Introduction to Maya Shoes

Hello all!

This is a blog dedicated to the exploration of the topic of footwear of the native Maya in Guatemala. It has been created by Irene Cajas Rivera and Giuseppe Filippone, a two person team partecipating in the PDDW (Product Design for the Developing World ME-105 Caltech class) so that our team can share all the bits of information that we will be gathering over the course of the next 14 weeks and so that others can comment on all aspects of our information and our project.

The objective of our team is to develop not only a series of new designs that will be attractive both for Maya natives and other markets, but also to develop a system of manufacture for the shoes that will allow the Maya of Guatemala to sustain themselves through their fabrication and sale, and so that the final cost of the product is accessible to the poorest segments of the native population.

We will be looking at all aspects of footwear: local traditional design, local manufacturing tecniques, competition, foreign markets, material use in traditional western shoes, material use in Maya shoes, available materials, sustainability issues, and finally exportable business models.

We appreciate any feedback and invite all who view this blog to contribute as much as possible to the information bank that we will be trying to build here.

Thank you and enjoy!