Announcing the good news to Mario

On Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 2) we had our first weekly meeting with Mario and we announced him the good news about the Convenio, he was very happy and asked us quickly when we can start the design workshops. We still have to coordinate with Patty but we plan to start the design workshops next week. In addition Ian and myself agreed to organize some workshops to teach them twice a week basic English, we will probably start in the next two weeks. All the issues about the workshops will have to be discussed next Sunday at the general meeting of the Artisans Association but unfortunately Ian and I will not be able to attend because we are going to hike Machu Picchu…! However Daniel (the new guy responsible of the project for Nexos, see above) will attend the meeting on Sunday.

Learning Mario´s Trade

Since it was the end of our stay in Urubamba, Mario said he´d like us to see his workshop where he makes jewelry. We also brought Arnaud, so he would have the chance to meet Mario before we left. We also got to meet Mario´s wife, since she picked us up for the long walk to the shop. When we got there, we saw the tools he uses to create the rings, earrings and pendants. He also showed us the different forms silver comes in (tiny sliver balls, which are turned into sticks of silver, which are then turned into whatever Mario creates). As if it wasn´t interesting enough to learn all that, Mario then asked if we wanted to make rings for ourselves. Of course! We started with thin strips of silver, then added even smaller strips for detail. We had to heat them until they were glowing so we could solder them together. Then we had to use metal-cutting scissors to trim off the excess. Then somehow, Mario fashioned it into a circle, which we had to pound- a lot- to make it smooth. Finally, it had to go into a jar of chemicals and then Mario used a machine to shine to final product. With a lot of help from Mario, the rings turned out really nice. Who knew playing with a blow torch could be so much fun???

Meeting with Mario and Patty

This much-delay, much-needed meeting went great! Patty and Mario were both able to express their major concerns and we all brainstormed solutions. Mario was concerned about where to begin with the workshops and who would be allowed to participate. Patty and Nexos felt that anyone who was interested would be welcome in the workshops. After weighing the pros and cons of various starting points, we concluded that Christmas products and cuy designs would be the best options. Producing corn-themed products to represent the fertility of the Sacred Valley remains a possibility for the future. Cuy, aka guinea pig, is a common Peruvian dish that I have yet to try, for the reason below. (Picture credit: Howard Banwell)Patty's primary concern was the starting skill level of the artisans. While there is a core group of association members that make their products by hand, Patty thinks that nearly half of the artisans are just buying their merchandise from Cusco and reselling. She stressed that the association should kick them out or change it's name. Mario seemed surprised by Patty's perspective. Patty said that many of the artisans had lied to her about which products they made and did not become obvious until she watched them knit/weave/sew in the previous design workshop. Despite this frustration, Patty agreed that all would be welcome at the workshops and be given the opportunity to become an artisan.

Patty and Mario were both excited to start the workshops and to look for new designs that would be more appealing to local tourists as well as local and international retailers. Now we're all just waiting on the convenio.

Weekly Meeting with Mario

We met with Mario and Dorotea (the secretary) today for our weekly meeting. They were very concerned about getting the new officers up-to-speed and starting the workshops. Mario did not want the artisans thinking the election was merely "por gusto" (for fun).

Mario asked when he could meet with the designer, how long we thought it would take to get the convenio signed and how much the designer charged - in case the artisans' association could afford to pay her from their funds and possibly start classes before the city approved the convenio. This was incredibly encouraging.

I promised to forward Mario a list of products that internet retailers have asked Melissa about, and let him know that Patty had looked over the list and would be targeting her workshops to the products with the greatest demand. Mario happily gave me his email address, but did not remember how to spell Hotmail, since he checks it so infrequently.

Dorotea was excited to see herself on the blog, and Mario asked whether he could post updates as well. (We're working on that.) Progress with the city and the artisans takes quite a bit of persistence (and time), but it's awesome to see the artisans so excited about the work we're doing.

Meeting with the Junta Directiva (Board of Directors)

They like me! They really like me!

After my fourth meeting with the president and second with the secretary and treasurer, I'm finally starting to get the sense that they enjoy meeting with me. Mario is generally a soft-spoken, but he's finally reached a decibel loud enough for me to hear without leaning toward him. The secretary and treasurer will ask me questions directly now, instead of whispering to Mario and having him ask me.

I was told that when they stop calling me "Señorita" and start calling me "Ana", I'll know I'm in. For the most part, they've dropped the formality of señorita, but they haven't started calling me Ana either. But I can feel progress being made.

Mario graciously invited me to see his taller (workshop) next week, and told me he would arrange for me to visit other artisans' homes and workshops as well.

I showed this blog to Mario and the other officers, and - while none of them can read English - they were excited to have a web presence and see pictures of their friends online. They also asked when the next video could be posted. (Hopefully after Sundays election.)

Mario apologized - again - for the low attendance at the last meeting. He told me he informed the artisans that if they were not available for Sunday's vote, the Junta Directiva would appoint the new officers. (Then he asked me if that was okay.)

I had no problem with this. Maybe I'm jaded after three weeks of slow progress, but if Mario's motivated to effect change, I'm going to let him. I'm all for democracy, but I'm also in favor of getting things done. I've justified this position to myself by saying that Mario and the rest of the Junta Directiva were elected by the artisans: appointing other officers is not substantially different than what US Congress and President do. Then again, the word "junta" is not exactly benign and maybe I should be pushing harder for democracy among the artisans.

I am hoping the election happens, but I'm also relieved to have a backup in place.

Weekly Meeting with Mario

Melissa and I just had our weekly meeting with Mario, and to our pleasant surprise, he brought along the association's secretary and treasurer. All three of them were enthusiastic about the progress we made at last week's membership meeting. Mario was impressed that the membership approved the new structure on the same day it was presented. It was great to hear how much they appreciated our help.

There were some specific questions about the upcoming election:
- How would it be run?
- Could someone hold more than one position?
- Would the existing members of the junta directiva (board of directors) be the only ones eligible for the positions on the new junta directiva?

Mario is eager to get the workshops underway, so I felt bad telling him no progress had been made since the designer was on vacation. But his enthusiasm gives me some confidence that the workshops could continue (once started) without constant support from NeVo.

Melissa and I are going by the market tomorrow to answer questions about the election and to ask artisans what words they'd most like to know in English. Then we'll prepare a phonetic vocabulary sheet.

Mario also asked for help working with the municipality and the association's tourism managers to reach out to tour groups. I'm not sure what the status of this project is, but I did tell him that we'd be happy to help them work with municipality.

One meeting down, one to go

I met with Mario, the president of the artisan's association, this morning. We've decided to limit today's general meeting to presenting and discussing the proposed structure. Our goal is get the members to approve the structure and send them home with task of selecting potential officers in preparation for an election at next week's meeting.

Currently the associations structure consists of a president and a board of directors, but other than the president, treasurer, secretary and policeman, the roles are very loosely defined. We're asking them to elect 11 more positions:

• Sales Director (Director de Ventas)
• Purchaser (Comprador)
• City Representative (Municipalidad)
• Director of Education (Director de Educacion)
  
• 4 Sales Managers (Gerentes de Ventas) - one for each sales channel: the physical market, tradeshows/fairs, wholesalers, internet
• 3 VP's (subpresidentes) - one for each category of crafts: knits, ceramics, jewelry

Here's the proposed structure:
Right now, I've got to get busy preparing the presentation on papelotes (big sheets of paper); not surprisingly, there's no projector at the mercado for the extensive PowerPoint presentation.