History
Teotitlan del Valle is an ancient Zapotec communtiy. For centuries, it’s inhabitants have been dedicated to the creation of textile products. In the past, Teotitlan’s families combined this activity with the cultivation of the land and raising of domesticated animals.
Since the 1980’s, a change in the form of traditional family life has been noticed due to increased textile sales. New generations abandoned agricultural production and dedicated themselves to weaving. Women who before had only participated in the making and dying of thread returned to the weaving loom as they had during the height of the Zapotec culture
As the years passed, the sales and quality of the textiles decayed for various reasons such as: the monopolization of the textile market by a few merchants, massive production lacking quality control, and the usage of synthetic dyes. The consequences of these actions were lowered monetary values of textile artwork and the devaluation of the use of natural dyes.
Faced with this situation, restless and unhappy artists called to unite forces and objectives to better both their living conditions and the quality of their textile products. Some artists had participated in organizations before that had left them as apprentices, discontented and wondering how artists could be properly organized and consolidate themselves as a business. To achieve this, they united various textile producers and created the Bii Dauu Zapotec Textile Arts Center.
The Bii Dauu Zapotec Textile Arts Center is an organization established in a cooperative society (a cooperative community) since May 2004. It’s 21 members include 8 women and 13 men, all artists originating from Teotitlan del Valle. Bii Dauu’s wool textiles are distinguished from others because they are created with natural organic dyes and original designs.