Task Force

Economic Empowerment of Women Artisans Facing Natural Disasterin the North of Peru (Piura case)
Women Artisans Network “Weaving Hopes”
Ms. Carmen LEDESMA (Peru)

External part of theWorkshop Tent of theartisan women's network“Weaving Hopes”, which
was full of visitors during asale at a fair held fromDecember 2017 to January
2018

Interior of the Workshop setup for the productive
activities of the artisan
women

Windows and exhibition inthe sales area

Women
entrepreneurs inaction

Between December 2016 and March 2017, a natural disaster called the Coastal Boy
Phenomenon (El Niño) hit northern Peru, leaving thousands of families affected by theoverflowing of rivers that caused floods in several departments, including Piura. The
catastrophe destroyed homes, agricultural lands, road access and basic services and,
therefore, a state of emergency was declared. In Piura, a total of 141,860 people lost theirhomes as of March 31, 2017. There were 27,981 victims and 34 shelters were installedwith a total of 1,985 tents to protect the population in the districts of Catacaos and Cura
Mori in Piura.
The Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) participated in therelocation of families and women, girls, boys and adolescents in different shelters, andselected the shelter of San Pablo in Catacaos, Piura to concentrate more women with a
total of 267 families. In this context, the MIMP installed Violence Assistance Module
where lawyers and psychologists were stationed in order to prevent violence against
women, and "JUGUEMOS” (Let's Play) Module for children to stimulate their earlyrecovery through games , taking into account the resilience situation of this population
after the natural disaster.

A senior craftswoman
weaving a toquilla straw hat

During the period between 2016 and part of 2017, high rates of violence were recorded
in Piura, averaging 55% cases of psychological violence, 36% physical, 9% sexual, inaddition to 3 cases of femicide and 9 cases of attempted femicide. Behind this situation
was a condition in which displaced women and children were exposed to other forms ofviolence. In Piura, 2,757 cases of violence were registered in 2016 only.
The economically active female population of Piura was 40% (370 thousand people),with 82.5% of women engaged in the informal sector.

Workshop for artisan women

Lactation area with cots tobreastfeed the children
while their mothers areworking

Play area for their smallchildrenTent of Women’s Emergency
Center that serves to attend
victims of violence cases in
the San Pablo settlement

Toquilla straw
products handwoven
by women artisans

In this context of displaced women, the MIMP, together with its National Program
Against Family and Sexual Violence, designed an intervention strategy to promote thegeneration of income for women to achieve their economic autonomy through thedevelopment of their productive abilities to weave toquilla straw products―traditional
crafts of Piura with great recognition ― using natural resources in the area as acomparative advantage over other regions. Out of the total of 267 women in the shelter, inthe first phase of the intervention in the second half of 2017, over 100 women were trainedin the design of innovative straw products to enter the market. In order to support thispilot project of women entrepreneurs, a network of women artisans called Weaving Hopes
was created in the district of Catacaos in Piura Region, aiming to promote futuresustainability and women’s economic independence with the objective of promoting theireconomic autonomy by building their capacity for producing straw products and addressingcommercial issues, as well as by cultivating their leadership while applying gender andintercultural approaches.

The MIMP has given technical assistance and been cooperating with the private sector,
other state institutions, regional corporations such as BELCORP to facilitate the women’sempowerment and economic autonomy, as well as with others with a knowledge aboutcolors and fashion trends of the products and services to make them more competitive andpromote them to the market with sustainable projections.
The artisan women displaced and located in the San Pablo shelter did not have a spacefor designing their products, and therefore a module was installed as a workshop (10meters wide, 17 meters long, and 4 meters high) with a space suitable for preparing theirproducts, receiving training, and exhibitions and sales, which is divided into 4 areas: theproduct elaboration area, the marketing area, the lactation area with cots to breastfeed
their children while working, and the play area for their small children. It has anintercultural approach respecting the way the artisans work at round tables―talking andsitting on cushions as they do their work, with the model of the product put at the center.

Selling the products of thewomen artisans at fairs
and different institutions
for Christmas 2017

Currently, there are approximately 200 women who have joined the network, selling
their products in shopping centers and at the request of companies. The MIMP has
designed the second phase of the intervention to expedite access to the international
market that is in the process of being implemented. The strategy of this project helps thewomen out of violence and poverty as they say: “We feel free and weave hopes of growth for
our life free of violence with economic empowerment.”

BeforePrior situation in thearea of womenartisans in the San
Pablo shelter in
Catacaos, Piura

Basic tent where it wasimpossible to teach 100
artisan women how toweave toquilla straw
products

Classroom of a children‘sschool where the women
received classes in toquillastraw weaving prior to theestablishment of themodule for artisan products
workshopYoung mother serves asthe leader of the women’snetwork