Artesanías Mujeres del Plomo//women artisans from el plomoEl Plomo is the home to four women who run a cooperative making jewelry out of beads found from their surrounding foliage. When a volunteer from Japan came to the community to teach the women how to develop the seed jewelry business, following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, their business began to thrive and lives began to improve. Maritza, the voice and visionary of the group began with a 10x15 room that was home to six. She has now sent all of her children to school, has an improved home and has helped other women led cooperatives get a kickstart. Although this group of women have faced adverse situations they have been able to support their families and also their surrounding community by building strong educational and business capacity.
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Youth Engagement
The cooperative has 13 children collecting seeds which can be found from the front doors of their house to 10 kilometers away. The children bring these seeds back to the workshop and exchange their seeds for school supplies which builds economic and business skills while improving accessibility to education. This also allows children to spend their free time away from unhealthy life choices. This portion of their cooperative has built capacity in the youth while also increasing the variety of seeds that the women can work with. Currently they work with 35 different seeds that are low cost due to this program and have a long shelf life. Environmental Awareness & Education The cooperative has also implemented programs that educate the community and tourists about the environment as well as the craft. They currently offer classes which teach you how to make the jewelry with the seeds and a walk about their community to see which trees develop particular seeds. This helps carry out their message on the importance of taking care of our environment and the beauty in the craft which has greatly improved the economic opportunities for the women and the children in the community. Because of their entrepreneurial skills they currently own their workshop and have their craft displayed in stores within Nicaragua. |
Gallery
What's to come
Artesanías Mujeres del Plomo desire the development of an international market or online store to ensure the continuation of product sales. Currently the women spend valuable resources traveling to Nicaraguan stores to get their product sold however; out of the stores that currently hold their product, they are only seeing a profitable return from two of them.
plan of action
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OUtcomeI employed Wendy, a friend and translator from Nicaragua to travel to the women, purchase $100 worth of jewelry, and ship the goods to the United States. In total I received 18 necklaces and 15 pairs of earnings. I then photographed the jewelry and have begun developing a catalogue to take to local vendors. Although there have been no established relationships yet, I will continue to try to create a sustainable relationship for the women of El Plomo whether it's an Etsy shop or a local store here in Oregon.
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personal reflection
I met the women of El Plomo in the summer of 2017. I had been traveling Nicaragua for the past month meeting with various cooperatives and learning about sustainable development and I felt particularly moved by these women. Our translator that day was not feeling well the day we visited so I stepped in and translated the story of El Plomo. After chatting with them we all picked out a piece of jewelry we enjoyed and then the women taught us how to replicate the piece. This was a time of laughter and learning. They also took us on a walk around the community to show us the trees where the seeds had come from. It was such a lovely day. I returned to the United States remembering these women and feeling like I needed to do more for them. I remembered their concerns about the Nicaraguan market so I thought now was the time to step in and see what I could do for them.
I entered this program feeling very excited to get everything going. I wanted to make change and I wanted it to happen now. This whole process has reminded me of "Nica Time". As part of the culture, everything moves a little slower in Central America. When I approached the women about the project they had another order in the works so from the get go things were getting pushed back. Additionally the shipping took over 2 weeks. This is something I will have to learn to work with in International Development. I've learned that my timeline is not the priority nor should it be and that was hard to learn. Now that I have the supplies I am excited to get working here locally but I also will remember to be patient.
I entered this program feeling very excited to get everything going. I wanted to make change and I wanted it to happen now. This whole process has reminded me of "Nica Time". As part of the culture, everything moves a little slower in Central America. When I approached the women about the project they had another order in the works so from the get go things were getting pushed back. Additionally the shipping took over 2 weeks. This is something I will have to learn to work with in International Development. I've learned that my timeline is not the priority nor should it be and that was hard to learn. Now that I have the supplies I am excited to get working here locally but I also will remember to be patient.
el plomo, nicaraguaDe la iglesia católica 20 mts al sur, 25 mts al Oeste,
Comunidad el Plomo, San Ramón - Matagalpa Artesanías Mujeres del Plomo is located in El Plomo which is 12.3 kilometers southwest of Matagalpa. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch displaced many people in Nicaragua due to vast flooding. The Nicaraguan government moved the effected people to new locations with minimal supplies. El Plomo was one of these communities. Since then they have built a water well, stadium, school and paved roads bringing immense community pride. |