Services
Services
Make use of our
consulting services and workshops

Lectures and discussion
Lectures and discussion sessions on how collaboration between Mama Tierra and indigenous women works in «critical» countries like Colombia and Venezuela: A project that started in 2015 with very little funding but with a big dose of fighting spirit now supports around 1000 people.
Arts and crafts have a high status in Wayuu society: it is expressed in their myths, rites of passage and customs. Background on ethnological research of Wayuu indigenous material culture in Colombia and Venezuela sheds light on the animistic meanings of patterns, as well as the Wayuu division of labour in the creation of handicrafts.

Studio Rental
Our creative studio in the Oederlin Areal is available for rent for the day. The Oederlin Areal developed from a historic foundry of the Swiss industrialisation era into a centre for small businesses, artists as well as crafters. Let yourself be inspired by this lively atmosphere! Suitable for workshops, conferences and presentations.
Terms and conditions
Please write to info@mama-tierra.org to rent the studio with your desired date.

Workshops
Workshops are held at your location or at Mama Tierra’s studio. Materials will be provided, the cost for each workshop ranges between 80 and 100 CHF per person.

Workshops on indigenous crafts
Indigenous peoples have their own, often unique way of making their textiles and fashion. The patterns in their bags usually have cosmological or animistic meanings. Crafts regulate everyday life and are also relevant to indigenous social structures.
We focus on the handicrafts of the indigenous Wayuu in Colombia and Venezuela. Our team explains the production process from an ethnographic perspective, based on field research, as we lived with the Wayuu for a few months and thus learned these handicraft techniques.

Crocheting Wayuu bags
This workshop lasts up to 4 hours.
Dr. Lourdes Grollimund, President of Mama Tierra, shows how to make the Wayuu bags during the workshop. Participants learn the intarsia technique and use it to create a round mat that can be made into a bag. Previous crochet experience is useful.

Loop braiding technique
Schlaufenflechten-Technik (loop braiding)
M.A. Katherine Klemenz vermittelt Kunsthandwerker:innen, wie Wayuu-Bänder hergestellt werden. Teilnehmer:innen können einen Schlüsselanhänger anfertigen und nach Hause mitnehmen. Keine Vorkenntnisse nötig.