Santo Tomás Jalieza

Santo Tomás Jalieza is a Zapotec village of about 1,100 people in the Ocotlán district, a few kilometres north of Ocotlán de Morelos and roughly 35 minutes' drive south of Oaxaca city, at about 1,520 m. In Zapotec, Jalieza is read as "below the church". Besides farming maize, beans and fruit, the village has a long reputation as the "town of belts", and a roadside sign announcing handmade cotton textiles greets anyone who turns in.

The craft here is backstrap-loom weaving: one end of the warp is tied to a post or tree and the other to a strap around the weaver's waist, who controls the tension by leaning back. The method is pre-Hispanic and has changed little. Weavers make narrow, tightly patterned belts and sashes, along with bags, purses, placemats, coasters, table runners and napkins, some sashes carrying dozens of woven motifs, and some use natural dyes such as indigo and marigold. Weaving has mostly been women's work, though some young men now weave too, and several Jalieza weavers have won national prizes.

Most visitors come to the small covered crafts market near the village entrance, where women sit at their looms between the stalls and sell directly. An artisans' union sets common prices for comparable pieces, so there is little haggling. Fridays are the busiest day, when around 30 women sell (about ten on other days), because traffic passes through on its way to the Ocotlán market. The stop combines easily with San Martín Tilcajete and Ocotlán.