sister in our

creative sessions.

creative strategist - san francisco, us

david PErEz Sacach gabriEla SauMa MichaEla & luiS MEndoza

Born on the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico,

Gabriela is a free spirit, an artist and

incredibly talented photographer.

Gabriela, who exhibits her work around

the world, has been a dedicated member

of the I AM. Team from the beginning. She

has travelled to Guatemala on four

separate occasions to live among the

ladies we work with and through her lens

capture the beauty of this amazing country

and it’s people.

We will forever be indebted to Gabriella

for her ongoing contribution.

Luis & Michaela are our local Mayan

legends and the most inspiring people we

have ever had the privilege of meeting.

Happily married their attitude towards life

is awe-inspiring and defies the hardship

they have lived through. Luis was captured

and tortured after being held prisoner

during the Guatemalan Civil War, he still

bears the scars around his wrists –

although his spirit remains unbroken.

Through the many challenges we have

faced and obstacles we have had to over-

come Luis & Michaela have never given up

hope for the I AM. project. The mantra they

live by that acts as an inspiration for the

rest of the team is “Todo es posible” –

Everything is possible.

photographer - merida, mx mayan legends - san marcos, gt

Guatemalan-born David Sacach is a friend,

artist, photographer and translator for the I

AM. Team. He grew up in the village of San

Marcos on Lake Atitlan just a short boat

ride away from the where the weavers we

work with live.

David is of Mayan descent and speaks

three different local Mayan dialects in

addition to Spanish and English, making

him an invaluable member of the team.

When David isn’t snapping photos or

translating, he is running around and

GSDing on the ground in Guatemala.

gsd-er - san marcos, gt

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