The Province
of Azuay, in the south of Ecuador, holds an
important place in the development of artisan
products. Towns such as Gualaceo, Cuenca, Chordeleg,
Paute and Sigsig have historically been known
for their artistic abilities. The making of
artisan products is important to the habitants
of these towns socially, culturally and economically.
In the case
of the Gualaceo area, the important artistic
activity is knitting and weaving by hand either
to create Panama hats, fabric for shawls, or
knit sweaters. These products all have a unique
beauty and quality that is special to this area.
They also represent an important source of income
for families.
The county
of Gualaceo is located in the central-tropical
area of the province of Azuay, forty kilometers
from the city of Cuenca. Due to extensive soil
erosion, agriculture has become very labor-intensive
and low yielding. This has caused the inhabitants
of the area, especially young-adults, to choose
immigration as a way to improve their lives.
This of course has had a negative effect on
families, but a dynamic and generally positive
effect on the economy of the region.
In the county
of Gualaceo, 56% of the population is female
and 40% live in rural areas.
The Andes
of Azuay woman.
Artisanship in this region has great social and cultural importance. It constitutes a major source of employment and income for the families. The artisan women possess highly developed skills in the crafts that they inherited from their ancestors. They participate not only in artisan production, but also manage homes and families. Many women in Azuay are full-time workers as well as head of household.
Women work in agricultural positions, which, when the male head of the households emigrates temporarily or permanently, become the woman's most important responsibility making her, in effect, the bread-winner of the family.
Actual production on the part of the woman takes place inside the home, but once the product is finished it must be taken outside of it. In this contact with the external market, the woman artisan brings into play her skills of establishing relationships with people, on the basis of her experience as a woman, and a country woman, her individual personality, and her cultural background.
Women weavers, on an individual basis, have no access either to primary materials or to direct marketing of their sweaters. There are three areas where they need some kind of collective help. They are: design, knowledge of the market in which they operate, and reinforcement of their collective identity as workers and of their labor organization.
The Cooperative Tejemujeres was founded in 1992 in Gualaceo, in the province of Azuay. Ninety-eight women united in knitting currently work for the cooperative with the goal of improving the social and economic conditions of their families, communities and their society.
Tejemujeres inherited a tradition of skilled and quality knitting that began in the age of the Incans. Generation after generation, the able hands of the knitter has developed an extensive variety of products to satisfy the demands of the international market.
We are constantly renovating our line of products with exclusive designs and products. We produce only products made of 100% natural wool, alpaca, and cotton fibers.
The profits of the cooperative are used to pay the associates fair wages and to finance our social, medical, and technical programs. Our goal is to not only improve our technical skills, but also our way of life.
The cooperative "Tejemujeres" was founded in 1992 in Gualaceo by a group of thirty-nine women artisans who found themselves united in the activity of weaving as means of survival.
Between the years of 1994 and 1999, with the help of SENDAS, (an NGO) a project entitled, "The Consolidation of the Cooperative Tejemujeres" was initiated. The project was financed through the Canadian Ecuadorian Development fund. The project has the objective to, "Better the lives of local women, their families, and communities and to promote gender relations." Specifically, the objectives were to, "Better the incomes of local women by means of directly selling knitted sweaters at fair prices." The second goal was to help the Cooperative become self-sufficient.
In December of 1999 the cooperative became self-sufficient as SENDAS ended their financial assistance program. The same year Ecuador instituted the process of dollarization, making the US dollar the official currency of Ecuador. This new monetary policy caused various problems for the small business sector of the country. These years forced the Cooperative and its members to adapt and to consolidate to the actual economic and political conditions of the country while achieving stability and growth of the organization.
Tejemujeres is now formed of artisans from different rural communities in the county: Pagrán, Zharban, Guazhalan, Chaguarloma, San Francisco, Laguan, Huinzhun, Jumpiran, and Granda. The constant improvement and innovation in our products has allowed us to export since 1995 to countries such as Spain, Belgium, England, Ireland, The United States, and Canada.
We use 100% natural wool, alpaca, and cotton fibers. These are the same type of fibers used by factories in the northern part of the country.
Hand knitting is a flexible activity, in that it can be accomplished in the associate's spare time. In this manner, the associate is still able to maintain her essential responsibilities to family, home, and community while earning an fair wage.
Tejemujeres is completely environmentally responsible. Our fibers are natural and hand knitting causes no type of contamination. Our associates use knitting needles and crochet needles. Also, we purchase colored fibers from environmentally responsible producers.
Every single one of our products goes through our rigorous quality control process before it is offered to our clients. We also have the ability to sew labels onto our products to meet our client's needs. In addition, we pack orders according the requirements of our clients.
Origin and Constitution
