Empower WAYUU women through handcrafted bags

Dear sponsors,

We hope you have had a good start to the year and that you are able to fulfill all your dreams. We are pleased to inform you that we have continued working with the Wayuu communities to achieve significant progress on various fronts. This process has been enriching, allowing us to learn from each culture and better understand the needs to strengthen community processes. Firstly, we are pleased to inform you that due to the reception of our project and the support you have provided, we will be working with two additional communities named Ipasharrain and Tutchonka in 2024; and we will continue the work we have been doing with the Koushalain community.

Continuing with the information shared in our previous reports, we have also renewed our partnership with SENA (National Learning Service) for this year, which has been instrumental in improving the skills of our Wayuu artisans in traditional weaving. Together with SENA, we will conduct two training cycles on weaving; for our two new communities, it will cover basic weaving topics, and for Koushalain, we will continue refining the details of artisanal products. Additionally, we conducted our first visit of the year to the communities in this month of February and had the opportunity to conduct a diagnostic workshop on topics related to femininity, menstrual and sexual health, and the role of women within the communities. This activity was significant as it allows us to formulate training focused on these topics while respecting their customs and understanding the community’s worldview on these matters.

As mentioned in previous reports, our goal is to provide various educational and participatory spaces beneficial for the communities, not only in the realm of handicrafts but also in their daily lives. Therefore, throughout the year, we hope to offer training sessions open to all interested members. One of the most important advancements we achieved by the end of 2023 was creating a brand for the artisans named Toushii. Through various platforms, we hope to reach different parts of the world and introduce the handicrafts produced with great effort in these communities. To stay updated on the progress with this new brand, we invite you to follow us on Instagram @toushii.col.

Furthermore, since December, we have reached a cooperation agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to strengthen the agricultural part of the communities. Consequently, in January 2024, the communities of Ipasharrain and Koushalain received 190 chickens each, and Tutchonka received 100 chickens, aiming to enhance their resources to improve spaces within the communities. Currently, egg production ranges from 70 to 100 eggs per day, but we aim to achieve a daily production of 180 eggs on average.

We are also strengthening the irrigation systems of the community gardens in these three locations to ensure proper crop growth. However, during the first semester of the year, we expect the communities to face certain complications with crops due to the “El Niño” phenomenon and the high temperatures in the region. One of the objectives of our collaboration with the FAO is to ensure that while temperatures are high, the communities have the necessary tools to overcome them.

We look forward to sharing more good news in our next report and, with the help of all of you, we hope this project can grow for the benefit of the Wayuu communities who need it so much.

Links:

• Toushii Colombia