Gateway El Salvador
Guatajiagua
The town of Guatajiagua is known for its low-fire black pottery created by the pre-Hispanic Lenca people. The ceramics are made in home workshops that are open throughout the week. CEDART has a gallery in town that represents many of the potters and they can direct you to a specific artist. The average family makes around $40 a month, but with assistance from the U.S. Embassy Aid-to-Artisans program (ATA), the quality and marketability has improved enough to make it a viable export product. In fact, Kirkland stores ordered 22,500 small candle pots to be distributed in their stores nationwide. Crate & Barrel along with shops in Germany, Italy, and Lebanon also carry a limited range of ceramics from Guatajiagua.
Below are some important links if you are a retailer/wholesaler or just an individual interested in doing business with the Artisans of Guatajigua.
CEDART
Cedart is administered by The Ministry of Economy to promote craftsmen in El Salvador. There are four different focus centers with Morazan being one. The Artisan Centers of Development offer artists and craftsmen technical training, trade development, and management skills. Visit their website for more information.
Main website: http://www.aidtoartisans.org
Web page about El Salvador:
U.S. Ambassador H. Douglas Barclay, Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca, and Salvadoran Minister of
Economy Yolanda de Gavidia
meeting with artisans.
Anna Maria Menendez
"New Designs for the Export Craft Market."
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