Bulletin MR January2013

7/29/2019 Bulletin MR January2013

1/8

The news bulletin Rural Women and EconomicRights, part o the project Access to and improvemento economic income o Quechua and Aymara artisanwomen in Puno and nanced by the European Union,brings us varied and interesting inormation about the

progress o economic activities o rural women.In this issue, Vanessa Lauras article analyzes the

belies held by artisan women in Puno about economicrights, based on interviews carried out with productiveleaders in the area.

In the Knitting Stories section, artisan NatividadGallegos o the Artisan Womens Association Las Lucesde Cancharani rom the district o Paucarcolla (Puno)shares her experience as an entrepreneur and head ohousehold.

In the Readings section, the article Economic Rightso the National Plan or Gender Equality 2012 - 2017,outlines the goals proposed by the Executive Branch

to reduce gender gaps in employment and work orwomen in our country.

The recently released section From the other sideo the skein oers an interesting article about the retrotendency in ashion and production that revaluatesartisan work.

In the News section provides an overview o the maineconomic activities developed over the last months bythe Artisan Womens House o the Economic RightsProgram o Movimiento Manuela Ramos.

Finally, we recommend our new section: ABC oeminism and economy with common words andexpressions about the economic rights o women in

simple language.

News Bulletin o Rural Women and Economic RightsNo. 4. Year 2. January 2013

Edition: Alicia Villanueva, Vanessa Laura

Translation: Patricia McDonald

www.casadelamujerartesana.com

Visit us atmmm

Advances .................................................................................................. 0 1

Articles ...................................................................................................... 0 2

Knitting stories ..................................................................................... 0 3

Recommended reading .................................................................... 0 4

From the other side o the skein .................................................. 05

ABC o eminism and economics .................................................. 06

News ........................................................................................................... 0 7

Presentation

Contents

New opportunities for Punoartisans through business planworkshops

Between November and December, 2012, artisans rom Juli, Mazocruz,Vilque, Moho and Pilcuyo in Puno, who participate in the project, Accessto and improvement o economic income o Quechua and Aymara artisanwomen in Puno, nanced by the European Union, attended business planworkshops. The workshops were held by specialists Eba Armendariz and LuisiGil rom the cooperation team o Economists without Borders (Spain), co-executor o the project.

The course included a preparation phase in which the teams rom

Manuela Ramos and Economists without Borders worked together to adaptthe methodology and contents to the reality o High Plains artisans. In theworkshops, the team made use o ingenious dynamics, drawings and gamesto provide a step by step explanation to the artisans o the business plansdevelopment process.

The training incorporated concepts that were entirely new or the artisans,such as the SWOT1 analysis tool. By working on an individual, group anddistrict level, the producers were able to understand the importance o teamwork, joint identication o business opportunities and the denition o what abusiness plan meant to them. It is a summarized business idea that one hopesto carry out in the mid and long term, commented one o the producers.

When asked about the projects being developed, Eba and Luisi said thatmost districts have chosen as a business idea the joint participation in airs andlling o orders. On the other hand, the groups that live in areas requented bytourists have decided to establish a sales location in the main square. Now we

This publication has been made with the technical assista nce o the European Union. The content is the exclusive responsibility o Manuela Ramos and in no case refects the points o view o the European Union.

Rural Women andEconomic Rights

COMISIN EUROPEA

1

Bulletin No. 4 Year 2 January 2013

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2


2/8

Economic rights are undamentalrights that every person mustpossess in order to live with dignity,reedom and well-being. However,unequal gender relationships havehistorically prevented women romgaining access to their economicrights. As a result, they havereduced possibilities o entering thelocal labor market, and when theydo so they are at a disadvantage.Oten when women work, they indonly temporary work and earn muchless that what men would receive orsimilar work. On the other hand, un-paid domestic work continues to berendered invisible because it lacks

economic remuneration.

Despite this adverse situation,women such as Puno artisans havedeveloped ingenious agenciesand strategies or exercising theireconomic rights, inverting thecultural, economic and socialdisadvantages they ace on a dailybasis as Andean women. However,we asked them i they were aware othe real impact these rights have intheir lives and how can they exercise

Knitting economic rights

Articles

these rights as a true expression ocitizenship.

We spoke with some artisanleaders who showed us that they havea clear idea about their economic

rights. For these women, these rightsare associated with access to paidwork, valuation o their domesticresponsibilities and production oramily sel-consumption.

Irene Valencia Parisaca, presidento the Artisan Womens AssociationMara Auxiliadora rom the districto Huancan, summarizes it in thisway, Women oten work 24 hours aday: we wake up at 4 in the morningand we sleep until 11 at night; yet, our

work is not valued. For example, onthe arm we produce potatoes, barley,beans, we make all the breadandwe take care o the animals, but wearent paid or doing it.

All the artisans are aware thatknitting is an activity that generatesincome and, consequently, reducestheir economic vulnerability.Further, it allows or them to satisytheir needs, Artisan work is veryimportant; its an economic mainstay

o our household. For example, at

Vanessa Laura

Without economic autonomy there is no true autonomy.

have to continue working in the comingmonths, they stated.

Indeed, the next step is to giveexpression to their business ideas. Tomake these a reality, the artisans mustput into practice everything they havelearned up until now. Undoubtedly, theywill do so because they have the strength,the will and the desire to change theirdestiny.

It is important to mention that justas the producers learned to developbusiness ideas, the Spanish partners havealso had a new learning experience : Wehave learned a lot about the artisansway o lie, their type o organizationwe have even learned several words intheir mother tongues o Quechua andAymara, they said.

2

1 Law N 29700 was published on June 4th, 2011, including a satellite account or unpaid workin the national accounts, with a special emphasis on unpaid domestic work through surveysabout the use o time.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

I say: I also work () Sometimes our husbands

arent paid on time; but we now we can count on our

knitting to help out (Artisan from Tahuantinsuyo,

Ayaviri).

1 The SWOT analysis is an acronym used to reerto an analytical tool that allows an organization

or individual to work on her or his Strengths,

Opportunities, Weaknesses and Threats.


3/8

Natividad Gallegos is a 28 year oldartisan rom the district o Paucarcollaand a member o the Artisan WomensAssociation, Las Luces de Cancharani.She has a 6 year old daughter calledSara and she recently separated romher partner.

To begin with, or Natividad, justas or many women who are part oMovimiento Manuela Ramos, themain obstacle was her husbandsopposition to her participation inknitting meetings.

My husband used to get so angry,he didnt want me to belong to thegroup or go to the meetings. He toldme to knit or him and my daughter,that he would take care o all our otherexpenses, but it wasnt like that. Eventhough I brought money home rommy knitting he still got angry, she tellsus with sadness.

Natividad was under so muchpressure that one day she made adecision that she doesnt regret. Iremember that one day he told me:

its your knitting or me, and at thatmoment I knew what I had to do and Idecided that I wanted to knit becauseI earn my own money that helps meto support my daughter. Also I havemore time to be trained; however, thebiggest surprise was when I learnedater the separation that my husbandhad already had another partner orquite a while and she is even expectinga childThen I realized why he didntwant me to go to the organization;it was because he didnt want me toleave the house and nd out about his

wrongdoings.Instead o giving in to her

worries, the separation has madeNatividad ocus on her uture andher daughter. Together with otherwomen in her organization, she haslled international orders or knittedtoys on time and without mistakes,ensuring economic income thatshe can use to cover or assume herhousehold expenses.

I used to just be a housewie butwhen I joined the project, I learned toknit because, as they say, I knit with bigholes, says Natividad, laughing. NowI knit to ll orders. My earnings help topay my household expenses and buymore material because we have beentaught to produce independently.

3Irene Valencia, artisan


Knittingstories

During the artisans learningprocess, both on a technical-productive and a personaldevelopment level, they reinorcetheir knowledge about sel-esteem,leadership, values, autonomy, genderequity, time management, as well asother topics.

What I like about joining theproject is that I learned to be sure omysel and to love mysel. I am proud

o my decision and that everythinghas worked out well, without violenceNatividad says, happily, I also knowthat I will do well with my knitting.This is why its important that womenarent only at home. They have towork and be independent, advisesNatividad.

Natividads story shows us thecourage and desire o Puno artisans tochange their destiny through knittingas a source o income, according tomarket demands or their products.Accordingly, they will move ahead on

their journey to empowerment.

Christmas, without work we buythings that we couldnt have hadbeore. Now my companions are veryhappy and want to continue withartisan work, Irene explains to us.

With respect to what localgovernments should be doing inorder to guarantee the economicrights o women, the artisans stressedthat these authorities postpone orsimply do not execute programs orwomen that promote training andaccess to economic activities, whichcan generate better employmentopportunities or women inconditions equal to those or men.

Finally, despite their lack o

knowledge o Law N 297001

, whichincludes a satellite account romunpaid work in national accounts,they became very hopeul when theylearned that we will soon know thevalue o domestic and care-givingwork o women in the nationaleconomy. It seems very valuableand important. This will allow us toknow how much we make, becausewe really make more than men; menonly work 8 hours a day and we workmore.

As we can see, women artisansrom Puno understand their economicrights and have ound in knitting ameans o subsistence as well as theopportunity to achieve economicautonomy. We are conident that noone will prevent them rom doing so.

Natividad:

Its important that women work and areindependent


4/8

4


Equality between women andmen requires the recognition andcommitment o society and the Stateto correct discriminatory situationsthat women are still subjected to inour country. Consequently, in August,2012, the Ministry o Women andVulnerable Populations (MIMP, or itsacronym in Spanish) unveiled its newNational Plan or Gender Equality2012 -2017 (PLANIG, or its acronym inSpanish), in compliance with nationaland international laws on equality, andalso in an eort to achieve inclusivedevelopment with equality andwithout discrimination or the entirepopulation.

The multisectoral goals o PLANIGare ambitious: 100% registrationo women and girls by 2017, a 60%increase in literate women in rural areas,a 75% increase in institutionalized ruralbirths, reduction in the proportiono emale victims o sexual violence,30% increase in the number o womenwith property titles, and 50% o publicentities who budget or at least onemeasure to reduce gender gaps.

The PLANIG proposes seven resultswith regard to economic rights. Below

we discuss several o these rights:

Implementation of pension andsocial security systems or unemployedwomen in vulnerable situations whoperorm precarious work. We think

it is important to create an exclusivesystem that recognizes and values thework o women who perorm unpaidproductive work, are underemployedor work at a subsistence level. We hopethat the implementation guidelinesdo not leave out any worker, the planreaches the most isolated areas, andthat an adequate budget is allotted.

Job training programs, employmentcreation and productive projectspromoted by the State guaranteecompliance with the gender quota,avoring the participation o ruralAndean and Amazon women andwomen with disabilities. We considerthis regulation avorable in order to

guarantee women access to digniedwork. We hope that the necessarymeasures are taken in order that thequota is met, thus ensuring the realparticipation o women with equalopportunities to those o men. Also,training and productive projects mustbe designed according to strategicgender needs and rom an interculturalocus in order that women are notoverburdened with activities (hourso work, day cares or children, respector their knowledge, harvest times, etc.must be taken into consideration).

GDP must make the economiccontribution o unpaid domestic workcarried out by women visible to thenational economic. This is perhapsthe greatest challenge and will have

the most impact on economic rightsas it will dey the basis upon whichthe sexual division o labor involvingreproductive/unpaid work has beenbuilt. With this measure, we will neveragain be able to say that domesticwork is not work.

There are two omissions in thePLANIG: measures or programs orthe prevention o economic violencein the gender violence section are notincluded, and the Andean cameloidraising population is not included inthe objective reerring to womenscontribution to the sustainablemanagement o natural resources. Weask i these measures will be sufcientto considerably reduce the existinggender gaps in our country. We willhave to wait until 2017 and keepvigilant in the meantime.

Download the PLANIG 2012 2017at: http://www.mimp.gob.pe/les/planes/planig_2012_2017.pd

1 Ministry o Women and Vulnerable Populations.National Plan or Gender Equality 2012 -2017.Lima: MIMP, 2012.

Photo: Gloria Nieto

Photo: Gloria Nieto

1

Recommendedreading

National Plan for Gender Equality 2012 2017


5/8

5


During the last ew decades, dueto standardized and mass producedproducts rom Asia, an importantsegment o the market is becomingsaturated. This is occurring dueto the presence o mass producedproducts and an increasing demandor products that are dierentiatedrom the rest. Exclusive productsand those with a limited productionare increasingly making theirpresence known. The demand existsor original products with qualityand durability. As mentioned in thearticle Concerned citizens: Whatsbehind this product? in the previousedition o the news bulletin, there isa segment o society that no longeraccepts or is becoming tired ounsustainability and o using anddiscarding clothing or household

products. Thus, sustainability maybe dened as one o the most recenttendencies.

Tendencies in ashion and design

oten identiy new proessionalsas trendsetters, coolhunters, streetashion hunters, inuencers...,who take ideas rom blogs and theStreet in order to create opinionsand set tendencies later ollowedby companies that supply massconsumption. Currently, trendsettersstudy second hand stores as oneo the most relevant sources oinormation in the ashion industry.Retro1 is in style. Second handstores set tendencies and are closelywatched by the ashion world;

big companies also study them torecreate old models by giving thema new look.

From the otherside o the skein

The revaluation o ancient materials, products and

productive processes

1 Retro is an obsolete style, tendency or ashion that comes back in style 15 or 20 years ater it was a generalized tendency.

Eba Armendariz

Retro style is not distinguishedor esthetic reasons as much as itis or the materials used, bringingback wool and knits, or example,to the runways. Models rom earlierdecades with innovative touches orwith a mixture o materials ll theshop windows o our cities.

It is important to mention thatthe return o retro is also based onprocesses. A return to what we usedto do is evident, with machinery usedor artisan work or even work donecompletely by hand. In the world oashion, objects with soul, lie andhistory are in demand; objects madeby and or people.

Photo: Internet


6/8

6


6

ABC of Feminism and Economy

We have created the section ABCo Feminism and Economy with thegoal o including common words andexpressions about the economic rights

o women in simple language in orderto encourage reection and generatea reaction among our readers. In eachedition we will include new wordslisted in alphabetic order.

Double work day

This reers to the double work loadwomen currently carry; in addition totheir paid employment, they assumedomestic tasks and care giving workwithout the help o other people. Thisis a situation where productive and

reproductive work is combined.

Feminism

Critical current o social andpolitical thought that attempts to movebeyond the situation o subordinationaced by women by proposing a newmodel o society based on true equalitybetween men and women.

Gender gaps

In most societies, women ace socialand economic disadvantages due to adierence in the value placed uponwhat is considered to be masculine.These dierences in participation,

access and control o resources,services, opportunities and benets odevelopment are called gender gaps.A gender gap analysis allows us to seethe scope o inequalities in all areas.

Machismo

The overbearing attitude and

behavior exercised generally by menwho impose as a predominant valuedierential traits attributed to men andcarried out by means o discriminatory,silent or depreciatory attitudes towardwomen.

Source: Glossary o gender-related terms, [on line], Spain, Project Equal 2007 at: http://ww w.ongdcam.org/manuales/genero/datos/docs/1_ARTICULOS_Y_DOCUMENTOS_DE_REFERENCIA/A_CONCEPTOS_BASICOS/Glosario_de_terminos.pd

Patriarchy

Group o social relationships basedupon a material base containinghierarchical relationships betweenmen as well as solidarity amongthem, which allows them to dominatewomen. The material base o patriarchyis the control o men over women inthe productive sphere, denying them

access to economically necessaryproductive resources and restrainingtheir sexuality (Heidi Hartman, 1979).

Sexual division of labor

Social mandate that assigns certaintypes o work according to biologicalsex (woman or man). This socialmandate is accepted and shared bysociety. Women have been sociallyassigned, meaning an unnaturalassignment, the responsibility o

reproductive or domestic work (caregiving and unpaid housework), whilemen have been assigned work inthe productive or public spheres(remunerated work related to theeconomic, political and social spheres.


7/8

News

Bubble London 2013 Fairpresents artisanknitting rom Puno or the

frst time

Puno emale artisans trained byMovimiento Manuela Ramos willparticipate with a new collection ochildrens clothing and toys made romhand knit alpaca ber and cotton in therenowned air, Bubble London 2013, tobe held on the 27 and 28 o January inthe Business Design Centre in London(United Kingdom).

At the air, accessories will beoered with the latest ashion

tendencies or girls and boys in colorsthat combine with beige, uchsia, lightblue and white. The toy collection willinclude adorable cotton rabbits andteddy bears.

For the past two years, ManuelaRamos has participated in internationalairs, as manager o the ArtisanWomens House, Alicia Villanueva, tellsus: It has been a huge challenge orthe artisans to make a collection orthe changing childrens market, butweve done it. We have three goalsor London: get to know the market,

promote our products and/or services,and o course, nd new clients.

This is the rst time that a Peruviandelegation participates in the Londonair, thanks to the Lima Chambero Commerce and Promper, whohave been in charge o selecting andproviding advice to the eight nationalexhibitors.

Bubble London is the mostimportant event in the childrensashion industry. This year 250exhibitors rom around the world will

display their latest products in clothing,toys, shoes, accessories and more.

Las Manuelas Brandwill be commercialized inEurope

The prestigious magazine S Modaowned by the Spanish newspaperEl Pas recently published an articleabout ethical ashion (governed byvalues such as identiy, artisan work andtradition) that includes the initiativecarried out by the European Institute oDesign (IED, or its acronym in Spanish)with Puno artisans that gave rise to thebrand Las Manuelas. The ollowing isan excerpt rom the article:

Companies, runways and Europeaninitiatives committed to solidarityare looking or new markets in LatinAmerica, Asia and Arica. They haveound ashion governed by values suchas identity, artisan work and tradition.

Exploring unknown and arawayplaces never was easy. Isabel Berz,director o the Fashion department othe European Institute o Design (IED)rom Madrid, has just returned romanother great adventure. According toher, it wasnt easy, We have been in thesouthern region o Puno (Peru), on the

Bolivian border, at over 4,000 metersabove sea level. Even the residentso this area say they live in a placeorgotten by the world, she says.

Initially designed as a temporarydevelopment support and trainingproject with the participationo Economists without Borders,Movimiento Manuela Ramos o Peru,and the IED o Madrid, expectationssoon expanded, We proposed acollaboration based on the design oan alpaca knit collection to give workto hundreds o women in the southern

area o Puno, comments Isabel Berz,director o the Fashion department oIED o Madrid. Excited by the proposal,her only condition was to be able totravel with a group o students in order


to work with the artisans. I thoughtthat it was necessary to redene thework o a designer, build the projectrom the ground up, according to real

needs. Upon arriving, they learned thatthey would also carry lessons with themback to Madrid: We began to questionwhy the western proessional alwayshad to create the design, why designis contradictory to manuacturing andi it would be possible to invert theprocess, she comments. Such was thelevel o debate within IED that whatwas originally conceived o as a singleproject has become a uture brand oclothing, Las Manuelas.

Source: Carrasco, Alex. Se busca ar tesana [on line].S Moda. December 1, 2012, N63. http://smoda.elpais.com/articulos/se-busca-artesania/2779

7

The second communicationscampaign about the economic rightso artisan women will take place onMarch 19th, within the ramework o thecelebrations or National Artisans Day inthe city o Puno with associated activities inSpain and Lima by internet.

On this day, an awareness workshop,a march along the main streets o Puno

and an urban activity will be held, withthe goal o increasing awareness amongthe population and government workersabout the importance o economic workcarried out by artisan women, or whomknitting has become a stable source oincome that allows them to contribute tothe economy o their household and thecountry, and achieve economic autonomy.

The campaign is part o activitiesorganized by the project Access to andimprovement o economic income oQuechua and Aymara artisan women inPuno executed by Movimiento Manuela

Ramos with inancing by the EuropeanUnion.

For womens economicautonomy


8/8

8

1 Vicuitas de Lampa, Pukaramanta dePucar, Quechuayllu, Korimaqui deAzngaro, Estrella Amaya de Calapuja, ImaSumac, Fe and Esperanza de Asillo.

A world o possibilities has beenopened or Puno artisans who since Julyhave been trained in computing andofce skills, together with computingtechniques, applications and toolsused in ofce administration. It was abig challenge or adult women with anincomplete high school education andwho, or the rst time in their lives, hadsat in ront o a computer. Yet, thesewomen knew how to respond withthe same skills that they demonstrated

through their knitting.

We are araid to break thecomputer, Now that we are learningcomputer skills I will be able to knowwhat my son is doing on the internet,were several comments made by theartisans on the rst day o classes. Oneo the members o the organizationVicuitas de Lampa said, With theinternet I will be able to nd newgarment models in order to be ableto knit things that are in style. Withthe ability to access the internet andknowing how to use a computer will

allow artisans to obtain direct ordersand establish alliances with othernational and international knittinggroups.

Classes were given to sevengroups o artisans1 who work hand inhand with the project Puno artisansimprove their quality o lie, nancedby the Social Work Foundation laCaixa. The main goal o the projectis to strengthen their skill sets on apersonal and organizational level,allowing them to contribute to theirempowerment process.

Puno artisans accessinformation technology

On November 25th, InternationalDay o No Violence against Women,Movimiento Manuela Ramos carriedout an awareness campaign in the maincity streets where ribbons with wordsrelevant to the date were handed outto men and women. They also visitedthe main government ofces in orderto carry the message to public workers.

Close to two thousand peopleproudly wore the ribbons with messagessuch as: Prevention o violence againstwomen means adequate publicpolicies; Violence against women

aects the national economy; and Notvaluing womens work is the same asviolence, among others.

The campaign was well received bytownspeople who congratulated theManuelas or the initiative to eradicategender-based violence: Manuelas,you work hard or women. You haveour constant support, stated the Civiland Family Attorney, Leonidas BelonFrisancho.

All projects executed by ManuelaRamos in Puno participated in the

campaign held on Friday 23rd, with the

Saying NO to violenceagainst women in Puno

News

outstanding participating o ollowingprojects o the Womens ArtisanHouse: Access and improvement othe economic income o Quechua

and Aymara women artisans in Punonanced by the European Union, PunoArtisans improve their quality o lienanced by the Social Work Foundationla Caixa, Expanding opportunities orthe sustainable economic participationo rural women in Puno nanced byJunta Castilla La Mancha.

Dont let violence controlyou

In Lima, the Qori Maki associationjoined the activities or the Day o no

Violence against women, organized bythe Ministry o Women and VulnerablePopulations (MIMP, or its acronymin Spanish), participating actively inthe event held in the Manuela BonillaStadium in the district o Miraores.

Later, members o this associationwent to Kennedy Park to hand out towelsprinted with the slogan Channel yourimpulses! Dont let violence controlyou! to taxi and bus drivers in orderto draw attention to and encouragereection about the gender violencethat aects 6 o every 100 women in the

entire world and generate change.

Qori Maki is an association osuccessul business women who arewinners and/or nalists o the LatinAmerican Competition As se hace(This is how you do it) organized bythe Network o Population Educationor Women (Repem, or its acronymin Spanish) and who maintain aninstitutional link to Manuela Ramosthrough consulting services providedto their organization.

Bulletin MR January2013

Documents

Transcript of Bulletin MR January2013