Oaxacan Weaving and Alebrijes

Two crafts dominate the villages around Oaxaca and both are worth seeing at source. Teotitlán del Valle has woven wool since long before the Spanish arrived, and the treadle loom they brought only changed the technique; families still card and spin their own wool and dye it with indigo, pericón and cochineal, the scale insect that lives on the local nopal and gives a red the workshops will demonstrate by crushing one on your palm. In San Martín Tilcajete and Arrazola they carve copal wood into animals and imagined creatures and paint them in dense fine patterns, a craft that took its name and much of its look from Mexico City papier-mâché figures of the 1930s.

What you actually see

• Teotitlán looms - families weaving wool rugs on treadle looms at home.
• Natural dyes - indigo, marigold and cochineal demonstrated on the spot.
• Copal carving - the wood shaped green and left to dry before painting.
• Alebrije painting - dense fine patterns applied by hand over days.

When to go

Year-round, on weekdays when the workshops are working; many families welcome visitors without appointment and will demonstrate dyeing and weaving. Combine Teotitlán with the Tlacolula Sunday market, and Tilcajete with Ocotlán on a Friday.

Honest expectations

Buying directly from a family workshop costs more than the stalls in Oaxaca city and is worth it; the cheap versions are chemically dyed, machine-spun or carved elsewhere. Demonstrations come with a clear expectation that you will buy something, which is fair. Copal is slow-growing and the demand on it is a real concern, so ask about the wood.

Nearby

Mitla and Hierve el Agua are further along the same valley; Monte Albán is above the city.