Update on the Internet Retailers

The work with the elections, the designer, the convenyo, and the meetings is only part of what we have been working on in Urubamba. We have also been quietly working behind the scenes, researching and contacting internet retailers - - in essence, trying to open up new sales channels for our artisans. More work still needs to be done. Follow-up emails are going to be sent, and additional retailers contacted. That said, we have already had some success! We have heard back from a few companies, and one in particular is interested in setting up a meeting with Nexos. It has been a lot of work, getting product pictures and trying to establish wholesale prices with the artisans, but I am hopeful it will be worth it. It will be a long process, but the new volunteers are poised to take over where we left off.

We have also reached out to other Peruvian NGOs with similar interests in assisting the artisans. Specifically, we found three that work with artisan groups around Peru; they train in such areas as costs, production, administration, and sales. Any help they could provide, particularly in design and export, would be invaluable.

That´s not to say it has been all work and no fun with our artisans. We were able to share some laughs, even when I got in on the post-meeting volleyball game and kept hitting it into the street. In my defense, I am pretty sure the market is not a regulation size court...