Wayuu women
The culture and tradition of Wayuu Indians is slowly dying. More and more young women are leaving the homeland of the Guajira desert, traveling to distant cities in search of work. In isolation from the community, they do not cultivate the traditions of their mothers and grandmothers. And yet having the ability to create a product that combines utility, art and beauty, while carrying a personal story, they should be able to stay at their place of birth. But the women of Wayuu do not have a business, they do not speak English, and they sell their products only at local markets, so it is not possible to buy original handbags directly from them. We learned about this with pain when ordering handbags, described as ‘Wayuu’ from several Colombian brokers offering them on the Internet.
As you might guess, the quality of the bags was poor, the colours and sizes were very different from those shown in the pictures, and most of them changed into a flat ‘pancake’ when unfolded, probably stuffed only for photo sessions. We also started wondering: How can we be certain that these are handbags made by women from the Wayuu tribe?
It was at that time that we came across a blog of a young Colombian Jade, who was passionate about Wayuu Indian culture and became their promoter and ambassador. Jade directly cooperates and simultaneously supports several dozen Wayuu families. She spends a few months of the year in Guajira, a desert in the northern part of Columbia, which is the home of the Wayuu Indians, organising, among others weaving workshops or business basics courses for young women. With her actions, she tries to find solutions that will allow the women of the Wayuu tribe to make a living by cultivating the traditions of their ancestors. Jade’s approach to help is identical to our understanding of this concept.
Thanks to this, we have the ability to track the manufacturing process of our amazing bags via video chats.
When referring to ‘WOMEN4WOMEN’ we want to ‘give a pole, not a fish’. After many discussions and video calls, we managed to earn Jade’s trust and establish a relationship, which translated into business cooperation. We also get to know the artists themselves and everyday life in the Wayuu tribe. Thanks to our Colombian expert, we can be sure that the product we offer will be of top quality. We regret to note that, like every unique item, Wayuu Mochilas also have their factory copy. They differ in both price and quality, but above all they do not carry real human history.
Jeżeli zaciekawił Was ten wpis, to zostańcie jeszcze chwilkę i przeczytajcie zamieszczony poniżej list od Jade, która jest nie tylko naszym parterem biznesowym, ale przede wszystkim przewodnikiem po niesamowitym świecie kobiet Wayuu.
Na koniec musimy jednak Was lojalnie ostrzec: im więcej wzorów Mochila bags obejrzycie tym trudniej będzie Wam wybrać tą jedyną!