Day 7: Artists

Highlights:

Today I got a sneak peek of our embroidered jewelry order that we are collecting tomorrow and the work the women are doing is amazing! This might be one of the best rounds yet of our embroidered jewelry and we have a new group of women working on the order. The best part is that one of the new women approached me today and asked me if she could continue making jewelry for future orders because she likes it so much. That’s wonderful because part of our mission is creating work that the women like to do!

We also made earrings today! For today’s project, instead of sample, I brought loose ideas because I wanted the women to experiment with their own ideas. Something that we often see in the local market is that people replicate other people’s designs. Often the artisan stands have the same products over and over again. 

We, on the other hand, want to encourage the women to explore their own creativity and design ideas. An they are! Each woman approached the metal stamped earrings differently and their personalities as artists stood out. While some went complex with lots of patterns and pieces layered together, others went simple, clean, and minimal with inspiration words and phrases. 

Seeing the women step into themselves as artists and develop a unique style is inspiring. This is how they go beyond techniques to designers. And this is the first step to building a brand for their work. 

After the prison I had lunch with Gladys, who used to be incarcerated and was released in 2016. We had a great time catching up over lunch and she is doing well. The only hard things is that she also has osteoporosis (again the doctors think due to the prison conditions) and she broke her foot a few months ago. 

To get to her house requires walking down a big rocky hill. That means that while her foot was broken she was unable to work because she couldn’t walk. Instead, she stayed in bed for several months. Because of this she lost some of the momentum of her sewing business. Also, she told me that her hands are weak and hurting, which means it’s much harder for sew.

Not to fear, though! Gladys is a natural entrepreneur and has a new business going to Lima to buy used American clothing and then to the jungle to sell the clothes at a small markup. She just got back from one round of doing this and is going back next week to do it again. She says it’s going very well. 

To me, Gladys is the true definition of an entrepreneur. She’s always thinking of new ways to earn money and following through with her plans. 

Day 6: Released

Highlights:

This trip I’ve been getting to know one of the younger women in our class, Claudia. She’s been in our classes before but has been somewhat shy and not spoken much. Yesterday we had a long conversation about her impending release, which should be happening this month (we hope!).

Originally, she was supposed to leave last month, but there was a problem with her papers. Now, due to the problem, she is stressed about leaving and if something will go wrong again. Claudia is a single mother of a 6 years old daughter who is currently living with relatives. We spoke about how hard it is to be everything to a child, and not just being the primary financial earner, the primary disciplinarian or primary caregiver, but also being both mother and father.

Another thing that came up in our conversation was the importance of having a plan when leaving the prison. Claudia told me, “When you’re in here, you think about every moment outside. Why am I here? What did I do to get here? What can I do so I never come back? I’ve spent a lot of the past few years reflecting on what brought me here.”

She thinks that the reason some women return is that they don’t have a plan when their released- which makes it easy to fall back into drug trafficking. For Claudia, a plan is the most important thing she can leave with. Knowing what steps she needs to take to get to her ultimate goal is what motivates her. She told me, “My plans are going to work out. You’ll see.”

Today I also had lunch with one of the women who was released last year, after 13 years of incarceration, Marleni. She is doing so well! She’s living with her family and daughters, who are encouraging her to travel throughout Peru and rest while she’s away from Ayacucho. She doesn’t like being in the city because everywhere she goes, if people know she was incarcerated, they say, “Oh poor thing.” (and she is DEF not a poor thing).

But, she’s enjoying her trips with her family and alone, spending time with her daughters, and going out to the campo and listening to the rain.

She also told me that after her release she went to Lima for a full medical checkup. There she found out that she has osteoporosis and the doctors think it’s because of the diet and living conditions in the prison. She is now on a year long treatment plan, but still has pain in her joints and bones.

After she received her diagnosis, she called her friend, another women released from the prison, and told her to have a checkup. That woman went for a check up and also has osteoporosis, which explains why right after she was released she broke her arm and broke her foot a few months ago. While we always knew the prison had a negative impact on the women’s emotional and mental health, now we are seeing the impacts on their physical health.

Beyond her physical health (which is being treated), she’s doing fantastically and it was such a joy to spend the day with her!

Day 5: Productive Prisons

Highlights:

INPE, Peru’s national penitentiary system, has started an initiative called Carceles Productivas, which is a is a program that encourages inmates to work and earn money. And of course, the biggest issue is that inmates need order to produce in order to work and earn a living. This is where Carceles Productivas comes in. (We talked about this initiative when it was in its early stages here)

The new initiative is part of the entire Peruvian penitentiary system, not just an Ayacucho. The program encourages businesses in Peru and abroad to partner with inmates in the prison and contract them to produce items for the business. These can be items the inmates are already producing, or items that the business wants them to produce. In the latter case, businesses can provide training to the inmates so they have the skills to make the products.

Part of what this initiative has done is make it easier for businesses and NGOs to come into the prison systems and work directly with the inmates. The inmates are paid directly from the businesses and the prison doesn’t take a cut of their earnings. However, a small portion is set aside to help the inmates pay for their fines, which must be paid before they are released. This is important, because if you don’t pay your fine you may have to extend your sentence and this system ensures inmates can leave on time.   

The program also gives inmates benefits, which enable them to work toward time off their sentence. Through the program, one year of work equals about a month off their sentence. Over the course of 10-15 years, this adds up!

One of the things that is not so great about this program is that only certain types of work qualifies under the program and the type of work that does qualify is mostly done by the men. Of the list of work that qualifies, only one of the items on the list pertains to the women’s workshops. Informal embrodiery and weaving work does not count. That means it will be harder for them to connect with businesses and, while they do get some benefits for their work, they don’t get as many as under the program.

Hopefully, with time, the program will evolve to include less formalized work and more work that is produced by the women!

Today we also received some really great feedback about our workshop with Kani in 2017, when they taught a 2-week session on quality control and working in a production group. One of the NGOs that work with the women told us that they’ve seen a significant difference in the way the women work. They are more careful about the quality of their products and more patient with the products they produce. They also have transitioned to working in group, rather than individually, and cooperating on orders.

Finally, here’s a photo of today’s class project- stamped and riveted rings!

Day 4: Why We Need to Show Up


 

Highlights:

Today we continued working on cold connections with riveting. On Friday we made pendants with riveted pieces layered on top of each other, which taught the women the basics of riveting. Today we took it one step further riveted bangles!

We’re starting to see the different techniques from this program cycle coming together. For example, today’s project has three techniques from the class. We have stamped letters and words, stamped textures, and riveting- all in one bracelet!

You may be thinking, “Just three techniques?” but remember, they’ve only been doing this for a week and a half. After just four days of classes they’re already layering techniques together, which speaks to what incredible artisans the women are.

Today when I got into the prison, Elizabeth told me she was crying in her sleep last night. She had a dream that nobody came to the prison anymore and that we (Ruraq Maki and other organizations that support the women) abandoned her. She said she was crying in her dream and in her sleep.

This morning she was okay and gave me a big hug when she told me about the dream, but this dream demonstrates why we have to be consistent in our work here. Beyond consistency we need to amplify it because that’s how much it means to them to have people offering classes and activities.

Within the dream, there’s fear of being forgotten, fear of not being important enough to show up for, fear of being alone in the prison, and fear of not being able to continue personal growth and expansion, which is a lot of what these women are doing in these classes.

The process of learning a skill and learning how to do something is extremely important because that process teaches us that we’re capable. It teaches us that we have the agency to change something because we’re changing our knowledge set. It teaches us that we can acquire new skills. And learning something new is an accomplishment that boosts our confidence.

We need to continue to show up for the women and we need to continue to build more resources for them when we can’t be here. We are at a point where we, as an organization, are asking ourselves how we can show up for the women, even if we aren’t physically here. So that fear of Elizabeth’s, that nobody will come, that she’ll get left alone, that she’ll be forgotten, never happens.

We have a goal of hiring an in-country staff person, ideally a formerly incarcerated women, to run our program here so that we can continue offering classes, sales orders, and support to the women. If you’d like to see this goal happen, please make a donation! Resources are the number one obstacle to meeting this goal!

Gift Ideas For Spreading the Love on Valentine’s Day

During Valentine’s Day, we uplift our loved ones with acts of kindness and remind them how much we value their friendship. Wouldn’t it be great if you could express a thank you to a friend that also benefits an individual in need of support?

The products at Ruraq Maki are handmade by incarcerated women in Peru and the proceeds from our sales program helps them to earn a fair and just income. (Please take a moment to read about the program and our commitment to help the women in it.) Not only do these beautiful pieces of jewelry, bags, and home goods make great gifts, but the act of kindness that your loved one receives when you purchase a gift will be shared by women in poverty who are seeking a new opportunity for a sustainable life after prison.

Here are a few gift ideas from our catalog that we like to send to our friends and think your loved ones will enjoy too!

Featuring embroidery specific to the Central Andes of Peru, the Ayachucho Tote is made from traditional, handwoven manta. Make a statement with this elegant and versatile bag.

 

Carry it on your wrist or store it in your purse, this bright and lovely Embroidered Manta Cosmetic Bag is the perfect accessory to our manta bags.

 

A larger bag with vibrant colors and durable double straps, the Janna Hobo is made from handwoven, cotton manta. It will surely give you the flexibility you need on weekend visits or a trip to the gym.

 

This adjustable ring is perfect when you’re unsure of her size. Just the right amount of elegance and fun! More styles are available.

 

Handwoven manta earrings are a popular gift and they show off the unique style of weaving in the Andes region of Peru. Wear them by day or dress up at night with this splash of color.  

We hope that you’ll include the women in our program in your Valentine’s Day giving.

Purchase these gifts and more in our online store: https://squareup.com/store/ruraq-maki/