Our Week in Bii Dauu !

On Sunday afternoon we arrived at the Bii Dauu cooperative, a Zapotec weaving community located in Teotitlán del Valle. We were warmly greeted by the cooperative members as they discussed the origin and mission of the Bii Dauu weaving cooperative as well as our schedule for the week. We each followed our respective host families to their homes and settled into our accommodations, preparing for the activities of the coming week.


We woke up bright and early Monday morning and trekked to the Huerto (a hillside garden in which the community grows plants used to create various colors of natural dye). We learned about the nopal cactus that is home to the Cochineal beetle (the source of the red dye) and plucked the seeds from the Marush and Añil plants (the sources of the yellow and blue dyes, respectively). After some hardy work, we sat down with a few members of the cooperative, chatted, indulged in some mezcal from a bottle that contained a few scorpions, and enjoyed some traditional dancing. After a gigantic comida (which seems to be the norm in Teotitlán del Valle), we attended a demonstration on the ancient Zapotec art of weaving. We were even provided with our own tiny looms so we could create our own tapetes pequeños (tiny rugs)!

Tuesday arrived with great excitement as we all got up at the crack of dawn to go on our hiking/biking adventures for the day! Our morning started off with a kick…more of a fall, with Enya’s grand attempt to jump over a curve while on her bike…instead, the ground greeted her fall. It was quite entertaining.  After that show, we trekked along the mountainside, making our way to the peak where a mesmerizing view awaited us. The peak holds great meaning to the Zapotec community. It is the connecting point from Monte Alban and La Cuevita. After hiking downhill, we got our bikes ready and enjoyed a long ride around the pueblo where we got to see the picturesque mountain views as the fresh air filled our lungs. Although the uphill encounters and scorching sun hit our backs, we still made it to the final destination: La cuevita, where many members of the Zapotec community go to pray each December 31^st. To finish our adventurous day, we all went exploring around the town, and looked at the colorful tapestry being displayed around the shops. It was a great ending to a lovely day!

After an exciting day off, we returned to the huerto Wednesday morning to make piles of compost. This consisted of layering mostly organic waste/garbage, chopped up nopal cacti, and dirt. Every completed layer was watered to escalate the composting process.
The nopal cacti we used were taken from the plants originally planted for cochineal production but that had failed. The fun part of the morning was using a machete to chop them up. In the afternoon, we met at the cooperative store to learn how to naturally dye wool. We began with the cochineal beetles. They are grown on nopal cactus leaves and the leaves are then harvested to collect the beetles. Once the beetles are collected, they are allowed to dry. The dry beetles are then ground up by hand to produce a dark red powder. The blue añil color is applied by fermenting the plants and then allowing the wool to soak for twenty minutes (more or less depending how dark a color is desired). What is interesting is that when the wool is in the water, it is green, but the second it comes in contact with oxygen, it turns blue. This is where its nickname, el tinto mágico (the magic dye) comes from.

 For the yellow color, the marush is boiled for a few hours until the water turns yellow. It is then poured through a strainer to remove the plants and is used to dye wool. The wool is not removed until it has absorbed all the color and the water is clear. After we ate comida, we went back to the coop to see how the dyes were progressing. With our free time, we explored the town and bonded with our families.

When Thursday finally arrived, we all had mixed feelings about our last full day in the cooperative. We were sad to be leaving our new families but also a little excited to return to the missed luxuries of the city, like internet and things to do at night. The day consisted of some more work in the huerto followed by a spectacular comida and then we all met up at one house to finish...or start...our personal tejidos. Several women helped us complete our mini squares and have something to show off on the final day that we could all be proud of. Some of us spent the night at our favorite waffle place and we all had some great bonding time with our families.

On Friday morning we woke up to our last breakfast with Bii Dau (which was very sad) and headed out to the market where many people from Teotitlan reunite, chat, and buy their daily groceries. It was lovely to see the community come together and get a taste of some delicious local food. After the market, each of us were given a handmade present from our host family- from scarves to bags to pillow cases. Later that day we all came together for a final fiesta! Each family had prepared a good sum of food and we all came together at the Bii Dau cooperative to celebrate our wonderful time together, show off the beautiful textiles that we had made for the week, to thank our host families for a magnificent time and for their great hospitality, and finally Adrianna's birthday! At the fiesta each of us received a lovely certificate that showed Bii dau's gratitude for our presence and help on the huerto. As the fiesta came to an end we said our goodbyes, wrote our appreciation for our stay in their blog book and headed back into Oaxaca city.

Con Mucho Amor,
Brittany, Kat, Kathleen, Sean, Reed, Adrianna, Kristi & Enya