The non-profit organization, Manos de Madres ("Hands of Mothers"), was founded in 2007 by Susan Moinester and her daughters Arielle and Margot. Manos de Madres is dedicated to building pathways out of poverty by empowering women through craft-based initiatives founded on the principles of cooperation, creativity and sustainability.
The vision of Manos de Madres began in Honduras in 2003 with the work of Arielle Moinester and the coffee cooperative COFEACOMA. In a joint effort, Arielle and COFEACOMA developed a women's income generation project in an effort to help alleviate poverty and reduce the communities' environmental degradation through the repurposing of trash into crafts. The project also sought to empower women through multilevel training and education. Since its inception, the project and the products, entitled "Trash Bags of Honduras", have met and exceeded international fair trade standards. The Trash Bags initiative has grown from three women to seventy-two and their income has been used to provide education to their children, improve family nutrition and sanitation, purchase farmland and develop other small businesses.
Margot Moinester expanded upon the reach of Manos de Madres in the summer of 2007 during her internship with WE-ACTx (Women's Equity in Access to Care and Treatment). WE-ACTx is a community- based initiative headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda dedicated to treating women infected with HIV/AIDS, many of whom are survivors of genocidal rape and sexual violence. In 2006, WE-ACTx started a sewing collective comprised of 25 women in an effort to provide training and develop a sustainable business. The collective has been vital to healing the physical and emotional wounds of the women, but had generated little income. Margot's collaboration with the collective resulted in the introduction of a line of personal accessories that the women have entitled INEZA -"lending a helping hand to those who are most vulnerable" - geared towards the international market and supported and sold through Manos de Madres.
Manos de Madres was born from both appreciation of women's handcrafts and the realization that greater support is needed to fully achieve the goals of initiatives like Trash Bags and INEZA. Through Manos de Madres, we are working to expand the scope of our outreach programs to aid in the development of cooperatives and to foster entrepreneurship and sustainable businesses for craftswomen around the world.
Manos de Madres - Beautiful products made with hope and joy by the loving hands of extraordinary women. |
