From La Orotava to the world

From La Orotava a project is coordinated in Ecuador called Women farmers and artisans, building trails, with the collaboration of the Government of the Canary Islands. It is aimed at indigenous peasant women in the areas of Salinas, Simiatug and Facundo Vela, where most of the people live in situations of extreme poverty. It serves 120 women from three rural indigenous communities in the area, which are grouped into three associations: the Mama Margarita Association of Producers (Salinas), the Simiatug Women’s Association and the La Dolorosa Association (Facundo Vela).

The Bosco Global technician in La Orotava, social worker Virginia Martín, details that this project, budgeted at about 60,000 euros, has as its main objective “to improve the economic resources of the peasant and indigenous women, through the development of techniques for the production of handicrafts and fair trade food products, made by the women of these communities, in order to diversify natural and traditional products, and to promote tourism from the point of view of environmental-ecological preservation. It is intended to empower indigenous women, that they feel proud of their work and that they obtain an economic benefit that helps them in their battered family economy».

For now Bosco Overall he has been in charge of organizing self-diagnosis workshops in each of the associations; another on biosafety, to standardize healthy and hygienic practices in the handling of food and the safety of people; another for the management and promotion of crafts, where the search for new products that better reach the market was promoted, the use of new materials, including financial education to calculate the costs and the final price of the product, and other technical workshops handicrafts adapted to the needs and interests of each women’s association. They have worked on issues such as weaving baskets, cutting and making, making handcrafted footwear, using a sewing machine and pattern making for making school uniforms; making jams and hook weaving. In addition, they have participated in the artisan fairs in the population of Guaranda and they have held meetings with other associations of handicraft and fair trade producers to learn about distribution channels and marketing techniques.

In the following phases of the project, new spaces will be conditioned for the commercialization of the products in Facundo Vela, Guaranda and Salinas. In these towns there is already a store open to the public for marketing and the possibility of incorporating a specific section is offered to incorporate the productions of the participants in the project. Dissemination materials will also be developed to attract tourism to the area and train the participating women themselves to show the public those places of interest in the region. In another area of ​​Ecuador the Andalusian delegation of Bosco Global has already achieved that indigenous women have a factory and their own brand that sells aromatic flowers and infusions.

Bosco Overall encourages its collaborators to explain the project to their families and friends, and to organize solidarity snacks to raise funds to have more resources for this project. “We are working with women with little training, with whom we have begun to address basic issues related to their day-to-day life, which is basically handicrafts and agriculture. We are guiding them so that their work brings them more benefits, so that they are better organized, calculate expenses and costs, better value their work and have more opportunities for the future, “he details. Virginia Martin.

This NGDO is already working on the search for funding for new initiatives such as a project in Senegal to improve the production of orchards for women and young people in vulnerable situations, through training and equipment. “We want them to have access to water and electricity through solar panels so that they can work all year round in more dignified conditions,” explains Martín.

This solidarity entity It also thrives on the collaboration of volunteers, both locally and internationally. They have collaborators for our local projects and, in addition, they prepare people to come in summer to collaborate in their initiatives abroad. It is always good for them to have people specialized in different issues, such as teachers, pedagogues, social workers, psychologists, economists, technicians … professionals who help people who work in the field in a timely manner. The best way to contact to collaborate is through the Bosco Global website, where there is also available diverse didactic and educational material on the environment, interculturality, gender equality, responsible consumption or solidarity for all educational levels, from kindergarten and primary to secondary and high school.