GlobalGiving.org: Build Women’s Fair Trade Businesses, Hidalgo

YOU are directly helping women artisans!

Deborah Goldberg — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:36:59 GMT

Women Artisans

Your support goes a long way to helping women artisans of this project.

We thought you might be interested to hear more about the women of this project and how far they have come over the years:

Over ten years ago, The Body Shop met the women from Valle de Mezquital, where this project is located, who were part of Nepi Behna, the partner overseeing this project. They saw all the products the women could create out of agave fibers, a natural resource that was locally cultivated.

The indigenous women were using agave fibers for everything: clothes, curtains, for carrying babies, decoration, etc.The Body Shop saw great potential in the women’s cooperative and in this environmental-friendly material to create bath sponges. Today, these sponges are sold in 2,000 of their stores around the world.

Since forming the cooperative, the women members have created innovative ways to ensure that they make the most out of their cooperative – like starting saving groups where women can save the income being generated through their work.

With your support, the women have been able to diversify their portfolio and are pioneering a women-led movement to promote a fair trade market not only abroad but domestically within Mexico.

With support from Ñepi Behña , they have connected with women artisans from all over Mexico – Puebla, Mexico City, Oaxaca and Chiapas – to sell their environmental-friendly and fair trade products.

Your support of this project has helped so much create a marketplace for women artisans and their independent and cooperative work! Thank you!

Women Improving Life for Themselves, their Families and Communities!

Gillian Wilson — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 01:11:34 GMT

Thanks to your continued support Ñepi Behña is promoting women’s development through community projects that are sustainable and that address the issue of gender in indigenous communities. They are offering capacity-building tools and seeking economic development alternatives in order to empower indigenous rural women and their families.

Ñephi Behña is able to provide more workshops and trainings to promote leadership development and autonomy in communities of Hidalgo, Mexico.

Women have been able to organize themselves as promoters and leaders, where now the communities of Hidalgo are starting to recognize their important role as women and their contributions to society.

Ñepi Behña has enjoyed great accomplishments this year, such as diversifying their production made with natural resources that is helping to create new products to be sold in the local markets. Additionally, eco-technologies were implemented through the construction of integrated backyard gardens using agroecological practices and chicken-raising skills. Because of this, women have built awareness and analytical skills to address the food crisis.

By lending your support, you are not only changing the life of one woman, but you are a direct part of the change in her community and her world!

Independent Income Helps Relieve Some of the Effects of Migration

Gillian Wilson — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:40:43 GMT

Your generosity towards this project is important to the women of Valle de Mezquital! Migration affects this community- while men leave to do construction or labor in the US and other developed countries, women often remain to take care of the home, children, and work for supplementary income. The sustainable resources that Nepi Behña builds its fair trade cosmetics line are grown and cultivated by women, and the products are made by these women as well. As migration patterns change, these women are finding themselves the sole earner as their husbands and family members return home. Having an income increases women’s status and when their families are reunited, they have much more respect at home. Thank you for your generosity and your direct contribution to empowering women in Hildago, Mexico!

Income from selling fair-trade goods increases women’s independence in Hidalgo

Gillian Wilson — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:05:20 GMT

Your generous donations contribute greatly to Nepi Behña’s fair-trade cooperative!

Nepi Behña works with 400 rural women in Hidalgo, Mexico to produce fair-trade cloth and sponges made out of agave, as well as hand-made soaps and natural dyes.

Nepi Behña educates women about their rights and helps them earn their own income. Through skills development, the women who participate in Nepi Behña have learned how to manage business plans and marketing of their brand Corazón Verde, working together as a cooperative to produce fair trade goods to sell overseas and locally and applying different production techniques for cloth, cosmetics, and soaps.

The income from selling fair-trade goods has increased women’s independent income. The women who are earning from the cooperative are empowered to become community leaders and educators. Organizing women’s groups and promoting leadership skills, they are able to have a voice in community affairs and earn the respect of men in the community.

Thank you for donating to this important cause and supporting women’s fair-trade businesses in Mexico.

Fair Trade Arisans Improve Their Livelihoods

Gillian Wilson — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 21:45:36 GMT

Starting October 12, GlobalGiving will be matching donations for this project! Donate and maximize your impact!

Thanks in large part to your support, Ñepi Behña has continued to empower women in Hidalgo, Mexico by providing them with small business management workshops, fair trade cooperative support, and leadership training.

Conchita is a member and education leader of one of the cooperatives. Having moved to Hidalgo when she was very young, Conchita’s husband left her and their infant son for many years to go work in the north. She found herself in a town where she did not know the native dialect (ñahñu), was away from her family, and had little money to support her family. By joining the cooperative, Conchita say has been empowered and has found her voice.

“Being a leader in the community is not easy and at first it is a difficult talk. But we can all learn this skill and learn not to be afraid.”

In addition to being the head of community education, Conchita is an artisan and in charge of marketing Corazon Verde (Green Heart), the cooperative’s fair trade brand of bath and beauty products. Through this experience, Conchita has created a livelihood for herself and her family. She says she looks forward to continuing her work with Corazon Verde and helping more women in the community learn gain new skills to become independent women, supporting themselves and their families.

By donating to Ñepi Behña you are ensuring more women like Conchita can benefit from this program.

Thank you for your support.

Anastasia Bautista’s Story

Gillian Wilson — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:09:13 GMT

One project IDEX supports through our partner Ñepi Behña is a fair trade artisan’s cooperative in Hidalgo, Mexico. One of their main activities is production and sales of agave-fiber body sponges to the Body Shop. Agave fiber is a local, renewable resource to which the women readily have access and provides real economic opportunities in an area with few other options.

Anastasia is one such member of the cooperative. When she joined, she was unsure what was in store, but as she participated in trainings on women’s rights and developed the skills to become an artisan, she says her life gradually changed. She discovered a knack for numbers and found herself leading cooperative meetings.

Anastasia was soon elected cashier for a savings and microfinance program called Abejitas (“Little Bees”) that the cooperative started.

Started in 2002, the savings program has expanded to six rural communities and boasts 400 women members. Since there are no formal banks in the area, the women opened up the savings program so anyone in the community could start saving or access a loan.

“I’ve learned how to write down and organize the savings, to track people’s savings, to manage accounts, and to budget,” says Anastasia.

Like the other woman in the group, Anastasia makes regular contributions to the fund. As the savings grow, women can withdraw money from the account for expenses, like tools to boost their income, school fees for their children, and medicine to treat family illnesses.

Through Ñepi Behña, the women have gained new skills – marketing, computer, financial planning – so the cooperative can take itself to the next level. And the cooperative now makes a range of beauty products and natural soaps, all made from native, traditional plants.

By donating to Ñepi Behña you are ensuring more women can benefit from this program.

Thank you for your support.

Launching A Fair Trade Business

Gillian Wilson — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:20:58 GMT

On Tuesday, March 16, all donations up to $1,000 per donor, per project will be matched. Donate on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, and maximize your gift. With your support, Nepi Benha has started to provide technical assistance to the 250-member indigenous cooperative that has been selling agave plant fibers to a well-known beauty supply company. Funds were used to strengthen the Corazón Verde (Green Heart) brand –the fair trade brand launched by the cooperative— to expand their ability to sell natural bath and beauty products in urban Mexico. The group was able to start a website that you can view by clicking here: www.corazonverde.org The women involved with the cooperative have been participating in skill-building workshops to create diversified beauty products in their Corazón Verde brand portfolio of products. Recent workshops centered on creating natural dyes with flower, fruit, and tree bark and other natural dye strategies like using cochineal (a type of parasite that lives on agave leaves) to produce natural red dye.

Links:

Visit the new Fair Trade website for Corazon Verde.

The Women Of Green Heart

Gillian Wilson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:21:01 GMT

Based in the outskirts of Mexico City, Ñepi Behña works with over 650 indigenous women. The women build sustainable livelihoods through savings and credit groups, sustainable energy technologies and fair trade artisanship.

Recent achievements include installation of rainwater capturing tanks and wood-saving stoves, and a 400-member savings and credit association.

A larger project is to provide support to 250 members of a cooperative selling agave plant fiber to a well-known beauty supply company. The members receive technical assistance in quality control, financial planning, and computer skills.

This cooperative is currently launching a fair trade brand called Corazón Verde (“Green Heart”) to sell natural bath and beauty products in urban Mexico. They are currently building up the brand's visibility by establishing business contacts in Mexico.

This project has amazing potential for growth- but they need your support in helping them to continue to expand their impressive programs for indigenous women.