The bags that will be provided to the 2009 IAMCR Conference attendees are made of tenangos, a type of embroidery produced by Otomí craftswomen in the municipality of Tenango de Doria in the state of Hidalgo in Mexico.
Named for the municipality, tenangos are handmade by the women of the area who began selling them as an economic alternative during a drought that devastated crops, and the local economy, during the 1960s.
Today tenangos are valued for the quality of the embroidery and because of their portrayal of real and mythical animals and people from the Otomí cosmovision.
The decorative embroideries are used to make tablecloths, cushions, blankets, bed sheets, shawls, handbags, and conference bags!
IAMCR is pleased to be able to use these distinctive bags and to support the work of the Otomí women of Tenango de Doria.