Honoring Ramona Kirschenman's legacy

Our beloved friend Ramona Kirschenman died unexpectedly in July of 2025. She leaves a void in the hearts of so many who loved her and benefited from her extraordinary work.

Ramona shaped the lives of countless people, including members of our team and artisan partners. Her fierce dedication to Maya communities in Guatemala created lasting positive impact and many new opportunities, especially for Maya women. Ramona had a true gift for identifying potential in people and organizations and cultivating that potential with her blend of strategic acumen, grit, and warmth. Her vision continues to influence our approach to social programs and artisan trainings to this day.

In memory of Ramona, today we share two reflections on her legacy and lasting impact.

Capacity building in action: Ramona as leader of Oxlajuj B'atz'

By Brenda Rosenbaum, founder of Mayan Hands

Mayan Hands and Maya Traditions had been working with Maya weavers in Guatemala since the early 1990s, with a shared mission of finding access to markets willing to pay fair prices for the weavers' outstanding work. In the early 2000s, we launched a new joint effort: an educational organization, Oxlajuj B'atz' (Thirteen Threads), or OB for short.

Getting to know women artisans through our fair-trade work, we came to realize how few resources and opportunities were available in their communities.OB was created to offer a variety of educational opportunities for our artisan partners: focusing on health and wellbeing, their skill development as artisans, and leadership and small business skills.

Ramona, with a background in business and entrepreneurship and a degree from the New School in Latin American Studies, was passionate about Central American solidarity movements and was eagerly learning Spanish. She applied for the role of director of OB; even if she was not proficient in Spanish, her creativity, background, and deep knowledge and interest in the region made her the best person for the position.

Ramona arrived in Guatemala fired up and hit the ground running! Her accomplishments were extraordinary. From 2005 to 2012, she led a team that presented 1600 workshops amongst the 23 artisan groups. The workshops were well-designed and a high percentage of group members chose to participate. Women artisans jumped at the opportunity to learn new things.

Just a few of OB's accomplishments under Ramona's leadership:

OB worked with artisan groups to develop rotating, democratic leadership. As part of these workshops, women artisans registered to participate in national elections for the first time in their lives.
Women learned about their bodies, about medicinal plants, and some planted small medicinal plant gardens near their homes.
Workshops on women's empowerment gave women language for their experience of the culture of machismo in Guatemalan society, plus an understanding of their rights and the importance of their voice.
Many women developed new craft skills as they trained with experts from the US in pine needle basketry, hooking rug, and needle felting. These trainings allowed the women to diversify their offerings beyond weaving, improving their income and offering new products for export, also giving rise to an independent organization, Multicolores
Ramona and the team opened a store in Panajachel, where artisans learned to organize and manage their own small businesses. Some went on to request microcredit and invest in other independent small ventures.

Ramona spent many hours writing proposals to get funding for the projects, evaluating workshops and planning new ones, but her favorite part of the job was connecting with the women. She went out of her way to talk with each of them, hug them, and make them feel welcome. Ramona's bright light will continue shining for generations to come.

Genuine and Fearless Leadership

By Nancy Cosme, Production Coordinator

"So I will return to the dust from which I came, and my spirit will return to God." Ecclesiastes 12:7

In the few emails that I wrote to Ramona, I always told her that she was my angel. That is what she represented for me: a marvelous woman, with an incredible leadership style that combined honesty, strength of character, and goodness in everything she did. God blessed me with her presence in my life, and I learned so much from her. I will be forever grateful to her.

I met Ramona in 2008, the same year I started working with Mayan Hands, and from then my life began to take a different course. Although beginnings are always challenging, Ramona always believed in me, supported me, and even protected me when she believed it necessary. She trusted my decisions and encouraged me to keep learning. She never stopped looking out for me.

I worked by her side for five years, and it was a meaningful experience and one of the best decisions I could have made. Though there were challenges and struggles, there were also celebrations and understanding. I never received a harsh critique or reproach, not because I made no mistakes, but because she had a special ability to teach others while treating everyone as an equal, both the team and the artisans.

I always aspired to a leadership style like hers, genuine and fearless. I have dreamed of being a director like her, thinking of the well-being of those around her, always attentive and fair-minded.

I had the chance to talk with her last year and I told her, "I still feel like I did twelve years ago, like you are my boss." She just smiled and hugged me. I also told her that I had finished university and completed my master's degree, and I saw the unique sparkle in her eyes and her great smile. These are memories that I will hold forever in my heart.

Of all the many amazing people I have met, there is no one like Ramona. For that reason I will always say: Ramona was an angel here on earth, and now she is an angel in heaven. There are not enough words to describe all that she was and all that she did.