Empower WAYUU women through handcrafted bags

Dear sponsors

We hope that this first semester of 2024 has been good for you. These last few months have brought many challenges and opportunities for our work with members of the Wayuu communities and also many positive achievements that allow us to continue working with them.

As part of the training process that we have been developing in collaboration with SENA, women from the Koushalain, Tutchonka and Ipashirrain communities have been taking classes on artisanal weaving and improving weaving techniques. For our part and thanks to your donations, we have been able to give each woman a knitting kit that includes needles, thread, stitch markers, among other implements necessary for the proper development of the classes. In each of the communities we had a first group of 30 women who participated 4 hours, 2 times a week, in the classes taught by the tutors.

Regarding educational training, during this semester the classes have not focused exclusively on traditional craft techniques but also on ways to manage a business and how to boost sales of backpacks in a way that dignifies and rewards the effort invested in making backpacks. This has allowed female artisans to become empowered with their art and how it can help them obtain economic benefits for themselves and their families.

On the other hand, in the area of agriculture we have been making progress on some issues together with the FAO. We made a change in the entire irrigation system of the community garden of the Koushalain community since due to the time it had been in use, there was wear and tear that did not allow the system to function correctly.

As we mentioned in the previous report, we began working with the Ipashirrain, Koushalain and Tutchonka communities; However, as in every process, we faced difficulties with the Ipashirrain community and for this reason we made the decision not to continue the process with that community. Thanks to our cooperation with FAO, we had the opportunity to meet and start working with a new community called Ipamana.

Therefore, our plan during this new semester is the same as the agricultural conditions of the 3 intervened communities, to create a community garden for the community of Tutchonka and Ipamana respectively and also to deliver the chickens for the productive project of “Chickens happy". We want to maintain the water wells in all communities to expand the water production capacity and guarantee consumption and supply to the orchard irrigation systems.

Finally, we would like to thank our sponsors for their support, which helps us continue with the work we do with the women of these communities and, together with them, we can grow in multiple areas. We will keep you informed of our progress in the coming months.

Dear sponsors,

We hope you have had a good start to the year and that you are able to fulfill all your dreams. We are pleased to inform you that we have continued working with the Wayuu communities to achieve significant progress on various fronts. This process has been enriching, allowing us to learn from each culture and better understand the needs to strengthen community processes. Firstly, we are pleased to inform you that due to the reception of our project and the support you have provided, we will be working with two additional communities named Ipasharrain and Tutchonka in 2024; and we will continue the work we have been doing with the Koushalain community.

Continuing with the information shared in our previous reports, we have also renewed our partnership with SENA (National Learning Service) for this year, which has been instrumental in improving the skills of our Wayuu artisans in traditional weaving. Together with SENA, we will conduct two training cycles on weaving; for our two new communities, it will cover basic weaving topics, and for Koushalain, we will continue refining the details of artisanal products. Additionally, we conducted our first visit of the year to the communities in this month of February and had the opportunity to conduct a diagnostic workshop on topics related to femininity, menstrual and sexual health, and the role of women within the communities. This activity was significant as it allows us to formulate training focused on these topics while respecting their customs and understanding the community’s worldview on these matters.

As mentioned in previous reports, our goal is to provide various educational and participatory spaces beneficial for the communities, not only in the realm of handicrafts but also in their daily lives. Therefore, throughout the year, we hope to offer training sessions open to all interested members. One of the most important advancements we achieved by the end of 2023 was creating a brand for the artisans named Toushii. Through various platforms, we hope to reach different parts of the world and introduce the handicrafts produced with great effort in these communities. To stay updated on the progress with this new brand, we invite you to follow us on Instagram @toushii.col.

Furthermore, since December, we have reached a cooperation agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to strengthen the agricultural part of the communities. Consequently, in January 2024, the communities of Ipasharrain and Koushalain received 190 chickens each, and Tutchonka received 100 chickens, aiming to enhance their resources to improve spaces within the communities. Currently, egg production ranges from 70 to 100 eggs per day, but we aim to achieve a daily production of 180 eggs on average.

We are also strengthening the irrigation systems of the community gardens in these three locations to ensure proper crop growth. However, during the first semester of the year, we expect the communities to face certain complications with crops due to the “El Niño” phenomenon and the high temperatures in the region. One of the objectives of our collaboration with the FAO is to ensure that while temperatures are high, the communities have the necessary tools to overcome them.

We look forward to sharing more good news in our next report and, with the help of all of you, we hope this project can grow for the benefit of the Wayuu communities who need it so much.

Links:

• Toushii Colombia