National Hispanic Heritage Month: FFTP Joins Mercado Global to Empower Women and Weave Dreams of Prosperity
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Sept. 25, 2023) – Indigenous women in Guatemala are combining their weaving skills with new technical and business training to lift their families out of poverty, with the help of Food For The Poor donors and the support of partner Mercado Global.
In two years, more than 800 women have received education and training and graduated to become partner artisans with Mercado Global.
That’s putting them on a path to become entrepreneurs and leaders to pass on what they’ve learned to help even more women.
Today, FFTP recognizes the rich culture and traditions of these Indigenous Guatemalan artisans as the charity marks National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.
Recently, the charity has been involved in a new project with Mercado Global to train 466 more women as well as provide additional support to women already trained. A total of 2,800 people will benefit.
The Indigenous women of Guatemala have a rich history of weaving beautiful cloth, but due to limited access to resources and a lack of viable market outlets, they have struggled to sell their products before joining Mercado Global.
When Marta Julia stopped attending school after sixth grade, she thought her life would only consist of getting married, having children, and taking care of her home.
But life changed for the better – economically and psychologically – when she started working with Mercado Global.
Today, she has helped launch a Mercado Global artisan co-op in her community of San Jorge, Guatemala, and is an inspiration to her daughter, Dulce.
“Before, I thought I would always have to stay at home, taking care of the house,” Marta Julia said. “But in Mercado Global, I learned women are capable of so much more than that. Women also have rights.”
Marta Julia started at the entry level and learned to make bags. Then she became an instructor to other women, motivating them for success.
“My children are the ones who motivate me to keep fighting. I’m doing this all for them. And for myself, too,” Marta Julia said. “My dream for my children is for them to have the education I never had.
FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine emphasized the charity’s partnership with Mercado Global to uplift the lives of all the women involved.
“This will allow everybody to be able to do more and to be able to provide for their families and make sure that their children have a better future than their grandparents,” Raine said.
Since 2004, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Mercado Global has empowered indigenous women in Guatemala to break the cycle of poverty by connecting them to international markets and selling their goods to national retailers such as Levi’s®, Stitch Fix, and Free People, along with dozens of boutiques and specialty brands across the country. As a nonprofit, all proceeds from Mercado Global’s sales to its retail clients go back to its partner artisans.
By working part-time, artisans can make up to $8 a day, which is enough to lift themselves out of poverty over the course of a few months of engagement with Mercado Global. Outside of Mercado Global, cooperatives often will take on small projects to provide additional income.
And when the women make more money, they are using it to invest in better nutrition, education, personal savings, and sanitation. Education is a priority, with 99 percent of children from the woman in the program enrolled in school.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indigenous population in Guatemala already struggled with poverty and food insecurity. The compounding effects of COVID-19 left the women in an even more dire situation, without enough income to support the basic needs of their families.
With factories in Guatemala either closed or posing a high risk for employees during the pandemic, Mercado Global’s programs became some of the only ways to earn money by allowing the women artisans to stay safe, self-quarantine and still work.
Mercado Global, together with FFTP, assisted the women and boosted their production capacity by providing additional industrial sewing machines, overlap machines, sewing kits and detailing kits, which the women use to manufacture their orders from Mercado Global’s partner retailers.
Isabel said the training and support helped changed her life and the lives of many other indigenous women during the pandemic. Her job supported her family when her husband lost his job.
“He helps iron the fabric and I sew,” Isabel said. “If we don’t help each other, we won’t make it. I feel like I’m blessed because many people don’t have jobs, but I have been working.”
Watch a short video on how FFTP and Mercado Global are empowering women in Guatemala: https://youtu.be/Fb4-smdEoxk
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
[email protected]
