COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Ovidia Cardona Jiménez
OVIDIA CARDONA JIMÉNEZ, ARTISAN WEAVER

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

I was convinced we could pull through together

“I am 40 years old, I am a single mother with a 17-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter and I live in Chamaque, Comitancillo, San Marcos. Due to the poverty and limited opportunities of this small village, I have gone many times to the southwestern farms to earn some money. For 22 years I have been knitting with a group of people, but we had not very good payment terms. So I decided to travel to San Marcos to work for an artisan who paid me weekly. However, I soon realized how far I was from my family and workmates, so I returned to share my experience with them, as I was convinced that we could pull through together.

I was convinced we could
pull through together

In 2015, FUNDAP gave us productive technical training and production material through its Handicraft Program. Thanks to their support, I have learned new techniques, calculations, dyeing and thread gluing. It has contributed to the diversification and improvement of the quality of our products. I am even going to produce new designs and keep looking for better sources of income, since what we earn currently is not enough. I wonder “What would I do if I had not learned to knit?” thanks to that, my son could continue his studies in high school. Now I am helping my daughter who is finalizing her third grade and I also want to help her with the rest of her studies. I want to continue working with my team, trusting in God and having opportunities.”

Description

HANDICRAFT

Ovidia is forty years old and single mom of two children. She told us about how she and ten other weavers that compose the CEDEC group (from aldea Chamaque, Comitancillo, San Marcos), learned new thread-dyeing techniques, which allowed her to improve the quality of her children’s education.