The Sexto Sol Center # Assistance to Artisan Cooperatives
When artisans who make beautiful handcrafted goods for sale gain access to the vast international market, they can realize a tremendous increase in sales and income. The Sexto Sol Center assists cooperatives to successfully market their products internationally. Our aim is to connect artisans and buyers and help them to establish good working relationships. Business can be a win-win enterprise when producers offer their best work in exchange for a fair price. In the process we will ensure that the natural world, women, children and cultures are uplifted and respected.
We will be expanding the offering of beautiful handmade goods as more cooperatives join the Sustainable Livelihood Program. We can also assist buyers to find specific kinds of products by locating coops that produce them. We will be looking for quality handmade natural toys to be included in our offering of products.
# We are proud to collaborate with Tzobolic, Historia, Tradicion y Cultura, a cooperative with over 200 weavers, potters and wood-workers from indigenous communities in Los Altos region of Chiapas.
To see the beautiful hand-tied wool rugs and other artwork produced by indigenous weavers from communities in the highlands of Chiapas, please visit www.tzobolic.org.mx>
# In 2009 and 2010 we assisted a cooperative of women in Michoacan. This is their story.
Many parts of the state of Michoacan more men are working in the U.S. than are at home due to the lack of employment opportunities in their communities. The women left behind must manage their households with the funds they receive from their husbands or fend for themselves if those do not materialize. Twenty-three women facing the challenges of raising families on their own formed a cooperative to find a way to earn an income. These multi-talented woman create lovely garments, tablecloths, bedspreads and more using crochet, embroidery with silk ribbon and painting. Sexto Sol assisted them with product development and exporting.
