Giving Back
Every brand starts with a dream and purpose. Ours was born out of immense gratitude and desire to give back to our artisan communities through opportunities that will help Mexican artisan women achieve their entrepreneurship dreams. The artisans we collaborate with are not just our partners, but also our friends. We have seen them flourish while keeping Mexican traditions alive and sharing embroidery techniques with their children and grandchildren. We are fortunate to have found an organization that helps support the dreams of many artisan women in Mexico. Fundación En Via is a non-profit organization that works to empower women to better support themselves and their families.
Your purchase helps support this mission. A portion of every sale is donated to this amazing organization.
About Fundación En Vía
Fundación En Vía works to empower women so that they can better support themselves and their families. Using funds raised through responsible tourism and wonderful donors, they offer interest-free loans and educational programs to entrepreneurs in 5 communities in Oaxaca's Tlacolula Valley. Their participatory programs encourage income-generating businesses and personal development in order to empower women, improve the well-being of families, and strengthen communities. Their mission is: "To promote the empowerment of women, the well-being of families and the strengthening of communities by providing participatory programs that encourage the growth of income-generating businesses and personal development."
Meet the Women
Fundación En Vía works with approximately 200 women in the Tlacolula Valley in Oaxaca, Mexico. These women run a huge variety of businesses from weaving tapestries, to raising chickens, to managing storefronts, and more. Get to know the journey of these 3 ladies:
Yanet - Teotitlan del Valle
Yanet and her husband have a weaving business in a lovely setting, a little ways out from Teotitlan. Yanet used to work for En Via. She began in En Via and used her loans to fund her jewelry business and reinvested the profits from her business to fund her education. She is one of the oldest members of En Via, almost since the nonprofit started.
Carmen - Teotitlan del Valle
Before joining En Vía in 2021, Carmen worked as an employee making traditional rugs. When the pandemic hit, she lost her job. She began making and selling piñatas and papel picado for parties. When she received her first loan from En Vía, Carmen began to make and sell artisan ice cream, a skill that she learned from her father-in-law. The quality of her ice cream helped her store to quickly grow in popularity.
Ariadna - San Sebastián Abasolo
Ariadna first joined En Vía as a garlic-grower. She would grow garlic and sell it in the Tlacolula market. When she became pregnant, she realized she had to find a different kind of work that wasn't so tiring. She had previously worked in a hardware store in town, so she decided to open her own. She used her En Vía loans to transform the front rooms of her house into her new shop. Over the years, she has grown her business rapidly.
To learn more about Fundacion En Via
and how you can help other women reach their entrepreneurial dreams, please
click here.
*Source: Fundación En Vía
*Images: Fundación En Vía
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