Currently we operate the following programs:
YANAMILLA PRISON PROJECT
Peru is the second largest exporter of co***ne in the world and also one of the poorest countries in South America. 44.5% of the population lives below the poverty line. There is virtually no assistance to the poor, especially to those in the high Andes. Many women living in the Andes have no access to education and find the o
nly way they can support their families is by trafficking small quantities of drugs. The women are often coerced into this work and drug sentencing laws in Peru are extremely strict. 85% of the women incarcerated in the Yanamilla Prison are incarcerated for drug-related offenses. These women typically serve 10-15 year sentences. The Yanamilla Prison Project assists these women in several ways. Income Generation
In Peru, prisoners are obligated to pay a monthly fee for their incarceration and many women have children to support inside and outside the prison. The first, and immediate, goal of the project is to help the women generate income while incarcerated by helping them sell their products at fair trade prices. We work with the women in developing new products using traditional Andean materials and establishing a stable market for their goods in the United States. By creating economic opportunities for these women, Ruraq Maki hopes they will see there are alternative employment options to the drug trade and will pursue these options upon their release. Education
Ruraq Maki supports the women by providing free educational workshops that help the women acquire new skills that they can use to generate income. We offer basic and advanced jewelry classes, basic and intermediate wire working classes, and fabric bead making classes. These workshops are open to all women and all materials are provided. As a result of our classes, the women have begun to make and sell their designs independently within Peru. Ruraq Maki also purchases and sells the women’s jewelry and all proceeds go to support our education program. Visit our Store to see the women’s designs. Work Center and Technical School
One of the biggest challenges facing recently released women is a lack of job opportunities and transitional assistance. The women frequently have no other options besides returning to trafficking. As one women told us:
“There are few jobs in Peru and the jobs that are here are exploitive and abusive. After she left, my friend had to move to Argentina to find work. Now she sells vegetables in the street. When I am released, I will do any work I can find”
–Marleny, Yanamilla Prison
Ruraq Maki’s long-term goal is to create a work space that recently released and low-income women can use to create products and access expensive equipment such as sewing machines. This work space will also serve as a central location for the women to sell their goods and receive further technical training so they can continue to expand their skills. MANOS INDEPENDIENTES
Independencia is a small, rural Andian community located in central Bolivia and is home to many rural female weavers living in extreme poverty. Through the innovative program PAZA (www.pazabolvia.org), female weavers have received technical weaving and dyeing education that has given them greater control over the production process. PAZA has sparked a revival in weaving amongst the women of Independencia and these women are returning to the weaving traditions of their past. However, while the women are creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces, they have few outlets to sell their goods. As a result, they still struggle to feed and educate their children and must work low paying agricultural jobs to survive. In August 2012, Ruraq Maki and PAZA formed a collaboration and Ruraq Maki assists the women of Independencia in designing and creating bags from their weavings that will later be sold in the United States. Like the Yanamilla Prison project, Ruraq Maki pays fair trade standard wages, ensures an equal distribution of work, and encourages artistic expression among the weavers. Additionally, Ruraq Maki supports educational programs within the community to help the women gain additional income-generating skills.
