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Esperanza en Acción
Making a Difference in 2009
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Greetings!
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 As we move into the holiday season we want to take the time to share with you the successes that Esperanza en Acción and our artisan partners have had this year as well as share our hopes and dreams for the year ahead.
2009 has been an exciting year and with your help we have continued our work in Nicaragua, helping to support artisans and their families for increased self-sustainability and economic independence in a country where more than 80% of the population lives on less than $2 per day.
Artisans such as the women of Maderas Negras, in the picture above, have new reason to hope and dream that they can support their families with the help of Esperanza en Acción.
Your support is integral to our success, together we are bringing hope to artisans all over Nicaragua.
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Highlights from Esperanza en Acción in 2009
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Here are some highlights from our work in 2009: -
Artisan's
sales increased more than $5,000 in Nicaragua compared to 2008,
which means improved economic security for artisans.
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With
the advent of our new small loan program,
artisans like Francis Cano and Guadalupe Nororis now have new ovens to
fire their ceramic pieces. Prior to having their own ovens they had to rent them, which reduced their
earnings and made the process more difficult.
- Jacobo Nororis also benefited from the loan
program, completing an order for more than $2,000 of ceramic pieces with the
help of a loan from Esperanza en Accion to purchase materials.
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Our new exportation license provided artisans with access to new markets and we sent more than $3,000 worth of artwork to the United States in 2009. This meant that artisans such as the Ducuale Grande cooperative, among others, had the opportunity to sell artwork despite lack of clients in Nicaragua.
- We provided formal trainings, including a training on Money Management to help artisans improve the sustainability of their small businesses.
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Purchase Utilitarian Artwork this Holiday Season! |
2009 was a great year for new connections to fair trade markets for artisans associated with Esperanza en Acción.
Esperanza en Acción secured an exportation license within Nicaragua to be able to export artisans' artwork to the US. Thanks to a connection with Partners for Just Trade, a US based fair trade organization, we sent a large order of beautiful utilitarian pottery from Ducuale Grande, a women's cooperative located in the rural village of Condega, outside of Esteli.
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Making a Concrete Difference
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"I hope that you
continue to lift our spirits, to purchase from us, it makes us happy when we
sell even if it's only a little bit because we are always fighting to survive. Right now business has been
bad. If Esperanza en Acción weren't
promoting my work I wouldn't have any sales, you give me hope. What a beautiful name, Esperanza en Acción, it is a hope for me."
-Francis Cano, San Juan de Oriente
Esperanza en Acción continues to support Francis Cano and her pursuit of fair markets for her work. Increasingly, artisans throughout Nicaragua are having a hard time finding any clients to purchase their work. Without market connections artisans are forced to leave their small businesses behind in search of work in a factory, in a field or on the street.
Francis is not the only artisan that is feeling the support and security of the services provided by Esperanza en Acción. Dominga Dias, an artisan belonging to the 'Rio Abajo' collective, a group of women that live on the outskirts of rural San Juan de Limay, also recently expressed her appreciation for the difference that Esperanza en Acción has made in her life.
"We feel good because Esperanza en
Acción are the only ones that have made orders with us and we feel
more secure with them close. We have no other clients that come to make large
orders with us." ~Dominga Dias
Without someone to help these artisans enter into new markets their livelihood would disappear. When you support Esperanza en Accion you are supporting sustainble employment for hard working Nicaraguans.
Artisans WANT to work, they want to support their families, but lack of education, lack of market connections and the daily challenges of acute poverty make it nearly impossible to do this on their own. They need the support of Esperanza en Acción to keep them going.
Give the gift of sustainable employment this holiday, make a donation to Esperanza en Acción to support artisans and their pursuit of well-paid work. Learn more about making a donation in someone's name at our website: www.esperanzaenaccion.org/donate
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Thanks to everyone who helped to support the work and mission of Esperanza en Acción in 2009 with your time, donations and support. We could not have done it without you.
As we look to the upcoming year we have many new hopes and dreams. In
2010, we will continue to focus our work on current artisans, concentrating especially on those in rural
and economically-marginalized communities. We
will also work to increase exportation, to gain access to new fair markets
for artisans' work and to expand our training programs in order to provide
capacity-building opportunities for artisans.
Thanks to your support and solidarity in 2009, we were able to achieve these
accomplishments and we look forward to opportunities to join together once
again in 2010 to make new strides in guaranteeing economic justice for artisan
families throughout Nicaragua.
Emily Hewes
Executive Director
Esperanza en Acción
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