The past two weeks Marie and I have been focusing our time with Nest's evaluation tool - a survey that estimates poverty based on a specified index and also assesses Nest's impact on the work and lives of the artisans. All of the questions were finally finished and organized, so we then had to translate the survey into Spanish.
We were able to meet with Ian in Guatemala at the La Casa office and he explained to us more about their relationship with the artisans and advice about how to facilitate the survey process with Max and the women from the workshops. Because the surveys were completed, we went to San Pedro to meet up with Max and begin the evaluation process. Each survey takes about an hour to complete - quite the challenge due to the language barriers and the effort to make the women feel comfortable while still maintaining professionalism and getting valuable answers. Before we started the survey, we read a prepared speech to the women that explained why we were administering the evaluations, made sure they understand the mission and services of Nest, thanked them for their time, and provided them with an environment and space to share any questions or doubts they had with us. They were also to sign a release form, allowing Nest to use their stories, information, and pictures for things like marketing, administrative, or website purposes.
I've learned a great deal from administering these surveys. I'm able to help Nest realize how effective or not the survey is as a tool to assess their impact on the lives of the artisans. We realized that the survey is structured a bit too formally, and also that sometimes the women don't recognize exactly how Nest has affected their lives. All of the interviews I've conducted have been with artisans that have received market access from Nest through association orders; only one or two have gone through Nest's business curriculum and none of them have received a loan. The majority appreciate having a stable workplace to come to where they know they will be treated well and work in acceptable conditions. One of the women participated in a couple sessions of the curriculum. What she had learned she mentioned teaching to her children and applying in her home.
Tomorrow I have a Skype conference with Rebecca and Kathleen to discuss more of the survey results, plan work for my remaining days, and figure out how to progress with the three groups we'd visited. There are more groups to be surveyed at the lake, and I need to finish up with Max's workshops (we've complete 9 interviews but there are over 10 more that need to be surveyed).
Marie left today :( It's been so nice having somebody to work with. We got along so well, especially considering we simply started living and working together without having known each other beforehand. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other, think of new methods or ways that Nests' tools could be used, and travel together.
I can't believe I leave in under 2 weeks! There is still plenty of surveys to get done and I still need to complete a couple grant write-ups. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the lake for a few days this week and meet up with a couple other fellows based there. I plan on being back in Antigua this coming weekend as I move hostels again on July 2nd. I've loved getting the chance to be stable in this city, expand my network of friends, and learn plenty through traveling, working with Marie, and connecting with the artisans. Will be very strange to go back to Vermont and then school to interact with people who have no idea how different this world is.
This purpose of this blog is to share my experiences while working and living in Antigua, Guatemala. Please enjoy!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Guate, Guate
This past weekend Marie and I went to go visit 2 different groups that Nest wanted us to look at. We left early Thursday morning to go to the city to catch a bus to Rabinal, where we were to meet Mariana from Flor de Algodón. Transportation here is stressful but also somewhat exciting. Primary transport are busses, particularly old school busses that were once used in the US - probably then shipped to Guatemala because they had some sort of malfunction. The busses are painted colorfully, dedicated to a past female lover of the driver. Accompanying the driver, his partner stands at the front of the bus, hanging out of the door mostly, promoting to people on the street where the bus is headed and collecting the fare from the passengers. They shout "Guate, Guate" to let everyone know that the bus is en route to the city. In the early mornings or afternoons after work, the busses are completely packed and people (adults) sit three to a seat. Traveling with backpacks packed for the weekend was cramped to say the least.
By the time we got to Rabinal, we were happy to be out in the hot sun and off the bus. The roads to Rabinal were crazy - narrow and full of blind curves, although that didn't seem to matter to the bus driver who still passed dump trucks and such at a decent pace. Kids were playing marbles on the outskirts of the marketplace of the main plaza. I tried to think of the last time I saw a group of youngsters playing marbles and I was stumped.
Mariana’s group is located around 15 minutes outside of the small city of Rabinal in the state of Baja Verapaz. Agriculture is fairly prominent in their lifestyle; they grow and/or raise corn, peanuts, mangos, beans, pigs, cows, and so on. Although farming is important to their livelihoods and economy, it is extremely difficult to grow anything successfully during the dry season (November to May), so many people struggle with unemployment during these months.
Around 1985, an artisan workshop was held in Rabinal to support the widows affected by the massacres. They learned various weaving techniques and how to make material for an array of products; the women were told they would eventually be provided with a small factory, but what they were promised was never fulfilled. Because their work was simply learned in a workshop, they had little access to initial capital or a stable market. 7 women from the Chuaperol village (where Mariana lives) joined and started working together, producing products for the local market. Rabinal however is not the ultimate tourist attraction, so sales seem to be limited.
The artisans of Flor de Algodón also partner with a fair trade organization called Manos Mayas (Mayan Hands). Their relationship seems to be helpful, but appears as if it could be more financially supportive and stable – we’re looking into meeting with someone from the organization soon to know more about it. Manos Mayas asked for designs and samples from the women. They gave them fabric and a loom, which the group paid for little by little. A main concern of the women is that while the prices of fabrics are going up, the prices of their products sold through Manos Mayas in the US are staying the same.
In terms of their products and production, the principle material they use is cotton (their name Flor de Algodón means ‘cotton flower’), which they buy from Guatemala City. They use two kinds of looms, the standard foot loom, and also the more traditional waist loom. Their products include table runners and cloths, napkins, shawls, and scarves. Although it depends on the design of the fabric, 20 inches of material for a tablecloth can be woven in an hour; thinner designs take 2 days to make. Depending on the design, one person can typically make 12 tablecloths a month. For a single color design, one woman can make up to 150 napkins per month, where as a man can make almost 200.
Mariana gave us the impression that she’s a very hard worker, and is kind and responsible. Her dream is to be able to help provide employment to women, especially when there is no rain and work is hard to find. Financially, loans could help her expand her workshop, cover the rising costs of materials, aid with transportation to the city where they buy their fabric, and provide more looms, among other things.
On Friday, we took a bus to Salama, then a shuttle to Cobán where we were meeting with Amalia from Ixbalam Ke, another group Nest wanted us to look into. Amalia Gue’s group is located about a half hour outside of the third largest city in Guatemala, Cobán. Mayan traditions and culture are still very prominent, as Spanish is almost everybody’s second language here. With the help of a Peace Corps volunteer who saw and admired their work, a group of 25 women joined together, led by a committee headed by Amalia. She was offered the opportunity to learn various weaving techniques in the city along with another women, and then shared her findings and new knowledge with the other women. Now, between 2 communities there are 60 women producing products. Eventually, the volunteer married and left Guatemala, leaving the women with no market access or a way to move forward. At one point the group was also working with NOVICA, a group in association with National Geographic, but they provided very little profit to the women and all of their promises to help with designs and market access were empty.
The products the women make are women in each of their houses. They use 100% cotton that they buy in Cobán. Designs are produced from memory, and the majority of the products are white and made by weaving with waist looms, representing stories and traditions from their Mayan heritage. If dyes are used, they are natural and made by the women themselves from various plants, flowers, and trees found in Samac, their community. They make scarves, shawls, table runners, wall hangings, and huipiles (traditional Mayan shirts for women). Women normally work from 7am to 6pm around 6 days a week; a women produces around 4 scarves monthly – a timely effort considering the fragility and traditionalism of each design and technique. A pound of cotton, once 30 or 35 quetzales per pound, is now around 40. When they do provide products to Antigua, they sell their scarves for 275Q, 210 of which goes back to the workshop/artisan.
Both of these groups seem to be totally worthwhile in terms of partnering with. However, both of them have little to no access to the Internet, which obviously makes communicating, funding, and everything in between more difficult.
It seems as though the people with the most need for loans and support are also the hardest to contact, as we saw with both of these groups that seemed to be in the middle of no where. We are still awaiting some documents from Nest and to hold a conference with La Casa to get some of the work we need to do completed. In the mean time we are continuing to explore Antigua, hopefully find a coordinator based in Guatemala that could help with the multiple projects throughout the country, and also working on writing grants for fundraising. Hopefully we'll get an idea tomorrow of where we should go from here in terms of re-contacting these groups and letting them know if there is anything we can do for them.
By the time we got to Rabinal, we were happy to be out in the hot sun and off the bus. The roads to Rabinal were crazy - narrow and full of blind curves, although that didn't seem to matter to the bus driver who still passed dump trucks and such at a decent pace. Kids were playing marbles on the outskirts of the marketplace of the main plaza. I tried to think of the last time I saw a group of youngsters playing marbles and I was stumped.
Mariana’s group is located around 15 minutes outside of the small city of Rabinal in the state of Baja Verapaz. Agriculture is fairly prominent in their lifestyle; they grow and/or raise corn, peanuts, mangos, beans, pigs, cows, and so on. Although farming is important to their livelihoods and economy, it is extremely difficult to grow anything successfully during the dry season (November to May), so many people struggle with unemployment during these months.
Around 1985, an artisan workshop was held in Rabinal to support the widows affected by the massacres. They learned various weaving techniques and how to make material for an array of products; the women were told they would eventually be provided with a small factory, but what they were promised was never fulfilled. Because their work was simply learned in a workshop, they had little access to initial capital or a stable market. 7 women from the Chuaperol village (where Mariana lives) joined and started working together, producing products for the local market. Rabinal however is not the ultimate tourist attraction, so sales seem to be limited.
The artisans of Flor de Algodón also partner with a fair trade organization called Manos Mayas (Mayan Hands). Their relationship seems to be helpful, but appears as if it could be more financially supportive and stable – we’re looking into meeting with someone from the organization soon to know more about it. Manos Mayas asked for designs and samples from the women. They gave them fabric and a loom, which the group paid for little by little. A main concern of the women is that while the prices of fabrics are going up, the prices of their products sold through Manos Mayas in the US are staying the same.
In terms of their products and production, the principle material they use is cotton (their name Flor de Algodón means ‘cotton flower’), which they buy from Guatemala City. They use two kinds of looms, the standard foot loom, and also the more traditional waist loom. Their products include table runners and cloths, napkins, shawls, and scarves. Although it depends on the design of the fabric, 20 inches of material for a tablecloth can be woven in an hour; thinner designs take 2 days to make. Depending on the design, one person can typically make 12 tablecloths a month. For a single color design, one woman can make up to 150 napkins per month, where as a man can make almost 200.
Mariana gave us the impression that she’s a very hard worker, and is kind and responsible. Her dream is to be able to help provide employment to women, especially when there is no rain and work is hard to find. Financially, loans could help her expand her workshop, cover the rising costs of materials, aid with transportation to the city where they buy their fabric, and provide more looms, among other things.
On Friday, we took a bus to Salama, then a shuttle to Cobán where we were meeting with Amalia from Ixbalam Ke, another group Nest wanted us to look into. Amalia Gue’s group is located about a half hour outside of the third largest city in Guatemala, Cobán. Mayan traditions and culture are still very prominent, as Spanish is almost everybody’s second language here. With the help of a Peace Corps volunteer who saw and admired their work, a group of 25 women joined together, led by a committee headed by Amalia. She was offered the opportunity to learn various weaving techniques in the city along with another women, and then shared her findings and new knowledge with the other women. Now, between 2 communities there are 60 women producing products. Eventually, the volunteer married and left Guatemala, leaving the women with no market access or a way to move forward. At one point the group was also working with NOVICA, a group in association with National Geographic, but they provided very little profit to the women and all of their promises to help with designs and market access were empty.
The products the women make are women in each of their houses. They use 100% cotton that they buy in Cobán. Designs are produced from memory, and the majority of the products are white and made by weaving with waist looms, representing stories and traditions from their Mayan heritage. If dyes are used, they are natural and made by the women themselves from various plants, flowers, and trees found in Samac, their community. They make scarves, shawls, table runners, wall hangings, and huipiles (traditional Mayan shirts for women). Women normally work from 7am to 6pm around 6 days a week; a women produces around 4 scarves monthly – a timely effort considering the fragility and traditionalism of each design and technique. A pound of cotton, once 30 or 35 quetzales per pound, is now around 40. When they do provide products to Antigua, they sell their scarves for 275Q, 210 of which goes back to the workshop/artisan.
Both of these groups seem to be totally worthwhile in terms of partnering with. However, both of them have little to no access to the Internet, which obviously makes communicating, funding, and everything in between more difficult.
It seems as though the people with the most need for loans and support are also the hardest to contact, as we saw with both of these groups that seemed to be in the middle of no where. We are still awaiting some documents from Nest and to hold a conference with La Casa to get some of the work we need to do completed. In the mean time we are continuing to explore Antigua, hopefully find a coordinator based in Guatemala that could help with the multiple projects throughout the country, and also working on writing grants for fundraising. Hopefully we'll get an idea tomorrow of where we should go from here in terms of re-contacting these groups and letting them know if there is anything we can do for them.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
T-Minus 1 Month
Despite my lack of blogging for the past week, the last 48 hours of work has been somewhat of a productive whirlwind. Marie got here this past weekend, and getting to know each other has been really easy. We're now sharing a double room at the hostel and it's been nice to have someone else there to bounce around ideas with. She'll be helping me out with a lot of the work I have to do for Nest, including more site visits; she's also doing work for fair trade coffee cooperatives and is working on getting her Masters. We both had quite a few questions for Nest in terms of our work load, especially because I'm STILL waiting to have a conference with Max, La Casa, and Nest, so we put together a list of questions/things we needed to get clarified.
This morning we had an hour long conference call with Rebecca and Kathleen. We covered aspects about the loan process, guidelines for surveying and receiving testimonials from the women, basic information about the curriculum Nest teaches, and how we should go about doing different parts of our work plan - a production guide, a look book of products, information for marketing collateral, etc. From our talk, Marie and I both have a little bit more understanding of some of the specifics of our tasks at hand and ways to go about doing them...
Tuesday marked the start of the remaining month that I have left here in Guatemala - seemingly not much time considering the amount of work I feel like we have left to do. Marie and I figured we should visit another group Nest was interested in while we were still waiting for the conference with La Casa and remaining information from Nest. We decided on visiting the artisans of a group close to Rabinal, Flor de Algodón, on Thursday and another one close to Cobán called Ixbalam Ke on Friday. We're planning on coming back to Antigua on Saturday.
It's a little nerve wracking traveling to these places because we don't have addresses or anything of the cooperatives - both of our contacts at each group said they would meet us in the city and then take us to their communities - hopefully that works out. It is reassuring though knowing Marie is here with me and that we're both proficient enough in Spanish, otherwise I wouldn't do these trips alone! I'm crossing my fingers that it's not too dangerous and that our time traveling there is worthwhile. I'm sure I'll have much to say when I come back...
Next week we'd love to go back to Elmy's group at the lake, and after this conference with La Casa happens, we can go back out to San Pedro again and work with Max. All in due time anyway...Marie is leaving the 26th, and my flight out is July 7th. Still lots left to learn, do, and know. But, that's all for now - we're leaving around 6am to start our trip - wish us luck!
This morning we had an hour long conference call with Rebecca and Kathleen. We covered aspects about the loan process, guidelines for surveying and receiving testimonials from the women, basic information about the curriculum Nest teaches, and how we should go about doing different parts of our work plan - a production guide, a look book of products, information for marketing collateral, etc. From our talk, Marie and I both have a little bit more understanding of some of the specifics of our tasks at hand and ways to go about doing them...
Tuesday marked the start of the remaining month that I have left here in Guatemala - seemingly not much time considering the amount of work I feel like we have left to do. Marie and I figured we should visit another group Nest was interested in while we were still waiting for the conference with La Casa and remaining information from Nest. We decided on visiting the artisans of a group close to Rabinal, Flor de Algodón, on Thursday and another one close to Cobán called Ixbalam Ke on Friday. We're planning on coming back to Antigua on Saturday.
It's a little nerve wracking traveling to these places because we don't have addresses or anything of the cooperatives - both of our contacts at each group said they would meet us in the city and then take us to their communities - hopefully that works out. It is reassuring though knowing Marie is here with me and that we're both proficient enough in Spanish, otherwise I wouldn't do these trips alone! I'm crossing my fingers that it's not too dangerous and that our time traveling there is worthwhile. I'm sure I'll have much to say when I come back...
Next week we'd love to go back to Elmy's group at the lake, and after this conference with La Casa happens, we can go back out to San Pedro again and work with Max. All in due time anyway...Marie is leaving the 26th, and my flight out is July 7th. Still lots left to learn, do, and know. But, that's all for now - we're leaving around 6am to start our trip - wish us luck!
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