Message-ID: <199803031652.LAA27472@outpost.ietc.ca> Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 11:45:49 -5000 From: "George(s) Lessard :-)" <mailto:media@IETC.CA> Subject: VILLAGE ARTISANS WEAVE ONTO THE WORLD WIDE WEB To: mailto:INTDEV-L@uriacc.uri.edu
Lines: 158 Newsgroups: hrnet.ngo-general,hrnet.development,hrnet.indigenous Message-ID: <mailto:6p6oWmLBNMB@oln-f06.oln.comlink.apc.org> From: mailto:DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.org (Debra Guzman) Path: news.web.net!news.comlink.apc.org!oln.comlink.apc.org!not-fo -mail Organization: HURINet/Human Rights Info Network Subject: PEOPLink article Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 14:45:00 +0100 Reply-To: mailto:DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.org (Debra Guzman) X-Mailer: CrossPoint v3.02 R/A143 X-Gateway: ZCONNECT sonne.comlink.apc.org [UNIX/Connect v0.76MB02] Approved: mailto:debra@oln.comlink.apc.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Xref: news.web.net hrnet.ngo-general:1737 hrnet.development:1543 hrnet.indigenous:2236Edited/Distributed by HURINet - The Human Rights Information Network ------------------------------------------------------------ -------- ## author : mailto:dsalcedo@peoplink.org ## date : 10.02.98 ------------------------------------------------------------ -------- VILLAGE ARTISANS WEAVE ONTO THE WORLD WIDE WEB By Anthony Bloome
Weaving has been part of Olivia Solano Chutz's life from the time she was a little girl. Like many of the women in the village of San Jose Poaqu'l, Guatemala, she patiently weaves the intricate patterns which transform thread into change purses, zippered pouches and other products, carrying on the traditional skills learned from her mother, aunts and neighbors. As was the case with her ancestors, Olivia receives little profit for her work and time. Typically, craftswomen in the village, many of whom were left widowed by the war which devastated the country in the 1980s, receive only ten percent of the final retail dollar for their crafts. A series of middlemen absorb the rest. But thanks to a microenterprise program utilizing modern technology, the women of San Jose Poaqu'l have an opportunity to bypass the intermediaries. By using an inexpensive digital camera linked to a computer and the Internet, the images of their crafts are displayed on the World Wide Web. Buyer and seller benefit from this digital exchange: the craftswomen can market their products through fewer middlemen and make two to three times the normal profit; the consumer can purchase an indigenous craft and learn about the artisans and art behind the product. The camera, computer and Internet connection are part of a collaborative effort between Samagel Batz, a Guatemalan non-governmental organization (NGO) which works with eight other producer groups, including the 47 women in Olivia's village, and PEOPLink, an NGO based in Kensington, Maryland (USA). The two NGOS believe that the artisans they serve are capable of participating in a global and digital marketplace if given a chance. Indeed, they are eager to experiment.
Microenterprise and the Internet
Revenue derived from transactions using information technology is signi ficant and growing exponentially. According to a 1997 study by Jupiter Communications, direct marketing revenue from on-line commerce is projected to grow from US $13 million in 1996 to US $1.3 billion in 2002. The vast majority of these exchanges is among the information rich. When on-line commerce crosses borders, it is predominantly North-North with a small fraction of this exchange flowing North-South or South-South. If on-line commerce typically involves the information rich, most microenterprise projects involve the information poor. These projects provide a critical source of employment opportunities for the world's poor, especially women in developing countries, by generating much needed revenue and low-cost jobs. With far more pressing needs, it is not surprising that few microenterprise projects involve the use of the Internet, especially in a North-South exchange. Bringing any Southern product to a Northern market or vice versa involves a long and complicated chain of events, including production, pricing, transportation, customs clearance, and storage. Adding the use of technology with its own associated challenges-access, costs, maintenance, training and sustainability-to this exchange is beyond the capability and reach of most microenterprise initiatives.
PEOPLink
PEOPLink and Samagel Batz (one of the dozen partner organizations with which PEOPLink is working around the world) are examples of NGOS using the Internet to help right the balance between the information rich and information poor. As their experiences suggest, even poor and illiterate craftspeople can benefit if given the right tools and training. Founded in 1995 with the guiding goal of enabling grassroots producers in developing countries to reach and profit from international trade, PEOPLink helps local artisans from Asia, Africa and Latin America display their products and crafts digitally on its web site (www.peoplink.org). Individuals and wholesale buyers who visit the site are invited to peruse and purchase on-line from a colorful, digital bazaar filled with a variety of arts and crafts including clothing, jewelry and interior accessories, stories and pictures of the artisans and the process behind their art. Currently, orders are filled from the inventory at its Maryland offices, but PEOPLink has future plans for products to be shipped directly from their country of origin.
PEOPLink reaches local artists through an impressive international network of partner organizations and community-based producer groups in Latin America, Asia and Africa. The organization works directly with partners, and development organizations that support thousands of producers in their region. Craftspeople such as those in San Jose Poaqu'l are further organized into producer groups which are then represented by the partner organizations.
Two more services-arguably even more important than web site hosting-of fered by PEOPLink include promoting Internet use for microenterprise development and putting this knowledge and technology into the hands of its endusers. The organization provides both the digital cameras and the training necessary for local groups to store the images of their products and transmit these by e-mail. Staffers visit the partner organizations in oneto two-week-training courses to learn about capturing, editing and transmitting the digital images of local artisans' products. Ongoing support is provided via electronic mail and retun visits. Laying the ground work for future sustainability at the local level and promoting South-South exchanges of information and ideas are key components of PEOPLink's philosophy.
Challenges
PEOPLink faces a variety of its own challenges. Besides modest income through sales and donations, its chief sources of funding are from foundations and international donor agencies such as the World Bank's InfoDev program, USAID, and the Inter-American Foundation. To meet its operating budget, the organization currently takes a 30 percent commission, a relatively modest markup compared to other trading mechanisms, but still too high according to Dan Salcedo, the Executive Director of PEOPLink. Over time, he expects the craftsmen to receive even greater profit. Marketing through the Internet-how to attract customers among a multitude of other products and services on the Web-is also an organizational challenge. It will take some time before a critical mass of buyers and sellers are reached. But PEOPLink finds ways to do this: in May, 1997, it teamed up with EDI to set up a "virtual souk" at its Mediterranean Development Forum held in Marrakech, Morocco. The "souk" web site allowed conference participants to browse the digital images and make purchases of crafts produced mainly by women producers from Taliouine in Morocco.
Encouraging Independence
The founding members of PEOPLink readily admit that one of their measures of success could put them out of business. With the technology and training, partners can send the digital images of crafts for display on PEOPLink's web site-or not. These organizations are free to establish their own web pages or transmit product images to whichever clients or other web sites they choose. Olivia and the craftswomen of San Jose Poaqu'l will probably never meet the desktop travelers who will buy their products, but they will benefit from a more favorable exchange of capital for her labor. Most importantly, though, they are entering into and contributing to the digital age without losing their traditional identity. "After generations of putting up with Western, Northern images," Salcedo says, "they now have the opportunity to control how their images appear on the world stage."
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CAUTION: some of the SEMI-RANDOM QUOTES reproduced below may not be suitable for certain insensitive readers: : : : : : : : begin quote : : : : : : :
Opposition is true friendship (William Blake)
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CAUTION - Note to English learners: Contents may not have been spellchecked, copy edited or proofed. Original material (c) copyright c 1998 G.A.Lessard & may be quoted, resent, reproduced, stored or forwarded provided this copyright notice is attached. Forwarded or mined material is the property of the original copyright owners. - 30 -