Empowering Women Through Design in Rural Peru

This summer, two Awamaki staff represented over 100 female artisans on the west coast of the United States for two gift shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco. These shows allowed Awamaki to increase our artisans’ market access to west coast markets. During these shows, our staff managed to create over 15 new relationships with west coast retailers who will begin carrying our products this autumn.

The most popular items at the shows were baby accessories, our lace scarf, and a new hand woven scarf, all designed by our volunteers and in-house designers in collaboration with the artisans. Trade shows are also a learning opportunity for us as we work to enter international markets. At these shows, the new iPad case we brought didn't do as well as we hoped, so our lead designer is working with the seamstresses to re-envision it, perhaps as a clutch. Feedback like this from customers, as well as the relationships we can build with stores that care about fair trade and ethical sourcing, make trade shows like this invaluable to us as we connect more women artisans to global markets.

Sales Manager Callie was one of the staff members representing Awamaki artisans at the shows. "We have been working hard to build our wholesale partnerships. When our current retailers and new clients see our booth, they get to meet a sales manager who works with the women on a daily basis; this is so rare at trade shows," she said. "Most times, they have been in frequent contact with me and are excited to see a friendly face. This improves our visibility, builds trust in our quality, and most importantly, increases the orders that our cooperatives rely on.”

Seamstresses Justa and Estella weighed in on how the quality of Awamaki products has improved since we have started going to trade shows. “The drawings and colors are clear and of a higher quality,” Estella said. Justa added “The quality of the work has improved, especially with the new designs.”

Your continuing generosity will allow us to further gain entry into new markets and thus help the amazing women in our cooperatives. We are very enthusiastic about the progress of this project and are excited to see how our women and Lab evolve!