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| Photos: Jann Segal |
I observe when I travel. It is part of my sightseeing
experience, but more often part of my post –trip reflections. I have felt the tears
of history in Vietnam; observed how clotheslines can reflect how an entire
society lives all over the world, and very particularly in India; and beyond
doubt, how women preserve their culture and heritage worldwide. I am sure that
men participate somehow along the line, but it seems that the role of women is
more prominent. Performing small acts or rituals to preserve cultural heritage is
truly something to celebrate no matter the culture. For an understanding of
different cultures makes us richer. Many countries have women’s cooperatives
where this activity is nourished, and the women are afforded a livelihood as
well. As it turns out, the countries where
I have observed this most prominently were countries I also wanted to return.
In two cases, these were countries I visited on an independent trip and later
returned with Overseas Adventure Travels. In the case of India, I took an OAT
trip there to two separate regions, but also included independent travel. In all cases, the way the women preserved their
heritage was unmistakable.
I begin to notice this on a trip to Guatemala a few
years ago travelling solo. I saw women performing traditional acts like weaving
in the textile mills that are so famous there. They would later walk in the streets
that tourists visit and try to sell their wares in open markets in Antigua and
Chichicastenango and other parts of the Guatemalan highlands. . Some were being sold in colorful blankets on
the ground, some walking around selling them on their heads. These textiles represent a part of the Mayan
culture that many say has disappeared forever. Yet when you meet many Guatemalans,
they are proud of their Mayan ancestry and openly lay claim to it. There is a women’s cooperative called TRAMA which
produces and sells woven textiles in the Mayan tradition, and they even provide
classes for those who want to learn to keep their tradition alive. Men can be very involved in the business of it too. But the women?
If not for their role, there would be nothing to sell, not as much of their culture
to preserve. I took the OAT Route of the Maya trip, where we visited Paulines' cooperative. There, 80 people are involved in the production of the fine woven goods, about half of them are women, working with vibrantly colored textiles indigenous to the region. We were in their
small villages across Lake Atitlan from Panajachel in the Guatemalan highlands Another way to see these
women traveling solo is through Elizabeth Bell Antigua Tours.
I also traveled Morocco independently. And like Guatemala,
I have plans to return on an OAT trip later this year on their trip Morocco’s Sahara Odyssey. No matter how you see it however, it is impossible to miss the women
selling their number one Fountain of Youth product, Argan Oil. These women’s
cooperatives throughout the country are too numerous to mention by name. But a
traditionally dressed woman will greet you when you go to one, explain all
their products you you, and show you other women who are taking the argan nuts
and preparing them by hand. The oil is extracted from these nuts which have
gone through the digestive system of a goat. If you are lucky, you will see some
of these goats standing on the limbs of trees like Christmas tree ornaments. Morocco is not a strict Muslim society, so
you will not necessarily see all women with their heads covered. But you will
see many women covered from head to toe in black burkas, or you might just see them wearing a modern looking
hajib. These women are not just keeping Moroccan tradition alive, but religious practices
for women. Still, because of this, they stand out probably more than the men do. Selling
derivative products from the argan oil and other beauty products is a socially
acceptable livelihood for them, and it seems to have paid off. The vast
majority of hair products in the United States at least now contain argan oil from
Morocco. To see these sights independently, many tours are available on Viator.com
India is filled with places where women keep their
traditions alive, although India is an extraordinarily complex country. I first traveled to the north in OAT’s Heart
of India trip, and we visited an area in Rajasthan by Ranthambore National Park
that was filled with women working on handicrafts. One of them was a women’s’ cooperative. There are many handicraft stores in this area
and you can see the women working away by hand and sewing machine to produce
goods to sell. This is complex beyond measure, because these women live in a
society that condones abuses to women and honor killings, yet also provides
a way for them to make a meager living. I returned two years later to explore the
south in OAT's Soul of India trip, and explored even further
another two weeks on my own. What you see in both the north and south that is
so unique is the women wearing their colorful saris, waking with jugs of water
and baskets of food balanced on their heads. 
Women keep religious traditions alive in probably
all societies. In India not far from Madurai, we met nuns of the JAINS faith walking
on the road bare foot. These holy
women had walked from Chennai and were carrying brooms, an empty pot for a
small amount of food or water, and were dressed in white .They have renounced
their earthly lives and family. They chatted with us a bit before walking on,
and I offered a donation, but they refused. They walk barefoot and live a
life of penance. They eat just one meal a day, and walk from house to
house to stay with other members of the JAINS faith. As they left us, they walked with their backs to us down a dusty road on a hot day with little food or water. But they had more faith, courage, and a sense of tradition then most could understand. And like their sisters in so many of the countries I have visited, they were the ones keeping their particular traditions alive. 
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