Our Impact
How does it work?
Hand in Hand, for Development
At Cojolya, we believe that multigenerational development requires trust and a receptive team.
1
Education- Every child deserves equal and equitable access to education, necessary education resources, and encouragement.
2
Personal Development- An understanding of equity, equality, and human rights contribute to a better quality of life.
3
Professional Development- Diversification of production skills and weaving techniques is vital in developing professionally.
We are in a formative time in the life of our Association, as we monitor and evaluate our goals and further include the families of our artisans in our mission. Mano a Mano para el Desarrollo, a program conceived in April of 2017, aims to do exactly that. Read below about the three sections of our approach.
Education
We believe that an education rich with support, assistance, and emphasis on learning and goal-creation is vital in bettering the lives of our artisans and their families. Currently, we are in the beginning stages of the monitoring and evaluation process of our education program, as we assess and analyze the needs of our students through in-depth interviews with students and parents. Using the information from these interviews, we will compose and modify our program to accurately address the needs of our families.
Mano a Mano por el Desarollo
Personal Development
​This area of the Mano a Mano program focuses on empowering our artisans through discussions centered around equity, equality, and human rights. As 25 of our 30 artisans are women, we center much of the personal development section of our program around women's rights and women's empowerment. Furthermore, above all else, we listen to what type of discussions and training our artisans desire, and create our discussions based on their needs.
Professional Development
Our professional development training focuses on teaching our artisans techniques necessary to further diversify their abilities. If a design requires specific weaving techniques, which our weavers haven't yet mastered, we seek out people in and around our community who can help. This allows us to produce more diverse products, and ultimately aids our weavers if they go on to create their own businesses.
