Stop violence against indigenous women in Mexico

Years ago I began my journey with Una mano para Oaxaca, when I started, we had a clear objective which was to give strength to the women of the Istmo de Tehuantepec, and we achieved it through traditional trades and crafts. We created the first artisan cooperative incubator, called “El semillero cooperativista”, where the collective idea of selling together emerged, El semillero was a space for ideas, companionship, rescue and accompaniment. When the idea of acting as a collective arose, UMPO already had an emerging brand called Manos de Sol, which had been created to help place handicrafts of many people, but it was an informal brand that was inactive, so El semillero collectives decided to adopt it and give it life. Some of these people had learned crafts and arts at the UMPO traditional crafts school, and they embraced the brand with much love, now this brand is registered and they already have a charter.

When we were about to meet for a second meeting of cooperatives, the pandemic began, which took us almost three years. We had to stop activities several times, everything was delayed. But very creative ways emerged to reactivate our region, which had already been hit by the earthquakes, UMPO managed to use strategies so that the women who had managed to reactivate would not stop. Collective work is a way of working in the face of adversity and one of the goals is to find ways to contribute to the community, for example, to give workshops to the community so that the crafts will last. The craft women's collectives also want to add more craftswomen so that they can sell together and shelter each other. The women we accompany are participating in programs, organizing markets and activities that show other artisans that they can also be resilient in this way.

Accompanying this program has been an honor, where I recognize many stories that fill me with joy, stories of financial independence, cultural preservation and rekindling the love for the roots of our communities. 

The collective that has been created is also concerned about their context, they are currently collecting for their brothers and sisters in Guerrero. Everything that has been achieved has given them the capacity for self-management, it has taught them to move, not to wait, to do it by themselves. This has led them to be noticed.

The collective that has been created is also concerned about their context, they are currently collecting for their brothers and sisters in Guerrero. Everything that has been achieved has given them the capacity for self-management, it has taught them to move, not to wait, to do it by themselves. That brings them to look at them. 

That is why we want this program to be reactivated in all its breadth, we dream of digital commerce, exportation. There are many craftswomen who approach us and ask for guidance to create more collective spaces. We want everything that makes us proud to move to other places, we live the benefits of learning, dreaming and teaching collectively. This has been a work of more than three years and we know it has much more to give. Imagine and dream that the artisan collectives can be strengthened from the depths, it will not be a new path, but a renewed path. Strengthening artisan guardians of crafts not only has immediate benefits for women that allow them to reduce the violence to which they are exposed in their communities, but also benefits the entire community as a whole, from their economy to their soul life. The path that was taken to consolidate Manos de Sol is the right one. Thank you for making this possible, we know that we are going together for more opportunities to build bridges of life.

With gratitude 

Rosario