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Esperanza en Acción
Esperanza
en Acción is dedicated to supporting Nicaraguan artisans by connecting them to
fair markets in the United States
and Nicaragua
in order to provide them with the opportunity to support themselves and their
families by receiving a fair wage for their work.
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News from Esperanza en Acción
- We are currently working
on four different orders that will be shipped up to the United States
in the next few months. This is good news for artisans as sales have
been very due to the economic downturn. Many artisans have told us that they have seen fewer
tourists coming through their villages and those that are visiting are not
purchasing. Our exportation license is going to come in handy as it allows
us to connect artisans to fair trade markets in the US and
worldwide, this benefit is already starting to pay off! If you know of any
fair trade stores that would be interested in work from Nicaragua
please let us know.
- We got some help from a
contact in the US
and we are now ready to show the women from El Timal how to make recy
 cled
chip bag purses. We had gotten stuck on part of the process but now we
are ready to go! The women from El Timal are part of a group of refugees
that were moved from the lakeshore of Managua and are in desperate need of
work. Your generous donations help us to provide them with the technical
assistance that they need and materials to get them started on their first
purses. We are confident that these will be hot sellers, we will let you
know when they are ready for sale via the website so you can get your own.
Learning this important craft will give them the independence to support
themselves and their families.
- Executive Director of
Esperanza en Acción, Emily Hewes, will be in Washington, DC
at the end of October in honor of Fair Trade Month. She will be
speaking at a number of different venues about the work of Esperanza en
Acción. Locations and times tba. Do you know of any groups that might want
to hear about Esperanza en Acción? Let us know!
- Are you a facebook fan? Esperanza
en Acción is on facebook, so become a fan of the organization! You can
keep more up to date with what we are doing here in Nicaragua,
see photos and interact with us on a daily basis. It's a great way to stay
in touch and learn more about our work.
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Also, is there anyone that has
experience with Drupal and ubercart? If you understand what this means please
contact us, we need your help!
Coming to Nicaragua?
We need your continued support!
Esperanza
en Acción exists to support Nicaraguan artisan groups and their pursuit of
meaningful well paid work. We cannot accomplish this alone. Our supporters are key to our success. In addition to generous donations made by people like you we receive delegations in Nicaragua that visit our Fair Trade Store and Education Center. These visits help us to promote and sell the artwork of the artisans we work with, an essential piece in the fair trade puzzle. These sales help artisans earn a living to support their families, something that cannot be done without your visits! If you are coming to Nicaragua
with a delegation please request to come visit us, even if you have seen us
before your other teammates may have not. Take a small piece of Nicaragua back with you in the form of a fairly traded piece of artwork. Help us to keep Nicaraguan artisans
working and well supported. We hope to see you in Nicaragua! |
You are making a difference!
Many
thanks to all who donated during our August Fund Drive!
We got so close to our $5,000 goal, we reached $4,076 to help us continue our programs
here in Nicaragua.
We would like to send our sincerest thanks to the following
donors for their generous contributions:
Rob Shetterly Melissa Bermudez
Valerie King Friend Jennifer Tascarella
Douglass P Barram Karen Bortvedt
Paige Rutherford Vivian Lovingood
Carolynn Winters-Hazelton Alexandra Hosford
Nancy Caperton Joseph Hess
Melissa Keywood Jane Barclay
Kathryn Beach-Verhey Carl Hanson
Ericka Vickers Jeanne Randels
Ellen Ives Bob and Judy Jacobson
Michael and Suzanne Strom Ruth Stoebener
Peg Oetgen Charlotte Keating
Yuki Kato J. Coppole
Marc Ricart Ken and Ingrid Clauson
Mary Lewis Troy and Jean Milburn
Shirley Holmer Brad Sharp
Mona Sherrell Donna and Charles Dyer
Ed and Justine Schneider Ellen Newton
Cara and Alan Jones M. Scott Knox
It's never too late to give!
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What difference can a Microloan Make? Esperanza en Acción's Microloan Program
In many poor countries, Nicaragua included, the opportunity
to borrow money has become increasingly easy. There are for-profit and
non-profit organizations that will lend, and in fact promote their loans, to
almost anyone. Hidden interest costs often result in a loan with more than
50-60% interest.
The result of these high interest rates is that borrowers
default on their loans as they are unable to pay the interest required over the
initial quantity borrowed. This phenomenon has reached such a critical point in
Nicaragua
that there is a group of 10,000 people fighting lenders for loans that
have left them poorer than before they took out a loan. What is the point of
loans with such high interest rates that the poor get poorer as a result?
Esperanza en Acción's new loan program seeks to
offer credit that will not result in future indebtedness, rather we are seeking
to empower and strengthen artisans by offering them credit they would not
otherwise have access to. This program was born out of the need of an artisan
for capital to build a new oven on her property. Not wanting to saddle the
artisan with more debt we decided to offer a loan to her at 0% interest. She
accepted the loan and paid it back in full after three months. She is now debt
free and has the convenience of firing her ceramic pieces in her own home.
(artisan Francis Cano with her new oven)
We at Esperanza en Acción have stressed the
importance of providing loans for capacity building and promotion of artwork.
These are loans that will help artisans improve the possibilities for making
more pieces and increasing their revenue or to help them promote their artwork
to improve future sales.
Five artisans have now benefited from Esperanza en Acción's new loan program. We
have loaned the following amounts so far:
$100 to build a new oven to fire ceramic pieces
$150 to build a new oven and roof for the oven to fire ceramic pieces
$200 to purchase raw materials for an order made by a client other than Esperanza en Acción
$150 to participate in a national event to promote Nicaraguan tourism and artwork
$40 for artwork promotion in Costa Rica
Esperanza en Acción currently has $365 loaned out as part of our loan program and the above list.
Although our loan program is relatively new we have not had
problems with artisans defaulting on their payments. This is due to the unique
relationship that Esperanza en Acción has with each artisan. We are not merely
another lender, we represent an organization that cares about their small
business, we want to see them grow and improve, we don't want them to fail. In
addition we have made a commitment to allow each artisan to decide their own
payment calendar based on their ability to pay, empowering them to repay the
loans as they are able.
We are able to offer 0% interest on these loans thanks to
those who support us with their donations. We are able to offset costs
associated with the loan program by using donations to the organization, many
thanks to those who help make this possible!
The loan fund is a revolving fund, all money lent out
returns to the same fund to be lent out to other artisans. If you would like to
donate to the loan fund please specify when making your donation.
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Give Fairly this holiday season
It's almost that time! The
holidays are right around the corner. You never need an excuse to purchase
fair trade, but showing your family and friends how much you love them is
that more meaningful with a gift that you are sure has been fairly
crafted. Here at Esperanza en Acción we are working on updating our
website so you can purchase fair trade this holiday season. We will send
out an update with more information as soon as possible.
'Starter Kits' are a great way to get
your faith community involved in promoting fair trade. Help bring the gift of fair trade to your
community this holiday season. Esperanza en Acción's fair trade 'Starter
Kits' are designed to do just that. We will send you a random inventory,
(usually $300, but can be tailored to your situation), and your church
will receive a 20% discount which can be used as a fundraiser if you would
like. You can help spread the joy of a fair holiday with Esperanza en Acción.
(photo courtesy of Melissa Engle)
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