Supporting Rural Oaxacan Villages and Their Rich Cultural Heritage

Updated August 2023

Port Wahakaa (pronounced Oaxaca) is an independent importer and wholesaler of Oaxacan carvings and chocolate located in Texas Hill Country.   Our passion started as admiring collectors who chanced upon cruder unsigned carvings from the late seventies and early eighties.  In our over two decades of importing we currently host the most extensive inventory of sculpture pieces in the entire Texas region.  Ready to ship same or next day anywhere in the world.

Although we are not affiliated nor a member of a fair trade organization we have always operated in that same manner. We buy from individual artists at their prices and most of the time that dictates the range of prices.

Since 1996 where does our modest money go?  Well, upon visiting the artist villages surrounded by Zapotec ruins we decided what could be better than purchase directly from these families and promote their thousand plus year old culture and rich folk art heritage that surpasses anywhere else in all the Americas.  There is no region more diverse than Oaxaca when it comes to unique languages and ancient Indian groups.  From the patterns decorating their woodcarvings to the stories behind their fierce warrior-like rabbits or how their corn is the most genetically pure on Earth we pay direct to the artists in hopes their folkways stay true for decades to come. 

As we've seen from recent pandemics and world events, we can't always go to Oaxaca as easily as once before which means the Oaxacan artists need our support more than ever.  The state draws the majority of it's income from worldwide tourism.  We here at Port Wahakaa will continue to commission artists and chocolate harvesters until some semblance of stable normality returns.  Your purchases here don't go into Google or Amazon's pocket as we do not pay for any advertising they instead go towards supporting local communities.   

If you have made a Port Wahakaa purchase in the last 30 years you have also supported far flung villages that practice thousand year old artist traditions and we deeply thank you for it.