Day 2: Authorized

Walking up to the prison this morning I had a bucket full of worries about getting in. Would they let me in with my measly received stamp? Would they confiscate my class materials? Would the director be there or would I be forced to wait another day? All of these worries clouded me as I stepped into the prison and was greeted by a stone face new guard I hadn’t met who took his job very seriously.

As it turns out, my received letter wasn’t’ that convincing and the guard made it a point to call the administration for clearance to let me enter. While he was doing this, another guard recognized me and began yelling at him about how I was okay to enter because I was from the NGO Ruraq Maki. Her persistence paired with the administration’s authorization meant it as smooth sailing through the metal detector (with my supplies) and pat down.

When I arrived at the Director’s office he was there and greeted me cheerfully before confirming that everything was fine with my Plan de Trabajo and the new Director of Organo (I still have no idea what this guy does) would write up my permissions. Enter Dr. Castro, a wonderful administrator who made the process extremely easy and stressfree. And, drum roll please, I even have my authorization papers for my next trip! This mean in 6 months I won’t be scrambling around to get my papers day one and two and can begin classes right away. Let’s hear it for more program days!

Even though the process was the simplest it has ever been, it still took an hour and half so the women and I decided to hold off starting the class until we had a full day. Fortunately, I have their papers ready and we can start at 9:30 on Thursday morning.

While with the women we continued working on the pricing for the manta. I had made a draft price list and we went over it and tweaked the amounts based on the cost of the manta. Later, when I got home, I checked these prices against the fair trade calculator and raised the prices to meet a fair trade standard in Peru. I’m excited to give the women the final prices on Thursday because they already agreed that the pricing was very good, and now it is even better with the fair trade standard!

Thursday we get started on the metal stamping class, which will be cross between a jewelry workshop and putting business strategies to practice.

 

Day 1: Manta, Manta, Manta

My first day in the prison was a moderate success. The least exciting part was trying to present my papers to the prison director who was not there today. Instead, I left my Education Plan with his secretary in exchange for a stamp that confirms the papers were received. In theory I should have my authorization papers tomorrow, but it is likely I won’t receive them by the end of the week.

Fortunately, not having paperwork had no bearing on me visiting the women! Ruraq Maki has been accepted to the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, a 3-day market dedicated to preserving and celebrating traditional crafts from around the world. We will be selling embroidered products from the prison, including tote bags, cosmetic cases, and entire mantas. Over 20,000 visitors attend the market and the event will be a wonderful opportunity to display  (and sell) the work of the women.

One of the best parts of our acceptance is that it means a big order for the women in the prison. Not only will we be working with the women in our programs, we will also be extending our order outside our programs as we will be purchasing manta from many women in the prison. Due to the size of the order, I spent most of the day talking about order logistics.

A light blue manta with 4 rows of curros and Ayacuchan style embroidery

A light blue manta with 4 rows of curros and Ayacuchan style embroidery

Most notably, I received a crash course in manta. Apparently there are more types of manta than I can count. First, you choose from two types of weave, a thicker weave and a thinner weave. Next, you choose the number of curros, woven figures, on the manta. The number can range from zero rows (simple) to 9 (the most expensive).

Next, you chose from two embroidery styles- embroidery from Ayacucho or from Huanta. Finally you select your color. Mantas come in white (traditional), black, pure black, light blue, dark blue, grey, and brown. With so many choices, the options are endless, and I spent a good chunk of time trying to arrange an order that would encompass a wide range of styles and price ranges for the fair.

In the coming week, women will sign up for which mantas they wish to produce and will have until mid-March to complete the order. Ruraq Maki pays fair trade prices for the manta, so the women will be earning more than 5 times as much for the manta as they do in their local market.

In addition to the whole mantas, we are also ordering bags and cosmetic cases, which will result in even more embroidery work. This will be the biggest order we have ever placed with the women. We are so thrilled to offer this opportunity to the women!

After working out the order logistics, I spent the rest of the day chatting with the women about the metal stamping class and the day to day activities in the prison. Tomorrow I return to do more order coordination and *fingers crossed* start the metal stamping class!

Day 18: A Time for Goodbyes

Last day in the prison

Yesterday was more officially my last day in the prison, since the women prepared a special send off treat for me: chicarron (fried pork), steamed potatoes, and qapchi, a delicious creamy sauce made from milk, cheese and peanuts. I’m already a big fan of chicarron but the way the women made it, coasted in garlic and salt, then perfectly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, was spectacular.   

While we ate (and I sucked ever bone dry, prompting the women to give me their bones) the women explained some of the nuances of the benefits type of sentence. I hadn’t realized that when someone is sentenced with benefits, they are also required to pay a fine. One of the women, who hopes to be out by November, must pay 4,000 soles ($1,250) before she can be released. When I asked where this money was coming from, she said hopefully her dad can give her a loan. They explained, if you can’t pay, you aren’t released, meaning that the poorest women have to serve their entire sentence, even if they have benefits. 

The other aspect of benefits I didn’t know about is that when these women are released they are required to have a job and a place to live lined up. Housing isn’t too difficult, as most women have families who they can stay with, however, having a job ready when they are released is a huge obstacle. Not only is it difficult to line up work while incarcerated, many people don’t want to hire the women because they have a criminal record. When I asked if the state helped them find work, or if they met with a social worker before leaving, they all looked at me blankly. Clearly not. 

What I find most infuriating about this system is that it requires the women to have the two things that prompted them to become involved in illegal activity in the first place: money and work. Yet the government does nothing to help them with these requirements, nor does it help them once they are released. They are simply released, expected to do better this time around. 

Moving on to happier discussions- yesterday I also talked to the women about what they want to learn in 2016. Leather and silkscreening were at the top of the list for hands on workshops. For more talk based workshops they said they want to learn about how to choose and reach the right market for their products (that specific- I know!) and how to talk to their teenage daughters about safe sex. They are also interested in learning about natural medicine and how to have healthier diets. And jewelry, of course, there are always more earring designs to learn! (No, really, that’s what they told me). 

The best part of that talk was finally the women are telling me what they want, rather than me trying to figure it out through pointed questions. In fact, it got a little hectic with all of them talking at once and me frantically scribbling down their ideas and suggestions. I don’t mind it one bit, though, because it means that the women trust us enough to hear their desires and try to make it happen. 

At the end of the day there were hugs and goodbyes, even though I dropped in briefly today to collect the remainder of my order. No one was too teary eyed, though, we all know in 6 months they will be frying me up some pork again.

One final thing! Today we are launching a fundraising campaign to help purchase high quality pliers for our jewelry classes in Peru & Bolivia. Currently, only 20% of our classroom pliers work properly and these pliers mark and distort the wire. As more women consider turning jewelry making into a business, we believe it is time to get them the necessary tools to do so. 

How you can help? Each plier set (which includes 4 high quality, ergonomic pliers) costs $15 each. Donate $15 and you sponsor one woman in our jewelry making class! Our goal is purchase 25 plier sets to be used in both Peru & Bolivia. 

Donate online or via check to: 41 Leese Street #2, San Francisco, CA 94110!

Click here to donate

 

 

Day 17: The Silkscreening Class in Photos!

Drawing out designs for the stencil

Cutting out the stencil

Watching Ana demonstrate the techniques

Ana helping a student get the right pressure

Applying the ink

Ana demonstrates the drying process as the guard looks on

Used screen

The first look at her very first print

Showing off her first completed print

Class photo!

 

Quotes from the Women: Getting Caught

Today we look at how the women were caught for drug trafficking and their initial contact with the police, in our mini series- Quotes from the Women. If you are new to this series, check out our past week’s topics on why and how the women became involved in drug trafficking.

Interview Questions: What happened when you were caught?

“It was my first time. I was caught by a drug operative. I had taken my car to go to San Francisco, I had been there because the following day was a holiday and so I had brought clothes there to sell and before I left I met up with a man who told me take this package to this place and you will get paid, but you only have to take it to this place and it will be very easy money. So I believed him and put the package inside the suitcases that held my clothes. And a drug operative found it and they took me right away to the police station, where I spent 15 days. They held me there while they investigated me, to see if I had been out of Peru, if I had done it before. [I was searched] because I was nervous, they opened the bags and looked through them and found 4 kilos of cocaine. Well, actually they found 10 kilos but they took 6 and left me with 4 kilos, then arrested me for having 4 kilos. It would have been much more time [if it had been 10 kilos].” 

“I took a car, like a taxi after the bus but the driver of the taxi, brought me to the police, he turned me in because I carried a bag and he put the bag in the car. I had put the bag with the drugs in my suitcase and when he grabbed it he felt that it was heavy and that it wasn’t just a suitcase full of clothes and he took me to the police station. They held me there in Calabozo for 3 days and then they brought me to Acalidinandro in Ayacucho, and they brought me here to Yanamilla, where I have been for the last 8 years.”

“I was in a car when they caught me, I had the drugs on my body, 3 kilos. A man was driving the car, I didn’t know him, and the police stopped it.” 

“I had planned with my mom to come back from trafficking on Father’s Day. I left the location and the police stopped me in an instant, found the drugs in my suitcase and brought me here. [It was] 27 kilos.”

“[My husband] had the drugs in the car, in the inlet and since I was inexperienced I got into the car, here in Ayacucho, and the car got stopped by an operative and they found the drugs. [I was with my husband] for 2 years and he had already been incarcerated in Cusco [for trafficking drugs]. It was my first time getting into the car with him when there were drugs in it.”