One of the highlights of San Cristobal de Las Casas is the Na Bolom Centre. This museum/hotel/restaurant/shop is mentioned in every travel guide, and it was the house of the Danish archaeologist and anthropologist Franz Blom and his Swiss wife Gertrude Duby Blom, a photographer who arrived in Chiapas to conduct a report on the Lacandones, and eventually became the protector of this indigenous community and of their environment.
In occasion of my first visit to San Cristobal I spent a whole afternoon in the museum, and I was really fascinated by the story of the Bloms. There is an interesting collection of reports, photos and objects from their expeditions in the Lacandon jungle; of their first contact with the Lacandones, and their interest for the indigenous culture and traditions.
They eventually founded the Na Bolom cultural association, which was aimed to support the Lacandon community through many interesting projects which are still up and running to date. After the death of Getrude the association has been run by a patronato, and it has changed administration and management a few times in the past few years.
While in San Cristobal a few days ago I heard some voices about the fact that Na Bolom ‘was not the same as before’ and rumours about Lacandones not being paid fairly for their handcrafts (which are sold in the shop), and not being as welcome in the hotel-restaurant as before (Gertude explicitly disposed that the Lacandones should be Na-Bolom’s guests while staying in San Cristobal at any time, as they periodically travel to town to sell their handcraft).
Of course rumours and voices must be always taken with a pinch of salt: aid projects are not easy to run, and sometimes some members of a community benefit more than others, which generates complaints.
However, as I was so fascinated by the Na Bolom story and really liked this organisation, I decided to carry on a little investigation… I went to the Na Bolom shop and had a look at the prices of the handcraft there, which were not cheap. I asked one of the girls at the counter how much of the revenue would go to the Lacandon artist, and how the remaining amount would be used. I also asked her if she was personally involved in any of the aid projects supported by the organisation. She said she was a nurse working on the project for free medical aid to the Lacandones, and gave me a very positive feedback about it.
She also told me Na Bolom would keep only the 15-20% of the handcrafts, paying the artists a fair 80%. The other girl though corrected her on this, saying Na Bolom keeps the 45% of the revenue for each piece of sold handcraft. Quite a discrepancy in the information… although, I still think it would be fair if this 45% is spent entirely in the aid projects (once deducted the basic expenses, of course).
Unfortunately, there was no way for me to get to know this information, but I have no reasons to doubt the money made by the Na Bolom shop (and by the hotel-restaurant) is responsibly managed and assigned to these projects.
After a couple of days I left San Cristobal for a trip in the Lacandon jungle. Near the eco-lodge I was staying, some Lacandones were selling their handcraft. I asked them what they thought about Na Bolom, and this time the feedback was not that positive… A few artisans said they do not take their pieces to Na Bolom anymore, as they do not get paid as fairly as before. Plus, they were receiving complaints all the times about the quality of their handcraft by the Na Bolom representatives, who were trying to buy the pieces for less and less, saying they would be difficult to sell in the shop due to their poor quality.
Another member of the community said he was no longer asking for hospitality at Na Bolom while in San Cristobal, as most of the times he was told the rooms were occupied by paying guests, and the few times he stayed there he felt not welcome at all. Another lady said that when Trudi was alive (this is how the Lacandones still affectionately called Gertrude Blom) they could go there and eat any time, whereas now there are strict rules in hospitality and food distributions, with someone taking notes of their names, the times they go in and out, and everything they eat.
More comments followed, some also positive. For example, almost everyone agreed that the medical project was actually benefiting the community, and although they would take advantage of that only when they are really sick (the Lacandones still use their traditional healing methods), they were always given medical help when requested. Well, it was good to hear that, but I was also a bit sad in hearing some of the negative comments, especially because I had the impression that the Lacandones are quite proud people, who do not like much to ask for help unless it is really needed.
Furthermore, most of the complaints I heard started with “things are not the same as before”, meaning there was initially a good relationship between Na Bolom and the Lacandon community which somehow deteriorated, which is a pity.
My ‘investigation’ ends here; as I said, it was only based on rumours and all I wanted was listening to some more voices and collecting them; it would be great if others could be heard on this blog…
