Our Roots, Your Impact: The Xol Original Story

At Xol Original, we believe in the power of tradition, the beauty of craftsmanship, and the strength of community. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preserving indigenous cultural heritage by empowering artisans through fair trade fashion and education. Every pair of shoes is a bridge between worlds – connecting you to ancient techniques and providing direct economic support to talented indigenous craftspeople and their families. Your involvement helps sustain livelihoods, foster cultural pride, and keep ancestral knowledge alive for generations to come.

How Your Support Transforms Lives:

Fair Wages & Resources: Ensuring artisans receive equitable compensation for their invaluable skills.
Cultural Preservation: Investing in workshops and educational programs that pass down traditional artistry.
Community Empowerment: Supporting health, education, and infrastructure initiatives within artisan communities.

The bulk of our work is funded by our members, whom we call Kin.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND BECOME A KIN MEMBER

What We Do

Xol Original safeguards indigenous traditions in two main ways: through improving the economic independence and quality of life of skilled indigenous artisans, artists, musicians, farmers, calendar-keepers, and other holders of traditional ecological knowledge (particularly among indigenous women and youth - often the most marginalized members of societies); and raising public awareness and appreciation for indigenous cultural traditions and the need for safeguarding those traditions.

We create original works of wearable art through active design collaboration with indigenous artisans throughout the world. A major underlying tenet of design collaboration with artisans is to use recycled or reclaimed materials. We provide materials, tools, equipment and access to educational or career advancement opportunities to artisans.

Look for the expanding Xol Original Traveling Indigenous Arts and Fashion Exhibit to learn about and experience aspects of indigenous cultural traditions.

Mayan women working on their backstrap looms near Nebaj, K'iche, Guatemala in 2013.Photo: Madretierra Sato — Mayan women working on their backstrap looms near Nebaj, K'iche, Guatemala in 2013.
Photo: Madretierra Sato

Background Photo: courtesy of Dresdres Kazangiljan (Paiwan tribe of Pingtung County, southern Taiwan), 2015.

THE SEED: WHERE WE STARTED

Xol Original is a non-profit arts and education organization incorporated in Colorado. Initially formed in February 2014 as a natural outgrowth of the relationships with Indigenous artisans of Guatemala and Mexico, we offered an interface for patrons of indigenous artisanship to custom order beautiful handmade footwear.

But the “material goods” of artisan handcraft are only a small, physically visible aspect of culture originating from indigenous traditions and practices, at the core of which is an uniquely indigenous understanding of the interwoven relationship of nature and human life. In 2015 we became a non-profit organization to include the scope of our vision.

VISION

Xol Original envisions a future which enriches, revitalizes and exchanges sustainable practices informed by indigenous knowledge of an inseparable relationship of all peoples to the natural world.

MISSION

“to safeguard the noble wealth of indigenous traditions through sustainable offerings that teach respect for nature and all human life.”

Tino Bio Pic.jpg — Valentino Romero, Founder of Xol **Original**

MI HISTORIA
I lived the great privilege of growing up in a world very different than the world we live in today; a truly ancient world, where everything had a name and a purpose, and if we listened, we could come to know what those were.
Raised by my grandfather, grandmother, and my community, in a traditional lifestyle from a very young age; I remain forever grateful. In that world, everything was about relationship and knowledge. How to speak to an elder, what mountains are appropriate to hunt for our food, and how to dress, walk, and speak, with dignity and honor. I was shown how our hands are equally as important as our head and heart, for they give us a way to feel, connect, and work with our world.
I used to chop wood every morning so we may have heat, and my grandmother would tend to the land, filled with herbs, beans, and strawberries. Every planter we had was an inside out car tire, hand cut and painted into a beautiful pattern. My grandfather would do stonework and make chokecherry wine from our trees for the summer. Chile, stories, jokes and jerky were what we would earn. Life wasn’t easy, but it was meaningful.
When I started Xol Original, I wanted to make something special out of what would otherwise harm our earth, and shift it into what can help save it. Changing the way we live so we can together create a powerful solution to a global epidemic, by teaching a better lifestyle, with strong emphasis on style.