50 years ago the Nivaclé (Chuloí) lived by hunting and fishing, gathering fruits, roots and honey, and cultivating corn, beans, squash, mandioc and potatoes on small plots. They also managed large herds of sheep and goats.
Each community group, made of extended families, had vast territories where they hunted and gathered. Following the seasons and food supplies the groups would move to different locations. Each time they moved the groups would build new huts and gardens.
Their nomadic lifestyle was often a struggle, but they still managed to maintain social structures and adapted perfectly to their harsh environment. Effective family planning, done according to astrological signs, allowed the groups to avoid over population, which their limited resources could not support.
Their harmony with the surroundings and social customs allowed them to live very ordered lives. No one was rich or poor; all resources, including land, were shared among members of the group. Only clothing, adornments, crafts, tools, and weapons were considered personal property.
As such there was little distinction between the social classes. Leaders of each group shared the same chores as all other members of the group.
But when outside societies began to enter the Chaco, the way of life for the indigenous was drastically changed. A variety of factors caused the change including military occupation, the Chaco War, the development of their land into farms by colonists, leather businesses, hunting wild animals, new settlements, disease, elimination of traditional family planning, the immigration of other indigenous groups, and the change from hunting and gathering to day laborers in farms and colonies.
The Nivaclé did not adapt well to these new conditions. They were often required to seek jobs at the farms established by the colonists, and these farming jobs were often dependent on the conditions of the harsh and widely fluctuating seasons. Those working in farms often experienced long periods of unemployment and poverty due to frequent drought in the region.
With the loss of gathering activities and social customs that had favored men, women had lost much of their traditional role as contributors to the family. Making and selling crafts allowed women to regain their ability to help support the family.
In these times of need weaving and selling crafts have given the families an additional source of income. This form of self-help is based on traditional techniques, resurrecting an art that was almost loss. The artists do not need any outside materials or support. They use traditional tools and knowledge that has been passed between generations.
Now, women are able to decide when they want to work, and are able to make their own designs, resulting in great pride for their work. Making crafts has given the Nivaclé a vibrant way to maintain their traditional techniques and designs.