When people see Sowing Opportunities at a fair, they often ask if the handicrafts were made by people in the villages where we provide resources. In fact, they’re not because the region of Eastern Alta Verapaz, Guatemala has no tourism and scant resources, and no trade.
When you make a purchase from Sowing Opportunities, you are benefitting two organizations.
Sowing Opportunities partners with A Thread of Hope Guatemala Fair Trade, led by Eliza Strode, who has been working for the past 25 years with artisans from over 10 cooperatives, groups, and families (over 350 artisans altogether) mainly in the western highlands of Guatemala.
The relationship between the cooperatives that A Thread of Hope works with follow the ten Fair Trade principles, including working with Disadvantaged Producers, Long-term Transparent and Accountable Relationships, Paying Promptly and Fairly, Supporting Safe Working Conditions, Ensuring Childrens’ Rights, and Respecting Cultural Identity.
One of the cooperatives that A Thread of Hope works with is Asociación Maya, which is based in Sololá, Guatemala, near the picturesque Lago de Atitlán. Asociación Maya is a cooperative of 180 backstrap loom weavers who work in five rural communities in the highlands of Sololá.
The weavers earn four to six times more weaving for the co-op than weaving for the local market, thus allowing them to have money for food and to send their children to school. The colors of their soft, durable, and luxurious bamboo garments and accessories are very attractive.
Another of the cooperatives is UPAVIM, which stands for “Unidas para Vivir Mejor,” which translates to “United for a Better Life”. This cooperative of 85 women is based in the poor and dangerous La Esperanza neighborhood of Guatemala City. Started as a women’s and infants’ feeding program, it now has a crafts business, pre-school, primary school, after school program, clinic, lab, and pharmacy.
Please join Sowing Opportunities at our upcoming fairs, to benefit both the people in the Northeast Highlands to have greenhouse agriculture, and the artisans through A Thread of Hope Guatemala Fair Trade! Our upcoming shows are at this link: https://sowingops.org/en/learn/events/
You can donate at this link: http://bit.ly/3qTdfbK
Thank you!
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