The Rosas-Standring Family

** I have a lot more pictures coming!***

It is not very often that you hear about something that someone is doing and it just makes you smile from the inside. Well, the project of Dutzi Designs Inc. is one such story.

The project is that of Ariane Dutzi. Ariane lives here in the Yucatan and has started a line, Dutzi Designs Inc., to help the communities of the Yucatan. As a former fashion editor from New York and Paris, she moved to Mexico and where she is making an impact in the beautiful community that she is now a part of. I just got to meet her and she is ever so as amazing as this project and I cannot wait to do an interview with her.


When the Swine Flu scare erupted in Mexico last April it created a mass exodus of tourists in the Yucatan and the communities of the area really suffered. As the “infodemic” spun out of control, a whole bunch of totally healthy people sat in the deserted towns of the Yucatan and the found themselves without people to sell their handiwork to. Ariane has since developed the Dutzi Design Rescue Bag.

Complete with a label befitting of the project, a small outlined face of a pig, these bags are as eco-friendly green as they are well made and beautiful.
The whole project really is something special. As a way of helping the Mayan community that lives in the areas around Valladolid, about 70 women as well as some men make each and every bag. The project is not only a means for so many women to help provide for their families, but also helps preserve the beautiful culture of the indigenous Maya. With all of the proceeds from the sales of the bag going directly into the project, this community of women continues to be able to help sustain themselves especially in a time where so many of us here in the Yucatan are feeling the devastating consequences of the hype of the swine flu.


I have not even started to tell you about the amazing bags themselves… these bags, made of vintage burlap or 100% recycled white raffia. They are absolutely beautiful and are not only made by hand with love and care but, probably because of that fact, are incredibly well made.

These bags are being sold in stores and boutiques all over New York as well as in Paris, Santa Fe, Malibu, CA, Mexico and over the Internet. One of the best ways to get your own Rescue Bag is to drive over and see the project for yourself. Valladolid is a beautiful town about an hour from Tulum and wonderfully worth a visit. What a fantastic souvenir of a trip to the Yucatan. Luckily you can also buy one online and have it sent to you. Check out the website with information about how to purchase your very own bag.

These bags are perfect for both men and women. I especially love the bike messenger bag for men. These bags reflect both a consciousness for the earth and an effort to protect and cherish it, but also for the wonderful communities of Mayan women in the Yucatan.

I am trying to get the word out as far and as wide as I can. I simple love this project and i know that there are so many others out there that will too. Please pass this information along. If you own or manage a shop-- These would be a GREAT thing to carry. You can get more information from their website. Or feel free to contact me and I can pass you along. Here are some great links for Dutzi Designs. I will also be featuring them on www.TulumLiving.com very soon.

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Well, there is no way... unless you live under a rock that you are not aware of this whole swine flu fiasco in Mexico. I must first say how proud I am of the Mexican gov't for taking fast decisive steps to stop the outbreak and control the problem and the hysteria. Now if we could only have gotten the rest of the world to stop reporting that all of Mexico is lethargic and dying in the streets by the thousands then maybe it would not have been so bad. I mean, for the Mexican gov't to make such a drastic decision- shutting down gov't offices for a week, closing major tourism sights, keeping kids out of school for a week forcing parents to adjust work schedules- all in the attempt to curb the outbreak. These were major decision that they knew would drastically effect the people of the nation. And it has had a drastic effect on the people. Especially those of us that live in a tourist based economy. Mexico has easily lost millions and will lose billions of dollars because of this whole thing.

Now, I am not upset about the shut down that gov't did, I am not upset that the world was scared and worried... what i am sick of is fear mongering new media whose only goal is to keep you locked to your television and buying the next paper. Before the swine flu is was all about the cartels and how people are getting gunned down in the middle of the streets all over Mexico.

When I first started this blog I never thought that anyone would read it. I did it for me as an online journal well, people have started to read it and are genuinely interested in what is happening in our lives. and we love it. We have made so many friends from this. But what I love even more is the community of expat bloggers that you end up becoming friends with. We are all sharing a common experience and are coming from similar points of view or lifestyles from north of the boarder. We have all been reporting on this whole thing.

My traffic went from about 25 a day to 80 a day when the reports about how safe it is to travel here and how there is little to no crime or violence in my area to 189 a day with the reports of the swine flu stuff. What I do love is that there are at least so many people who are not going only on the news reports from the states and are getting information from those of us that actually live here. Anyway... that is my 2 cents. :)

There is a glow of light at the end of the tunnel. There is currently a "flu free guarantee" that is being issued by many of the big hotels in the area. The info is below from an article in "Por Esto" I took this post off my friend's blog Life's a Beach in Playa del Carmen. She put it very well so I figured... copy and paste worked best.

Thank you to everyone who has looked for your own information. For those who have researched, emailed those of us down here and have seen that this area is as amazing as it was before this whole thing.


"Whether you already have a trip planned to visit the beautiful Riviera Maya or are considering taking advantage of the fabulous deals now available in the wake of the Swine Flu scare, this article in today's "Por Esto" newspaper will be of great interest to you. A link to the online article is above and I have taken the liberty of utilizing Google Translator for your reading convenience. The translation is not 100% grammatically correct, but it is reasonable enough to follow.

With the emblem "guarantee free of influenza" (Flu Free guarantee), assures the traveler three years travel free if they have symptoms of human influenza eight days after they return from their trip by Olivia Vázquez Hotel chains in the Mexican Caribbean began a more aggressive campaigns that have been internationally to revive international tourism. With the emblem "guarantee free of influenza (Flu Free guarantee) that assures the traveler three years travel free if they have symptoms of human influenza eight days after he returns from his trip, which seeks to demonstrate the confidence that exists by destino.Dentro of health promotion strategies, the hotel sector in coordination with the Resort, this week will be sending a personalized letter to U.S. President Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton Secretary of State, to be published in the U.S. newspaper circulation where it is requested adjournment of the alert (warning) indicates that travel to Mexico only if absolutely necessary because it inhibits the influx of tourism. Zalvidea Fernando Garcia, director of the Grand Resort Hotel and the Best Day tour operator, said that at least five thousand hotel rooms as Secrets, Royal Resort, Charisma and others who joined the campaign, but it is estimated as we go on to join other hotel chains to strengthen advocacy in Mexico. This promotion started yesterday and will run through the main cities of United States and Canada in order to revive the tourist markets, since it is in promoting the confidence of the Mexican Caribbean operates to the highest standards of hygiene and safety and ensures the health of the destination. Additional to this promotion, special packages are added to the hotel is offering value-added as a free night, tickets to recreational parks, archaeological sites, free dinners, spa services, etc. The hotel considered a leader who is now the best time Mexican travel to the Caribbean, and that excellence in service is reflected directly in the personal and the atmosphere of trust that is generated. Hence also be sought this week to lift the warnings issued to the passenger who was referred to visit Mexico, and that still prevails announcement issued two weeks ago, and that conditions be changed. In fact it as well as shipping and airlines already provide for the revitalization and have started to sell the destination. The letter is prepared in the state's Tourism Council is expected to be released this week to further accelerate the process of recovery and moving on reservations, which for now remain at the minimum levels, although it began to flow.
By May 25, with the celebration of Memorial Week which is held in United States, you could earn points in hotel occupancy, which is still at levels 20 to 24% in most developments.

Please contact your local travel agent for more details, restrictions and information from the hotel chains participating in this interesting offer.

Looking for Real Estate in Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya?
Visit our website www.BuyPlaya.com."

Well, that is certainly the question for so many people right now. There is so much media reporting on the outbreak (both accurate and some fear mongering) that this is a really hard decision. It really is a personal decision.

Personally for me, I would still travel. Here in Tulum, other then being a little light on people things are running pretty much like normal. Most of the people I know are not concerned with getting sick and are not changing too much in their day.

I know many people who are going to travel here sort of unexpectedly because there are some good deals to be found right now. Airlines, I am sure will be offering some good prices in the near future to help rebound their lost profits and hotels here really want bodies in them.

So for all of the people that are on the fence... I hope that you do decide to come. In my opinion this whole thing is not nearly as scary as it is being made out to be. What is scary is that this is a new illness that no one is vaccinated for. That I understand. I see why that is scary. But the images that people have of thousands of sick and infected people wandering the area like zombies is not the case.

The only part where I would even think of getting nervous is the airplane and I almost always get sick after being in an airplane.

I am really happy about the amount of people that are doing their own research and asking questions in order to make their decision.

This is a great article that I saw linked to from Countdown to Mexico. I thought that it really put some things in perspective and gave a new look at this problem. Check out the article here. Also, Canuck in Cancun is very good at reporting on issues here in the Cancun area.

I just want to make a clarification. When I listen to the news here in Mexico on the American news channel it says that 150 deaths have been caused by swine flu. This is not an accurate statement. There have been over 150 deaths that are being investigated. There are only 8 confirmed deaths in Mexico due to swine flu.

I just want to clarify that. There is a lot of information out there and some of it is not entirely accurate. So that is what I know. As of right now, we are all just staying on our homes.

Okay, we are totally paranoid about the kids getting sick. We flew through Mexico City and were there for several hours on the day the epidemic was announced. The kids both started complaining of a tummy ache the other night and Lena had a small fever. We are taking them to the doctor this morning. I am sure that it is nothing but with all of the things going on right now -- better safe the sorry. I am very sure that it is nothing and just a little bug from the climate change from the states. There are still NO cases of swine flu in the whole state of Quintana Roo.

Another HUGE problem is that occupancy at Ruben's work has dropped off from about 90% to almost 20%. Ruben makes his tips off his tables and off of an every 2 weeks tip out from the hotel based on occupancy. We are already living on as tight of a budget as you could possibly imagine and now this. I am not sure what we are going to do.

Ruben has said that the hotel is going to start laying people off because of the down occupancy and being that Ruben is one of the newer employees he is really nervous.

Currently there are confirmed 8 deaths due to swine flu in Mexico. I am a little confused because there were reports of 149 deaths just 2 days ago. But I am being told that those were deaths and were being investigated for being caused by swine flu. It is also my understanding that there is a vaccine for a similar strain but not this specific strain.

We are all being told to stay in our homes whenever possible. The schools are still closed until the 6th of May. Many of the tourist attractions are open and this is what that Secretary of Tourism had to say in a press release on the 27th.

SEDETUR PUBLIC RELEASE - QUINTANA ROO KEEPS FREE FROM SWINE FLU
2009-04-27.Turismo
Cancún, Quintana Roo.

Cancún, Quintana Roo, April 27, 2009

QUINTANA ROO STATE SECRETARY OF TOURISM

PUBLIC RELEASE

“QUINTANA ROO KEEPS FREE FROM SWINE FLU”


Quintana Roo State Secretary of Tourism informs that the state is free from Swine Flu disease up to now, and that not a single case of the disease, or related cases have been reported at the main tourism destinations.

The detection and prevention plan implemented by Mexico´s Ministry of Health continues, by means of check points placed at airports, cruise and bus terminals, as well as permanent monitoring in the more than 77,000 hotel rooms operating in Quintana Roo.

The government agency also informs that tourism related activities develop normally in Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Grand Costa Maya. All destinations remain attentive to the Health Authority´s directions.

Quintana Roo State Government is supportive of other Mexican states where the Swine Flu outbreak has taken place, and will be respectful of precaution measures and recommendations implemented in foreign countries in regard to international travel.

For the State Government the highest priority now is the preservation of health among all the population, including citizens and visitors.

The swine flu epidemic is taking over news stations all over the world. Here is Tulum and the Rivera Maya there are currently no cases. Everyone is taking precautions to make sure that everyone remains healthy.

Currently all of the schools in the entire country are closed until the 6th of May. They are closing the ruins at Tulum, Coba and Chichen Itza on the 29th of April. Xcaret and Xel-Ha will also most likely close.

If you feel sick and think that you might have caught swine flu... go to the hospital or clinic right away. There is a vaccine that can be given but it is most effective in the first 48 hours. It is very important that if you feel ill that you go to the clinic and not to work!!!

For the most accurate and up to date information visit the WHO website. This is the World Health Organization.

Here is their latest update as of 4:00 this agfternoon (4/28/09)

"Swine influenza - update 4
28 April 2009--The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 19:15 GMT, 28 April 2009, seven countries have officially reported cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 64 laboratory confirmed human cases, with no deaths. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection including seven deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Canada (6), New Zealand (3), the United Kingdom (2), Israel (2) and Spain (2).

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness."