MUJERES SEMBRANDO LA VIDA
Traditional Artisan Techniques Inspire Opportunities
Natik provides financial and mentoring support for Mujeres Sembrando la Vida (Women Sowing Life), a cooperative of 70 artisans in Chiapas, México who create garments and home decor using traditional Mayan weaving techniques and embroidery and are committed to working collectively to strengthen their communities through education and health.
Natik helps the cooperative gain access to clients with online sales of products through Etsy and the creation of their own website for direct sales.
Natik also supports MSV with funding for mentoring on financial literacy, digital know-how, product promotion, and training in design, marketing, and business skills.
Additionally, Natik supports the artisans’ desire to “plant life” in their communities through funding workshops that teach the skills needed to build economical, eco-friendly technologies, including low-smoke stoves, rainwater-capturing systems, and dry latrines.
Mujeres Sembrando la Vida— “Women Sowing Life,” describes the artisans’ collective vision of planting seeds for the future through setting an example of economic, educational, health, and ecological opportunities in their community.
The cooperative is certified by the Fair Trade Federation. That means artisans earn fair wages while working from home. The MSV artisans are fiercely loyal to one another and to their home villages. The cooperative currently has enough work to consistently engage seventy women with commercial product orders.
When one of the artisans has corn or beans for sale from her family plot, the others buy them directly or promote their sale locally. In this way, they support each other as individuals, as a group, and as a community.
Out of the MSV cooperative profits, the artisans set aside 5% to their emergency fund for their members and donate another 5% to the Yo’onik Learning Center in Zinancantán.
The MSV artisans live in seven villages in the mountains surrounding the municipality of Zinacantán, Chiapas, Mexico, where MSV headquarters is located. Those villages are designated as areas of extreme poverty by the United Nations.
MSV’s goal of employing more women from these villages requires meeting and exceeding international market expectations for high-quality products. Therefore, rigorous standards for product development, training, and quality control are integrated into their collective process for every product.
MSV artisans are inspired by ancestral traditions and influenced by modern culture. All artisans are invited to contribute ideas to develop the themes provided by their clients. One artisan is selected to test the product design on her backstrap loom and when the design has been approved by the client, she trains other artisans to replicate her pattern and is responsible for assuring the quality of that product.
“We will always continue to work with the intention of providing livelihoods so our members can support their families.” Yoli, MSV Coordinator, and Designer
The MSV artisans are known for their application of traditional weaving techniques of the backstrap loom to designs and color combinations that will have international appeal. This video demonstrates most of the steps involved in creating their textile masterpieces.
Pascuala has been a member of the MSV cooperative for over 20 years. She talks about her life and how the cooperative has affected her and her family.