By Jimena Gonzalez | Communication mannager
2016 is very close to finishing; it is a great time to do a recount of our year, of what we had achieved or, in some instances, failed. It has definitely been a year of learnings, and although the writing of our report may look easy, it has actually been months of work, commitment and delivery. In this last report we want to include achievements and failures, which led us to strengthen our experience and improve the work we do.
One of our greatest achievements was to implement design-training workshops, six workshops, on the following topics: color, new product development, sales scenarios, costing, product presentation, quality and finishings. In some municipalities we are still in the process of finalizing or stating these workshops, given distance and work overload. Bearing in mind that none of the artisan women had received prior training before working with Impacto Textile.
In the last quarter, we were able to pilot workshops in regards to development of new products with the Huixtán group and the Santiago el Pinar group, which allowed us to make adjustments and improvements in the workshop´s dynamics, thematic, descriptive and didactic material. This facilitates and enriches the process of replication that will be carry out in 2017 with the rest of the groups / municipalities.
In addition, three technical training workshops were held in ancient embroidery, one in regards to learning to sew with automatic machines and one on three-dimensional embroidered jewelry with designer Maria Justina Ricardez; and two workshops of color, creativity and textile experimentation for the creation of a House collection and accessories for women, with designer Carmen Rión.
Furthermore, we have increased the number of 66 to 94 Mayan women artisans, who improve their product day by day, living in several municipalities. Traveling time in average is more than one hour one way, thus in the week they accumulate 12 hours in trips or more.
Thanks to our efforts, 10 social enterprises relied on these artisan groups and artisans in them, achieving a successful commercial outreach, in addition to generating direct income for them of ≈$12,000 USD.
Another achievement is that artisans groups have begun to identify their skills and strengths and have grown significantly in terms of internal cohesion, having the will to work as a team and grow taking larger orders, using new materials, learning new techniques; women are also highly motivated to do textile experimentation (with a special mention in the case of the artisans of Huixtán, Chiapas). Overall, the artisans achieved a greater organization among them with division of labor; they are opening their own creativity and acquiring new tools, which allow them to develop a better product and better sales. This new (non-formal) organizations will help us to implement more specialized workshops the following year.
Next year is optimistic, as we know there is a lot of willingness, confidence and capacity building from the groups of Impacto Textile, which will allow us to continue / to grow our efforts and activities.
We will be looking forward to create exchanges of experiences with various groups of artisans, so they can get to know each other and exchange knowledge and best practices. Now we have more clarity in the operation processes and replication, for which we will include new groups in the Program and implement workshops in the rest of the Municipalities.
At Impacto we contribute to the reduction of the inequality gap in Mexico, and it is with this mission in mind and because of our commitment to do so, that we work hard and motivated every day. Indeed, it is not an easy path, nor a short one; surely we will have roadblocks in our way, we will also have failures; still we are convinced that these are opportunities to learn and to continue to implement a better Textile Program, while optimizing impact in the long term.
We want to thank all contributions through Global Giving which we received this year, every donation is important to or NGO and makes it possible to improve the lives of many Mayan women in southeastern Chiapas and in Mexico. As our slogan communicates : FROM ONE END, TO A BETTERMENT. Gracias! Kolobal!
By Jimena Gonzalez | communication manager
By Jimena Gonzalez | Communication manager
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