Maya Traditions Foundation (Fundacion Tradiciones Mayas) is a legal Guatemalan Foundation is based in Panajachel, Guatemala. The foundation is the successor of a fair-trade business, Maya Traditions, founded by the late Jane Mintz, in the 1990's to preserve the art of backstrap weaving and to provide a living wage to Maya Backstrap Weavers.  She began by working with weaving cooperatives in who lived in the Central Higlands area of Guatemala to promote Fair Trade while at the same time provide social, medical and educational services to the women an their families. We at the Foundation are continuing Jane's work to improve the lives of Maya womane and small family businesses through providing consistent income, as well as health and education projects.

In Guatemala we work with more than 100 Maya women in seven established groups in rural villages. We predominantly work with women who do backstrap weaving, an ancient traditional art which women can do at home while caring for their families. In addition, we work with a group of women crochet artisans, footloom weavers, and basket makers.

Our primary focus is the creation of high-quality weaving and hand crochet products while preserving the integrity of these traditional crafts. We work with the artisan groups to combine new colors and ideas that appeal to a wider international market. Both the weavers and our year-round staff in Guatemala are involved in the quality control process, thereby maintaining the highest possible standards. These skilled artisans take pride in their weaving and the presentation of their work.

At the heart of our efforts at Maya Traditions is the improvement of the weaver's quality of life; many are faced with poverty and lack basic services. We strive to pay a fair wage in the local context. We are also committed to helping the weavers with health care and the education of their children, which are priorities expressed by many women. This involves an herbal medicine project and a scholarship program funded by donations. We are currently providing scholarships for 150 children of our weavers, studying anywhere from Junior High School to Graduate University programs, including one student in Medical School.

We continue to produce the same Fair Trade products in Guatemala but no longer maintain and distribute from our own warehouse in San Francisco. Our goods are however represented by many wholesalers and retailers in the US. We also can ship wholesale directly out of our Guatemala warehouse where it is economical for the buyer.