Guatemalan Worry No More Doll

Doña Jerónima Juárez was born in the small village of San Pedro Las Huertas, near Antigua, Guatemala. She stopped attending school after the third grade in order to supplement her family's income by helping her mother sell vegetables in the marketplace.

Doña Jerónima's mother taught her to make worry dolls, a traditional craft in Guatemala. She recalls, "I was trying for 2 months to make the worry dolls; I made one but was not good enough then I undid the dolls and tried again and again and again lots of times."

Her perseverance paid off. Eleven years ago, she was able to found a small workshop, "Artesanias Multicolor," in the Colonial City of La Antigua Guatemala. She is able to employ fifteen artisans in the production of traditional and not-so-traditional handicrafts, including the "Worry Cats," a design she developed exclusively for the Greater Good Network.

With their livelihood no longer tied solely to the agricultural harvest, Doña Jerónima, her mother, and her three daughters continue to turn their traditional crafting skills towards the creation of new and unique designs.