Recently, the downturn in the economy has caused many women to re-evaluate their career paths and even shift priorities. For those of you brave women who are looking to do well while doing good, I offer some tips from my work with Mitz, in the hope that it helps lead you to fulfillment as an agent of social change and entrepreneur. Taking responsibility for the success – or failure – of an initiative on which my community depends has been both incredibly rewarding and daunting, but it is not impossible.
1) Look Close To Home
Mitz started from what I cared about most, not what I knew best. I was working as a teacher at Casa de los Niños de Palo Solo, the only Montessori school for low-income families in Mexico City. The school is a haven, but many children needed financial help to have the opportunity to attend. While the school was always stretching to try to reach more children, scholarships did not solve the problem entirely. Parents were often left to choose between food and shelter or education.
While I’d found individual donors to help some families with medical, nutritional and financial needs, this was not enough. For Palo Solo and the community to thrive, it was clear we needed to find a way to generate income for the school and to involve the community in the success of the school and the children it serves. The solution also had to go deeper and fundamentally change mindsets.
Click here to see photos from the Mitz cooperative.
2) Follow Your Passion, but Make a Studied Choice
While visiting the mountains near Palo Solo, I was approached by a Nahua Indian woman who asked me to buy a hand-woven bag intricately sewn out of scraps of candy wrappers. She simply said “mitz,” meaning “for you” in the traditional Nuahtl language. I was immediately charmed by the beautiful bag crafted from the only material available – bits of trash.
In 2003, the severe economic crisis in Mexico left 65 percent of our schoolchildren’s parents unemployed, and I looked to these beautiful handicrafts to become both a source of income and a way to teach children about the environment. A group of four women from Palo Solo went to the village to learn the weaving technique from the Nahua women. Children helped to collect scraps. We began to find customers, but we were searching for ways to make the project bigger – and more impactful than selling a few souvenirs.
How a Little Can Go a Long Way
3) Think Outside the Box, But Bigger
From the start, it was very clear to me that we had to alter the community’s attitude about poverty – from charity to productivity and dignity. The families of Casa de los Niños de Palo Solo needed an opportunity to provide for themselves so that they could grow and prosper.
Mitz is more than a moneymaking project. It is a program that is inclusive, educational, economically sustainable and environmentally friendly. The project now supports more than 140 families. Everyone plays a part in the process required to make a Mitz product and everyone reaps the benefits of success.
At the beginning it all happened quickly and easily. We began creating the demand, the clients rolled in and the four artisans we started with quickly became 100. As time went by the technique and quality of our products shared significant improvement.
We had a great idea, but in order to be successful, we needed an extra boost to get these bags on the market. Without formal business education, resources or the ability to distribute to the masses, we were in limbo.
Click here for steps 4 & 5
[Photo Credit: Shutterstock]
