Artisan Goods

The morning began bright and early with a long run with Sarah Jean, Margaret, and Maria Luz. We wandered along the road out of town and ended up running and talking for over an hour in the misty rain. Afterwards we showered and ate our complimentary breakfast of juice, eggs, a grilled cheese and coffee. Yummy.

We rode a truck to the small community of Gautalupe where we visited the homes of four different artisans. All had similar goods of beaded necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and key chains. Most were gorgeous but some were slightly tacky. We all bought gifts for ourselves or goods to bring home to friends. One particular artisan, Mercedes, is mother to 11 children, expecting her 12th and grandmother of 3. Here house was filled with children of all ages running around and loving staring at the odd white skinned people inhabiting their home. It was a great to be in her home and felt rewarding to buy her products, however my heart aches for her. She is trying to support so many people and I know it cannot be easy. Earrings were between $1-2 and bracelets around $.50. I later found out that earrings take half a day to make and bracelets around 2 hours. I don’t know how to feel about paying so little for what took someone so long to make. I want to provide immediately for these women by giving them an income however there has to be a better long term solution.

The women cooked us traditional empanadas and tamales for lunch, followed by our product analysis and a consultation presentation we delivered on sales strategies. It was a nice to be able to give sales advice and hopefully information that will develop their businesses and increase their incomes. However, after spending a day with these women, it is difficult to leave them behind without following up on the progress of their business personally. The other SEC group will be visiting them in 3 weeks and they will forever have a relationship with SEC. I want to see the job to completion but unfortunately that is not in the job description this summer.

Delaying the ride home because of rain we played a rousing game of Celebrity. We eventually put on our raincoats and had a wet ride home. Dinner and great conversations filled the night time. Now I am headed to sleep and excited about a relaxing weekend ahead.

Hasta Luego,

Cate