Artisan Crafted Handbags
Empowering women and communities. Across the board, Mercado Global partner artisans are thriving in comparison to the national average.
99% of MG artisans’ children are enrolled in school.
35% of children are enrolled in school in Guatemala’s rural areas.
64% of MG artisans have a personal bank account.
Only 27% of the indigenous population have bank accounts.
73% of MG artisans have access to the food and nutrition they need.
Only 45% of Guatemala's indigenous rural population has access to proper nutrition.
84% of MG artisans are in a leadership position despite the inequality faced in a male-dominated society.
Guatemala has the fourth highest rate of gender-motivated violence in the world.
Fresh carrots and fruit licuados, or smoothies, are essential ingredients in the home of artisan Gloria Liliana Elizabeth Xiquin Sosa of Mercado Global’s Santa Maria cooperative. For Gloria and her family, good nutrition is not a simply a choice, but a necessity.
Though she may have just finished discussing her family’s difficult economic situation and the challenges she and her husband have endured, the moment her daughters are mentioned, the worries disappear. A concerned and tired woman is instantly replaced by a beaming mother who can’t contain her pride.
Though she may have just finished discussing her family’s difficult economic situation and the challenges she and her husband have endured, the moment her daughters are mentioned, the worries disappear. A concerned and tired woman is instantly replaced by a beaming mother who can’t contain her pride.
