Category Archives: Sewing Partners

Albania, bicycles, Sewing Partners

Albania Update

by Ened Mato
Spring 2015 InGear

It has been a frenzy driven period for us. In between the activities we are organizing many society projects and we are preparing for many more.

Kidical Mass ride in Tirana
Kidical Mass ride in Tirana

I am more than happy to tell you about Kidical Mass, which is a younger version of Critical Mass, and it has been a success for parents and children alike. The weather here is also very harsh on bikers but as soon as it gets a bit warmer and a bit less rainy we will return with this project as it was a wonderful occasion for parents to spend time with their children while doing something fun along the way. There was a significant participation in our last events in the year 2014 and we are constantly told how eagerly people await the return of these events in 2015. Participation was enabled by the many and many children’s bikes you sent us, and we really hope to draw attention to these bikes because not only they are (probably) the most entertaining gifts for a child but also the healthiest.

Planting trees at a local landfill in Albania
Planting trees at a local landfill in Albania

I must thank you for the sewing machines. We are currently putting them to use in a small project for a small economic empowerment of families in the north of Albania, where conditions are difficult to live and survive. As soon as we get some results and individual perspectives of the project, I’ll let you know and maybe we can include those in the newsletter.
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Also I want to tell you of a very important project for us. We are currently totally engaged to make it work. With the sales of the last 2 months from the bikes (and of months ahead) we are working to plant 1000 trees near a landfill site called Sharra, with the hope of a better environment for the adjacent villages and the general area where the fumes from the landfill make living hard. “Plant Your Tree” and Ecovolis have the motivation to make this work. Phase One is three days away with a first step of 1000 trees, and based on the participation we get we are going to plan and go all the way until we hit the target of 1500 trees (and who knows how many more later). Soon enough I’ll have some photographic material to send to you so you can also give impressions and include it in the newsletter.

There have also been smaller scaled projects but with a considerable success upon drawing attention of the public towards a greener living in general and biking in a more specific manner.

Best regards,
Ened

Ethiopia, Sewing Partners

Dave’s Job This Weekend

On the weekend of 12 – 15 March 2015, Dave attended the 4th International Convention of Environmental Laureates of the European Environment Foundation in Freiburg, Germany. Click here for more information about the convention.


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Update from 2018

At the March 2015 convention Dave met Samson Tsegaye, Ethiopia Country Director for Stiftung Solarenergie—Solar Energy Foundation. Samson and Dave hatched the plot to ship sewing machines to Ethiopia.

Logistical issues and Ethiopia import laws slowed our progress, but in July 2017 we shipped 72 sewing machines to Ethiopia. In fall 2018 the training program began. And in December 2018 we got a report on the completion of the program.

bicycles, Guatemala, Sewing Partners

FIDESMA: P4P Partner in Guatemala

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FIDESMA is the Fundación Integral de Desarrollo Sostenible y Medio Ambiente, Foundation for Sustainable Development and the Environment. With headquarters in San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, FIDESMA was founded in 1998 and has five major programs: agricultural micro-credit, natural medicine, job skills and training, bicycles and environmental conservation, and health and special education for people with physical disabilities.

FIDESMA was started when Margarita Caté de Catú, the current president of FIDESMA, wanted to organize against the problems facing her community. Ms. Caté de Catú and 150 other women struggled to create the foundation with financial support from the Leadership Council.

This non-profit organization is non-political and non-religious and therefore the majority of our financial assistance comes from other non-profit organizations. Our primary role in Guatemala lies in development. FIDESMA helps the community become more self-sustainable and for this reason we distribute financial assistance (in our micro-credit program) and show the community prospective job opportunities. We hope that they will then be able to have their own business, thereby contributing to the rest of the Guatemalan economy.

 
Bike Race at the grade school in San Andrés Itzapa in honor of
Guatemalan Independence Day with bikes from FIDESMA!

 

FIDESMA is one of fifteen organizations of FEDENMURG (la Federación de Mujeres Rurales de Guatemala), a national, democratic association that promotes social development. The women members fight for the rights of rural women throughout Guatemala, along with bringing awareness to the preservation of the environment.

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The FIDESMA sewing course teaches women how to make all types of clothing. Lourdes Santiso Salizar was one of the first graduates of the sewing course in 1999 and now has her own women’s clothing business specializing in wedding gowns. Click here to see a report on Lourdes from the Fall 2006 InGear newsletter.

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FIDESMA’s natural products courses teach local women how to use natural plants to make shampoo and soap to sell in the local market. Grupo Mujeres Integrados en Accion has 10 members that work weekly to make aloe shampoo and soap. Ana Maria Guch is one member who is a widow with 8 children who supports her family from the sale of their natural products. Click here to read more about the shampoo production process.

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The Mujeres Maya (Mayan Women) Kaqchiqoel from Santa Caterina Barahona received a micro-loan from FIDESMA in 2001 to start their traditional weaving business. Click here to read a 2006 InGear article about the Mujeres Maya. Click here to read more and see samples of their work.

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Jorge Luis of San Andrés Itzapa uses his bicycle from FIDESMA to sell ice cream in the outlying villages. He averages about 20km everday on his bicycle riding from 5am to 5pm. He is able to support his wife and 7 children from the money he makes selling ice cream. Click here to see more of his story.

P4P’s 100,000th bicycle went to FIDESMA in 2006! Click here to read more about the bike, its journey, and Mateo Patzan, the happy recipient.

P4P’s 150,000th bicycle went to FIDESMA in 2017!! Click here for the whole story.

Georgia, Sewing Partners

International Relief & Development Organization: Our Work in Georgia

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After a decade of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the southern Caucasus region — Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan — continues to face economic difficulties and the risk of renewed conflict and internal strife. Specifically, conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, and secessionist movements in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and south Ossetia have created more than 900,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Caucasus.

In response to this growing humanitarian crisis and rapid decline in living standards, IRD began operations in this country in 1999. Some highlights of our work include:

  • Rural Enterprise Support — Assistance to farmers and other rural entrepreneurs to improve the quality of their lives by increasing their incomes;
  • Health Care — Emergency distribution of pharmaceutical and medical supplies, training for medical professionals and construction of medical facilities;
  • Emergency Survival Aid — Distributing food parcels, hygiene kits, school kits, blankets, tools and seeds to refugees, IDPs and local vulnerable populations;
  • Repatriation and Reintegration — Providing direct assistance to IDPs and refugees through direct food and clothing distributions and income generation opportunities; and
  • NGO Capacity Building — Providing small grants and management assistance to local NGOs to help them improve and expand community services.

Retrieved from http://www.ird.org/our-work/by-region/europe/georgia on 1 November 2014 by the Internet Archive WayBackMachine.

International Relief & Development (IRD) website.

Sewing Partners, Tanzania

Community Support Mission, Tanzania #2

Tanz #2As we reported in our Spring 2014 newsletter, P4P sent 41 sewing machines to Dar es Salaam (DSM) in Tanzania in October of 2013. We shipped with the generous support of one of our valued supporters, Clif Bar Family Foundation. Our partner in Tanzania, Community Support Mission (CSM), works closely with those in poverty to help them earn their own living and create a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

On August 5, 2014, P4P prepared two additional pallets of sewing machines to continue our support of CSM.  On September 18,2014, CSM will receive in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 60 refurbished working sewing machines.  Refurbished means Dennis Smyth and Doc Hammond cleaned and fixed all of these machines; P4P is greatly indebted to them for their work. This will bring P4P’s year to date total of sewing machines shipped to 182. P4P expects to ship over 300 in 2014.

The first shipment to CSM was totally paid for by the Clif Bar Family Foundation. The value of the sewing machines in that shipment funded CSM for the majority of the shipping costs of the second shipment.  Again we used a small subsidy but going forward Community Support Mission will be capable of paying the shipping costs in total. This creates a level of sustainability that is very advantageous.

P4P needs strong reliable distribution partners run by nationals of the country involved.  With our revolving fund system, we bring our overseas partner financially into the workings of the program.  Once we have them working with us cooperatively within the finances,  we can teach them basic best practices with regards not only to their finances but to their overall program.  We start by convincing them that they can seriously help their community and do so in a net positive financial manner with P4P’s support.  Wilfredo Santana Rodriquez of Rivas, Nicaragua, started the first revolving fund program with P4P in 1992.  The value of our shipments is double or greater than the actual cost of shipping. Our partners can afford to pay the shipping costs and are better financial stewards when they do so. It does take that first shipment or two to prime the pump and adding new programs would be very difficult without our solid financial sponsors. Having strong solid partnerships domestically and internationally has been the hallmark of the success of Pedals for Progress.