Sustainable development in chiapas, mexico

Empowering female artisans

As part of our project with UNDP Mexico to empower female artisans and develop products to sell globally, I wanted to share some of the development work UNDP Mexico has been carrying out. 

In 2022 UNDP identified an opportunity to advance the economic independence of indigenous women by promoting textile production. In Mexico 69.5% of the indigenous population live in poverty and this encompasses many of the women that live in the state of Chiapas.

Over the summer, UNDP visited communities in Chiapas, to help identify key areas which could benefit from the programme. Although these villages are renowned for their woven textiles they often find it difficult to sell their handicrafts. Some of the biggest challenges identified were the lack of technology and communication systems in the region. There is also little access to education especially in terms of language, management, sales and marketing.

Between October and November all the women who weave Routes Interiors homeware will have the opportunity to take part in 6 workshops to help them build sustainable businesses apt for the international market. These workshops will take place in the local dialects of Tzeltal and Tzotzil for better understanding and communication.

I have been heavily involved in building a workshop focused on design. In this workshop, the artisans will learn all about designing for the American and European markets. This encompasses education on seasons and selling times, market research, how to design a range and copyright. 

Together with Akojo Market and UNDP Mexico we will also deliver workshops on: 

• Leadership and Management

• Pattern making and tailoring techniques

• Marketing Strategies

• Digital skills across mobile and computers

• Principles of social economy and cooperativism 

I am so proud to be part of this collaboration and I can’t wait to share photos and videos of the training programmes taking place.

The collection supporting this project will be available to buy at the end of October.