project of the month

We are in the canton of Sìgsig, in the province of Azuay, an area populated by around 30,000 people.

Here the economy is centred on agriculture and manufacturing. The manual labour force employed in the local craft industry – mainly the production of straw hats – is completely female, and is exploited and underpaid by those that market the hats. The region also has high levels of immigration – many men leave to seek work – and so the burden of supporting the family, usually quite large, falls on the women. The overall situation is therefore quite complicated, mainly because women, and therefore their families, live in the most precarious of economic conditions as a result of the meagre wages they receive.

The Daughters of Mary Auxiliatrix – which have worked in the region since 1908 – have always been sensitive to the female question and recently launched an interesting initiative aimed at protecting these workers. The result is the creation of the Mary Auxiliatrix Association of hat weavers, designed to promote development and support the work of women, enabling them to sell the hats directly to customers.

Now the DMA are planning to launch a microcredit project for women employed in the production of straw hats. The aim is to create a fund that makes it possible to purchase the raw materials, produce and market the hats, as well as permanently train the women involved in the initiative.

The overall budget for the microcredit project is €120,000, a fairly considerable sum on the surface but one that would make it possible to support the only craft industry in the area, significantly favouring the development of the entire canton. A small donation is enough to help the women of Sìgsig and their families to build a dignified future!