Start next door to the airstrip, at the Maya Bags craft workshop (www.mayabags.org [1]). About 50 area women participate in this craft and export venture. The women make hand-woven bags, embroidered yoga mats, beach bags, jipijapa purses, and other unique products. If you have time, you can order a custom embroidered design; craftsmanship is so good, the bags were featured in Vogue magazine in 2010.
Tienda La Indita Maya (24 Main Middle St.) lies just north of Central Park [2] (at the end opposite the clock tower). Also check the Fajina Women’s Group Craft Center on Front Street near the ferry pier. It’s a small co-op for quality Maya crafts run by the Q’eqchi’ and Mopan women. You’ll find jipijapa baskets, cuxtales, slate carvings, calabash carvings, jewelry, textiles, and embroidered clothes—when they’re open, that is. If the door is closed, ask upstairs at the restaurant to get it opened up.
Links:
[1] http://www.mayabags.org
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/belize/punta-gorda-and-the-toledo-villages/punta-gorda/sights/central-park