Our small group tours and hands-on experiences are organized by an American textile expert and led by a fourth-generation Zapotec rug weaver. Since 2006 we’ve been educating travelers on the local culture, including rare access to villages specializing in local crafts like weaving, pottery, folk art, embroidery, and more. The artisans we visit give us a window into the past, using techniques that have been passed down for multiple generations.
It is because of these artisans that centuries-old traditions are still alive today. And it is because of travelers like you that they’re able to support their families and continue their historic work.
We believe culture—food, language, landscape, religion, art, customs—is best understood and appreciated through the eyes of artisans because they are the keepers and protectors of local traditions.
Cultural traditions are sacred, so we act like guests and follow local etiquette everywhere we go. We don’t bend the rules for foreigners or participate in cultural appropriation which means your experience will be authentic and unfiltered.
We work one-on-one with the people we visit for greater impact. Our primary goal is to support these artisans so 100% of purchases go directly into their pockets, improving their quality of life and preserving their heritage.
Beyond sustainability, our goal is to positively impact the people and places we visit through cultural preservation, community involvement, and environmental restoration. We always give more than we take.
When Norma first visited the rug-weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle in 2005, she was intent on buying a naturally dyed rug directly from the maker. Years prior she had experimented with plant dyes during a weaving class and fell in love with the process; an art that now has mostly been replaced by ready-made synthetic dyes.
After days of canvassing shops and galleries in Teotitlan without success, Norma happened upon the village rug market.
“Would you like to see my rugs?” she heard someone call out in perfect English.
There aren’t many English speakers in the village so Norma questioned his authenticity, instinctively blurting out, “No thank you.”
But as she passed, his rugs stopped her dead in her tracks.
They were exceptional—far better than any she had seen—so she stepped inside his small, 6’x8’ stall.
That English speaker was Eric Chavez Santiago, and he worked at his family’s stall on weekends while attending university. After explaining the process to Norma, including the many cochineal dye recipes he developed, he invited her home to meet his parents (both weavers and dyers themselves). Impressed by this talented family, Norma bought three rugs.
But of course, that’s not the end of the story.
Norma couldn’t let their incredible work stay within the confines of their village, so when she returned to North Carolina, she took those rugs to the director of the Arts Center. Together they wrote a grant to the North Carolina Arts Council so Eric and his dad could teach workshops and exhibit their rugs in the US.
The grant was awarded and Norma helped Eric get a 10-year visitor’s visa, unheard of at the time.
In the 20 years since their first meeting, Norma and Eric have become family. He is her godson and she lives part-time in a casita on his family’s land. Norma started Oaxaca Cultural Navigator in 2007 to raise the profile of artisans in the Oaxaca valley, and to introduce more people to their talent. Eric has been instrumental in that mission.
In 2022, Norma invited Eric to join her as a partner in Oaxaca Cultural Navigator to transition the business to the next generation.
Norma started offering art-focused travel workshops and study tours in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2007, a few years before retiring from a 30-year career in university marketing, communications, development, and continuing education. Over the course of her career, she raised $23 million for students and faculty, and earned national awards for developing degree, certificate, and non-credit programs.
In 2012, she expanded Oaxaca Cultural Navigator to include Mexico City, Estado de México, Michoacán, and Chiapas, with plans for further growth.
Inspired by a deep curiosity and love for Mexico and its indigenous cultures, Norma collaborates with anthropologists and regional experts to enrich the experiences—often joining the tours she designs.
Outside of Oaxaca Cultural Navigator, she delivers presentations on the textile culture of Mexico and works with organizations to develop conferences, study abroad programs, and fundraising initiatives. Norma splits her time between her casita in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca and her home on the Rio Grande gorge in Taos, New Mexico. Her son, Jacob, lives with his wife Shelley in Albuquerque. Her business partner, Eric, is also her godson.
Eric is a weaver and natural dye expert who learned to weave at the age of eight from his father, master weaver Federico Chavez Sosa. While in college, he developed over a hundred cochineal dye recipes that he still uses today.
Eric is a graduate of Anahuac University and has made textile presentations throughout the world. He is knowledgeable about all forms of Mexican textiles and folk art.
A Oaxaca native, Eric was born and raised in Teotitlan del Valle, speaking Zapotec, Spanish and English. He was the founding director of education at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, a position he held from 2008 to 2016. In 2017, Alfredo Harp Helú and María Isabel Grañén Porrúa asked him to open, manage, and promote indigenous craft through their folk art gallery, Andares del Arte Popular. He left in 2022 to grow the family enterprise, Taller Teñido a Mano, and to join Norma as a partner in Oaxaca Cultural Navigator.
Eric and his wife Elsa live in Oaxaca City, traveling frequently to their workshop in Teotitlan del Valle. Their five-year-old son, Santiago, is already a weaver-in-training, ready to claim the title of fifth-generation rug weaver.
Wife of Eric, Elsa is a Oaxaca native and natural dye master who teaches workshops that explore the plants and cochineal found around Oaxaca and other parts of Mexico.
Her focus is on indigo, wild marigold, tree barks, and fruits that make up the palette of colors to dye protein and cellulose fibers.
Elsa also guides the day tours for Oaxaca Cultural Navigator, sharing her knowledge of the area and the processes for creating handmade clothing and folk art.
Fluent in Spanish and English, Elsa is a graduate of Anahuac University. She teaches at her dye studio in the historic center of Oaxaca and in the workshop she shares with her husband in Teotitlan del Valle.
We are dedicated to preserving cultural integrity, supporting economic development, and expanding opportunities for artisans to share their work. By traveling with us, you gain a deeper understanding of their culture and appreciation for their craft. More importantly, you have a direct and positive impact on their livelihood while helping to sustain indigenous artisanry. Our mission is to give these artisans the respect and recognition they deserve so their traditions live on.
From hands-on workshops to multi-day tours, our experiences immerse you in the local culture as a participant, not just an observer.
