Featured in the Belize Pavilion at the 2016 Jazz Fest. A master artisan from the village of Big Falls in the Toledo district, Marta Chiac comes from a family of Maya artisans who craft objects for the home, including baskets, hammocks and woven cloth, out of materials collected from the nearby jungle. She and her family are an integral part of the "u201cLiving Maya Experience"u201d of Big Falls, a program offering cultural insights and experiences in Maya homes, which allows visitors to learn about Maya crafts, language, history, medicine and culture. Throughout Guatemala and Belize, Maya women use jippi jappa, a palm-like plant that grows wild and abundant in the rainforest, to make baskets for home use. Larger baskets may be used to store vegetables, other consumable produce and clothing, while smaller-size baskets may hold jewelry, mementos, buttons, coins and other small items. Marta begins with the raw plant, jippi jappa, which she and her family harvest from the rainforest near their village. Using a sharp object, she removes the center of the leaf to expose the fibers, which are tied together at the bottom. The plant is then boiled, washed and dried in the sun. Once this process is complete, the basket weaving can begin. Approximately eight jippi jappa plants are required to make one basket. In 2015, Marta participated in the Carifesta Festival in Haiti. The same year, she demonstrated her craft at the World Culture and Arts Day hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.
