Message From Our CEO

Hello all! My name is Jes and I am the CEO and founder of La Chayo. I’d like to thank you for stopping by to show your support and I hope you enjoy the beautifully crafted, artisan made, and fairly traded products we have to offer. 

I started La Chayo as a way to honor my mother, Maria, a Guatemalan born woman with a heart of gold  (who everyone called Chayo/ Chayito). Having family from Guatemala exposed me to the beautiful culture and traditions of the motherland from an early age. Growing up, my grandmother would often visit Guatemala and bring back items made by hand by the people of Guatemala who would create these gorgeous textiles by using traditional Mayan backloom weaving techniques as a way to provide for their families there. As I grew older I recognized the richness of the culture that flowed through my veins and how lucky I was to bare witness to the resilient people of Guatemala, my mother being one of the strongest I’ve ever known. She had always made an effort to give back to our family there and to the people of Guatemala because a majority of those people were living in poverty and she would do whatever she could to help her people in any way that she could. I know now; as an adult, that she instilled in me the power to be a compassionate,  thoughtful, and strong woman with a need to give back and live a purposeful life. 

As we laid my mother to rest on December 2, 2017, I felt an overwhelming need to continue her efforts, so I would not only carry the torch but it would burn brighter and longer and provide assistance to so many more. This is how La Chayo was born and thus with your support and conscious spending, we will work together to make this world a better place.

This one‘s for you mami!