Providing technical and business training to indigenous women artisans
Recursos económicos y emprendimiento
El contexto
The Department of Cauca is located in southwestern Colombia, an area heavily impacted by ongoing armed conflicts in the country. Women, especially in indigenous and Afro-decendant communities were particularly affected and continue to face challenges in access to education, a decent income, land ownership, and decision-making. Communities in the region live primarily in rural areas and work primarily in agriculture and livestock farming.
El proyecto
Fundación CODESPA has been working to empower indigenous women artisans in North Cauca, since 2012, by helping them create and consolidate a social enterprise, so that they can produce and sell handicrafts and textiles in local markets and craft fairs. The project aims to further strengthen the capacities of the artisans by providing with technical and business skills training and improved access to local markets, particularly in the ‘slow fashion’ industry, a growing sector in Colombia.
Fondation CHANEL is supporting CODESPA in scaling-up its program in Colombia and providing 200 indigenous women artisans with training to strengthen their technical and business skills, improve the quality of their products, and increase their access to local markets. Additionally, CODESPA will assist the women in improving the management and efficiency of their social entreprise, and build partnerships with local fashion designers, boutiques and hotels specializing in ‘slow fashion’.
El compañero
Fundación CODESPA is an international non-profit organization that aims to empower the poor by increasing their access to economic and social opportunities, so that they can, through their own work, improve their skills and take charge of their own development.
Indicadores clave
Number of artisan women who
obtained an artisan certificate
141
Increase in beneficiaries’ income
96%