I finished my Women’s Group Mothers-to-Mothers Grant Proposal for $2500.00 That was a huge weight off my shoulders. I really hope we get it!!!
I am involved in both the Maya Toledo Women's Council and Laguna's Women's Group. The women's group is under the umbrella of Toledo Maya Womens Council (TMWC) Organization. Leonora and I work with both the Women's group and the TMWC. We both live in Laguna Village community.
I am active in their group to help the women with skills they need to become active citizens in the community. Their goal is to increase revenue from their crafts. However, they need training in literacy, technology, and marketing skills. I help them with their reading and writing skills (I give trainings, which are called Literacy for Action Trainings.) I can help them in literacy skills. However, I have limited knowledge of marketing and bussiness skills. Therefore, I hope this grant can help them receive the marketing skill and bussiness skill training that they need to generate income into the Laguna village.
The Laguna Women's Group need a jump start to marketing their crafts and the TMWC is there to support the group. These women are a strong group of women who gather every Thursday. They have talent in creating cuxtals, baskets, and jewelry, but once it is created they have limited skills in selling it. This is a need in the community. Unemployment is very high in the community. As tradition with the male control over finance they are seeking a way to help support their families even when the male fails to provide the neccessities for the family.
The women's group is motivated to sell their crafts. However, they do not have the proper training to market them successfully. They hope to get more training to learn how to make better quality cuxtals, baskets, and crafts. With this grant we will search for the services and training in bussiness, marketing, and technology to achieve the income generating project goals.
Summary of the Laguna Women’s Group:
The women of Laguna have great skills and assets in their craft making. Yet, they do not know how to use it to their benefit. Right now the Laguna Women's Group have limited funding to market their crafts, and lack of knowledge and facilities that would enable the women to expand their craft market for the products they produce. With this grant the women also want more knowledge of new technologies or opportunities to create a business and market their cuxtals. The women need training in marketing and technological skills that will enhance their market. The women need and want this opprortunity. The trainings will ensure sustainabiltiy. The women have little capacity to earn an income. Therefore, these trainings are essential for the women. Learning how to market their products will help their financial security for women and children of Laguna.
Overview of proposed project:
The women of Laguna will receive training from the Toledo Maya Women’s Council trainers in marketing cuxtals, baskets, and jewelry. They will learn how to make excellent quality crafts. Therefore, their will be numerous trainings on business, marketing, and quality of crafts. The marketing skills that they will learn will help the women decide how they want to develop their group and organization that can facilitate input supply, storage, processing, and marketing.
After that they will learn where to market their items. Either in different villages or towns as well as the internet. Hopefully, with this grant we could get a stall or booth to sell in town.
Also, the women will need computer and literacy training. Hopefully through the internet they will create linkages and relationship with communities and people who are interested in purchasing their crafts. Confidently with technology the women can receive technical assistance in developing products and maybe even service delivery mechanism. Leadership trainings will also be useful for the women to be assertive in their village and in their business development. Also, I, as the Peace Corps Volunteer, plan to support, monitor, and folow up on all trainings and services the women receive.
How our project will improve the health and well-being of the women and children:
Once we receive support from the grant they will be able to generate income on their own! Once the women are able to raise the money needed then they can give back to the community. For example, raise the productivety of labor, such as clean water education and health facilities and social intermediation, which increases the capacity of diasadvantaged people, especially women, to more fully realize their potential and importance in society.
How this project fulfills an unmet need:
The project will help bring in money to hopefully achieve poverty reduction. Also, the women want to become active in the community. With all these new trainings they will gain more knowledge and participate more in development work. The women of Laguna need to get rid of the gender stereotypes. They have so many skills to exstinguish the negative stereotypes of women. After these training and successful income they can provide for their families. With their group and project these women will change the pre-exisiting views of women and traditional occupations. Hopefully with the new confidence they gain they will become more assertive and take action in the community. They will learn to voice their opinions and stand up for what is right. These women also want to teach the younger women and children of the community about equality in relationships, including heathy relatiionships and roles in relationships.
The women have great ideas for the group. They want to teach the younger women of the community how to make the crafts so that it will continue. This is a positive step for sustainablity with this project. The women also want to teach the young women of the community proper health. This project will ensure sustainability in income generating future projects. The women will become more independent.
Laguna Women's Crafts: baskets, jewlery, cuxtals, etc.
Disclaimer This website expresses the views of Grace Boswell, who is entirely responsible for its content. It does not express the views of the United States government, the Belize government, the Peace Corps or any other institutions named or linked to on these pages.
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