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Testimonies
from the Artisans |
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Each
product that we sell provides a tortilla for the artisan that
made it. Our sales also express solidarity for the artisans
in their struggle to survive here in our country. The armed
conflict—in which many died in the struggle for peace,
equality, freedom, human rights, and justice—has ended.
But today there is a “war” that is much bloodier
than before, a war in which we are slowly dying and are even
facing the risk of losing hope. It is a war in which our poverty
grows worse and worse, in which we are unable to earn enough
to feed our families, in which one barely earns enough for beans,
in which our rights are violated on a daily basis by our government,
in which the poor are becoming poorer and the rich are getting
richer. What injustice! And we are left with no weapons with
which to fight neoliberalism. But we do not feel so alone in
our struggle thanks to the efforts of fair trade groups, and
we do not lose hope of living a more just and dignified life.
-- Baltazar García, Jesús Obrero Craft Cooperative,
La Palma, El Salvador
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My
life has been full of suffering and pain but also much happiness.
My role in the cooperative is to draw the designs. I learned
how to draw the animals and birds at a workshop, but the flowers
I draw are my own creation. I enjoy my work very much. Although
the money is not much, it is all we have to live on. Since my
husband lost his arm in the war it is hard for him to work.
He does a little work in the fields, but he doesn’t produce
enough beans or corn for us to eat. The poverty is hard. We
never have enough money to buy everything we need, but without
my work at the cooperative it would be much more difficult.
My involvement with the cooperative has been good for me. It
has given me hope for a better tomorrow.
--
María Amelia Mejía, Nueva Esperanza Craft Cooperative,
La Ceiba, Chalatenango
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We
are 11 women, struggling but with the will to improve our situation
and to earn a few coins for beans and corn which is our children’s
food. We make our handcrafts in our homes, which are located
alongside an abandoned railroad line. We’ve been an organized
group since 1997. When we meet together it isn’t just
for work, it is so that we will feel more united as friends
and sisters. We buy our materials together, but each member
pays for her supplies. Everyone gets paid for their work and
a small percentage goes towards the group.
--
Mujeres Tinecas, collective of women artisans in San Martin,
El Salvador.
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