As we wake up this morning, we hurry to call Amber before she leaves for school. It is her 16th birthday today. To think this beautiful young woman with the shy smile and deep black eyes was only born 16 years ago is to boggle the elderly (mine) mind. I think we called too early, because she seemed very sleepy. We are so lucky to have both our wonderful granddaughters. I don't know how we lived without them before!
We have two appointments with artisans today, one in Ilumán, where we are staying, in the afternoon, and one in the morning in Carabuela, only two miles away. Both artisan families are making children's sweaters. We took the bus to Otavalo to meet Romel, the country rep here and then took the bus with him to Carabuela (nearly returning from where we came in the process). We crossed a giant steel overpass to get from the bus to the town across the busy divided highway. There in the middle was an inexplicable mystery. A broken (clean) toilet lay in the walkway. Romel and I had the same thought--that they had been carrying it to install in a house in the little town, dropped it and broken it and had seen no point in carrying the heavy thing any further, now that it was useless. Vincent said, "No, someone just left it behind." Alternatively, perhaps they planned to return and bombard trucks on the highway.
As we walked to the Ruiz' family home, Romel told us the history of their workshop. They had worked with another artisan family for a number of years. They were responsible for creating the designs for all the workers in that other shop. At one point, the owner of the other workshop sold or gave away all their sweater designs to other artisans. They broke away from that group and started selling their own designs themselves. They sell in the market in Otavalo on Saturdays, mostly animal hats, and most of their sweaters to Minga Imports.
Romel found them in Carabuela in 2012, a town which is known for making sweaters, by going from house to house looking for artisans who wanted to make children's sweaters. He eventually found one family who knew of the Ruiz' workshop and they established a relationship with Minga over time.
Daniel was out today, working on a minga (a community work project), so his wife Marlena met us at the door, a sweet, shy young woman of 33 years. She wanted to know why we were there, as Minga had never sent anyone to interview them before. We explained that it was a new project and that Minga was hoping to help her sell more product by using their story in marketing materials. We hope that, too, we told her.
She warmed up a lot after that, realizing, I think, that they were not in trouble, but just the opposite. She yearns for her three daughters to have good lives, and to that end, she and her husband work very hard making and selling sweaters for other children. Marlena's parents taught her to make sweaters at age 5. She married at 17, which she says shyly, "was young." She and her husband started in the trade when they married sixteen years ago. She likes designing and she also tells us, she likes "working day and night." We checked to be sure we had heard correctly. She said that right now they have a lot of orders (March is generally a busy month for fair trade producers, because that is when most of the fair trade companies order production for the Christmas season), and they sometimes work until 3 a.m. When they have a lot of orders, they engage their families to help them. When they have few, they help their families with orders.
They started with plain and striped sweaters, which are easier. Now they make a lot of complicated designs. They both like to make new designs, and in this copycat culture, that's a very good thing. It takes two days to produce a sample of a sweater in one of the new designs, and once we have seen the process, we understand why. Although the five or six parts of the sweater are made on knitting machines, they are made one by one. The design is graphed square by square in the correct colors to make the pattern. This means that every row has a different pattern of colors, and each one of the knitting hooks is counted and the yarn changed at various spots. Then the pieces are crocheted together, then with a crochet hook, they edge the bottom with scallops, the pocket opening and the outlines of the designs. In a fascinating way, the pocket is actually woven into the front of the sweater. Then the zipper and any buttons or ties are added. Marlena says that once they have made a number of the new designs it can go quicker, but still the process is incredibly labor-intensive and detailed.
She says their sweaters are made with "cariño"--love. She hopes they can sell more, so that she can take good care of her children with the extra work. I vow to sell as many as I can next Christmas.
We went back to Ilumán for lunch and afterwards met Romel to visit Joaquin and Anita de la Torre around 4 p.m. We arrived just before their four sons returned from school. Joaquin, 41, and Anita, 34, seem very content with their work. Joaquin loves the colors, loves to combine them into a pattern on the knitting machines. Anita loves the finishing, and she demonstrates finishing a sweater as we talk. It comes together like a butterfly unfolding its wings for the first time. It is just incredible to watch her hands fly while she chats and jokes with her husband.
Joaquin likes to design because he has a lot of imagination. He just finished a design with a dog on it. He says it is not the same drawing the design on paper and executing it. Each stitch in each row has to be counted. He says it's hard now to get the materials, as most of the factories don't want to make the 50% cotton/50% wool yarn their customers require. They have to special order everything. This sheds light on our morning's visit with Marlena, who says sometimes the yarn orders take longer to arrive than expected, then they have to work hard to catch up to the orders.
He also said that the factories now demand payment in advance. This was hard for them to afford, especially as orders increased. Minga is now helping them by paying the deposit for the yarn and deducting the cost of the yarn from the invoice for the finished sweaters. Right now they have a big order from Minga due in June and they are concentrating on that, not seeking orders from anyone else until this is finished. He says it is too complicated to be working on two sweater designs at once.
When they speak of the future, it is with both hope and worry. Anita says she hopes that all their kids can finish high school or college so they can have better jobs and have more life choices. Joaquin says he hopes this job never ends, as they don't know how to do any other jobs, having little education themselves. Anita started working on sweaters with her parents at age 4. Joaquin appeals to our customers, "Please buy more sweaters, as we don't have any other work and need to have money to help our families." It's not a begging or a plea for sympathy--it's the simple truth.
We leave their home wanting to help as much as we can these kind people who work so hard, sometimes till 3 a.m., just to feed themselves and their children. Surely we can find a way to sell more of them this year. Anyone for a kids' sweater house party?
Showing posts with label hard work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hard work. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015 Cotacachi Cameo
This morning as we were getting ready to catch the bus to Otavalo, our host's mother, Zoila, asked if we wanted a ride. We said yes and piled with alacrity into the car which Carlos was driving. We met another guest of the family, this time from Lithuania rather than France. Her name is Vilia and she looks to be very young--twenties or thirties at most.
From Otavalo, we climbed into a full bus headed for Cotacachi, where Cristhian Guaján, a leather maker, works. The trip took 45 minutes, although it is only 8 miles, and we arrived early because we wanted to explore the town. About 9,000 people call this lovely little town home. It's clean, pretty, higher than many of the other towns, "tranquilo" (Cristhian's description) and very appealing. Everyone was very friendly and helpful in getting us to the center of town where there is a big church in the central plaza. We called Cristhian to say that we were there, and he met us on the church steps and walked us to his home and workshop. He and his wife and sister were in that day, all of them work in the shop.
They were very welcoming and very patient as they showed us around and answered many, many questions from us. When we asked if they had questions for us, Cristhian wanted to know why we were here, doing these interviews, volunteering our time to find out more about their lives. When I explained we wanted to help them better their lives, he was very impressed. He said, "That is unique. Many people buy things but don't know anything about the sacrifices made to do the work. It is unique that you want to listen to us."
Cristhian is 29 and Johanna is 30. They've only been working for five years, three of them for Minga Fair Trade. He met Chris Keefe in the market here in 2012. Already, they have three helpers in this busy workshop, with more available when the orders are large. We were astonished at how many pieces go into a wallet (their best selling product)! He pulled out the template for one wallet and there were nearly a dozen pieces to it, not including the lining. He cut the pieces with an X-acto knife, then showed us how they were sewn together and stitched at the edges to prevent fraying.
March is a busy month--right now they have so many orders they work day and night--sometimes all night and drawing in their mothers and aunts as well. Cotacachi is a big center of leather production, and nearly every shop has leather goods. We wonder how all this works, but Cristhian says people know to come to Cotacachi for leather, so there's work for all. An interesting fact, given our northern desire to limit competition as much as possible.
Cristhian and Johanna have two little booths in the Parque San Francisco. When we arrived, we found Johanna's sister and aunt there watching things for them. It's a sweet little market under the flowering trees, with birdsong and not much traffic noise. The sun filters through the trees, the volcano makes frequent brief appearances above the clouds, and it's just about a perfect place in our opinion. Someone said to us that people from Otavalo find it so tranquil that they compare a stay here to a stint in jail. But for us, this is great.
We see that the market is open from 7 a.m. till night, and Johanna puts all her stock in a big cart and pulls it to the market. She packs it the night before, unpacks it to be ready by 8 a.m., sells all day until nearly 10 p.m., packs up what's left and pulls it home in the cart. We are reminded of our own work in the U.S., except that her hours are much longer than ours. We asks if she has a day off, and she says no, the market is open 365 days a year. Wow! They have two small boys, 8 and 6. Cristhian says the sales at the booth are not much--just enough for daily bread. The export sales cover their other needs. He hopes that someday, his work will be known all over the world, not only for his sake but for that of the young men working for him.
We take family photos before leaving and promise to send them. They give us their e-mail and invite us to visit them any time. As we catch the bus back to Otavalo, we are suffused with good feeling and a sense of wonder. Here, thousands of miles away are our younger brothers and sisters. We're so happy we came.
Tonight, I received a huge gift from my Feminine Power Mastery teachers--learning how to love myself, as it so happens, I am much better able to love others. Thank God for the possibility of growth, no matter what my age.
From Otavalo, we climbed into a full bus headed for Cotacachi, where Cristhian Guaján, a leather maker, works. The trip took 45 minutes, although it is only 8 miles, and we arrived early because we wanted to explore the town. About 9,000 people call this lovely little town home. It's clean, pretty, higher than many of the other towns, "tranquilo" (Cristhian's description) and very appealing. Everyone was very friendly and helpful in getting us to the center of town where there is a big church in the central plaza. We called Cristhian to say that we were there, and he met us on the church steps and walked us to his home and workshop. He and his wife and sister were in that day, all of them work in the shop.
They were very welcoming and very patient as they showed us around and answered many, many questions from us. When we asked if they had questions for us, Cristhian wanted to know why we were here, doing these interviews, volunteering our time to find out more about their lives. When I explained we wanted to help them better their lives, he was very impressed. He said, "That is unique. Many people buy things but don't know anything about the sacrifices made to do the work. It is unique that you want to listen to us."
Cristhian is 29 and Johanna is 30. They've only been working for five years, three of them for Minga Fair Trade. He met Chris Keefe in the market here in 2012. Already, they have three helpers in this busy workshop, with more available when the orders are large. We were astonished at how many pieces go into a wallet (their best selling product)! He pulled out the template for one wallet and there were nearly a dozen pieces to it, not including the lining. He cut the pieces with an X-acto knife, then showed us how they were sewn together and stitched at the edges to prevent fraying.
March is a busy month--right now they have so many orders they work day and night--sometimes all night and drawing in their mothers and aunts as well. Cotacachi is a big center of leather production, and nearly every shop has leather goods. We wonder how all this works, but Cristhian says people know to come to Cotacachi for leather, so there's work for all. An interesting fact, given our northern desire to limit competition as much as possible.
Cristhian and Johanna have two little booths in the Parque San Francisco. When we arrived, we found Johanna's sister and aunt there watching things for them. It's a sweet little market under the flowering trees, with birdsong and not much traffic noise. The sun filters through the trees, the volcano makes frequent brief appearances above the clouds, and it's just about a perfect place in our opinion. Someone said to us that people from Otavalo find it so tranquil that they compare a stay here to a stint in jail. But for us, this is great.
We see that the market is open from 7 a.m. till night, and Johanna puts all her stock in a big cart and pulls it to the market. She packs it the night before, unpacks it to be ready by 8 a.m., sells all day until nearly 10 p.m., packs up what's left and pulls it home in the cart. We are reminded of our own work in the U.S., except that her hours are much longer than ours. We asks if she has a day off, and she says no, the market is open 365 days a year. Wow! They have two small boys, 8 and 6. Cristhian says the sales at the booth are not much--just enough for daily bread. The export sales cover their other needs. He hopes that someday, his work will be known all over the world, not only for his sake but for that of the young men working for him.
We take family photos before leaving and promise to send them. They give us their e-mail and invite us to visit them any time. As we catch the bus back to Otavalo, we are suffused with good feeling and a sense of wonder. Here, thousands of miles away are our younger brothers and sisters. We're so happy we came.
Tonight, I received a huge gift from my Feminine Power Mastery teachers--learning how to love myself, as it so happens, I am much better able to love others. Thank God for the possibility of growth, no matter what my age.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)