After answering questions, creating a video, and having a panel review her application, Spanish teacher Lisa Plichta was one of two teachers chosen for an all-expenses-paid trip to Guatemala; however, the trip wasn’t to vacation but to learn more about the Pulsera Project. A project LT has been participating in for 10 years.

The Pulsera Project is a non-profit organization connecting Central American artists with schools across the U.S. Artisans from Guatemala and Nicaragua weave bracelets (or “Pulseras” in Spanish) and purses that are then sold at schools across America. 

“What you can’t really put into words is the depth of what [the project] actually means,” Plichta said. “It truly is a cultural weaving. It’s not a charity. They’re a non-profit organization, but it’s not a charity because we get equal things out of the project if we do it right.”

In the last 10 years, LT has raised $37,000 for the Pulsera Project and the programs the project supports, Colin Crane, Co-founder of the Pulsera Project, said. The money helps to employ over 200 artisans with fair trade jobs in both Guatemala and Nicaragua. Additionally, the money raised supports benefits for the artisans, including scholarships, health care, legal services, and professional development, to name a few. Money is also given as grants to other social impact organizations working in Guatemala that are focused on improving communities. 

“Over the years, all the money that’s been raised from LT’s sales and other pulsera sales across the country are all going towards those types of programs,” Crane said. 

The trip started and ended in Guatemala City and lasted from July 10-18, Plichta said. One town they went to was Panajachel, located next to Lake Atitlán. Every day, the group would take a boat across the lake to visit a different organization that weaves pulseras.

“And then you go and meet the people that took an exceptional amount of time to weave the bracelet, choose the colors, and put their love and energy into their weaving, hoping that whoever gets it on the other end feels the energy and love,” she said. “That is what we gain. The stuff we produce here in the U.S. is often not done with the same time, care, and thought.”

While all of the days were exceptional and there was nothing “average” about them, there was a routine to the day, Plichta said. The group ate breakfast at 7 a.m. and then met at 8:15 a.m. to reflect on the day before, get ready for the next excursion, and learn about who they would be meeting next. Typically, they would eat lunch with the artisans, come back to the hotel, and end the day with dinner at 7 p.m.

“That was the routine, but in between, [it] was just full of colorful surprises,” Plichta said.

One of those “colorful surprises” included Plichta being interviewed on a Mayan radio station. 

“One of the groups we met was a group of Mayan women,” Plichta said. “In addition to other things they do [ like going to school and raising families], they have a radio station that broadcasts about women’s health and women’s rights. Issues and topics like that. They also weave pulseras for the project. When the project asked what the funds could do for them, they asked for a higher radio tower so they could reach more ears. We went and saw the tower that was put in [due to] the Pulsera Project. We were having conversations, playing games, and they said they wanted to interview two of us on their radio station, and one of them was me.”

Crane was there to witness the experience. 

“It was really great for both of them because some of the groups we support don’t often get to meet the people who have led the pulsera sales and actually make all of this possible, and for [Plichta] to be able to speak to the people who she has supported for going on 10 years now,” Crane said. “It was a really cool moment.”

Throughout her time in Guatemala, Plichta rediscovered her love for the project through the people she met and her experiences. 

“After 10 years of participating in the Pulsera project,” Plichta said. “I thought I understood it and wondered if we should keep going with it or try something new, but after experiencing what I did in Guatemala, I realized that I have so much to keep learning. There is so much depth to this project that seems simple on the surface. I am really grateful for the opportunity to have seen the other side of the organization because it has given me a fresh sense of purpose.”

The goal of the trip is for teachers to bring knowledge and experience back to their students, Crane said. 

“I hope I can somehow relay [what I experienced] to this year’s group of students in words,” Plichta said. “It’s not easy to do without having been there, but I hope I can relay that, and my students will share to some degree what I know now. Every year, the project has brought something different. The students have brought something new to the table every year, so I’m looking forward to what direction it goes with this year’s group.”

The project is a way to bring culture directly into the classroom, Crane said.

“To actually have handwoven artwork that came from another country in its own way is so beautiful,” Crane said. “I think it really gives students a direct connection to another country and another culture without having to travel there, and I think that’s really meaningful to experience in a way that’s fun, colorful, uplifting, and can spread joy within a school community as well as make an impact abroad.”