Notes from Meeting with Bolivian knitters - to discuss Fair Trade

Here are my rough notes on a Bolivian, Fair Trade, group meeting.

Meetings open with a "talking stick" exercise where each member has a chance to talk abut her/his experience with knitting for (Fair Trade) export. Then we go into a group discussion on the effects, challenges and benefits of Fair Trade.

Meetings are in Spanish and Quechua or Aymara (depending on the region). I have translated the Spanish myself. I have not completely identified groups to protect their identity as I work on my research. Once it is ready for publishing, all identifying information will also be presented.

Enjoy!
Tamara

GROUP PY – 5/15/10 (older, established group – 8+ years) about 16 members, 2 males. President: "Hope" (also board member)

EFFECTS (general comments brought up by the talking stick)
• The work is flexible – it can be done at any time, it is portable, and easy to pick up and bring with you to the campo, or other places (though most knitting is done alone in the house while the children are at school or while caring for a pre-kinder toddler.)
• The work can be combined with other tasks/jobs. Some women work as house cleaners, gardeners, they can bring the knitting with them and knit while traveling to work, or in between jobs.
• The work is relaxing. It can be done in the house. There is no need to travel, have fixed hours.
• The work is accommodating – there is time for everything. They are able to care for their children, take care of the family, cook, clean, be close to the family.
• Helping the family – making money for the family, being flexible with work, being around the children.
• The weekly meetings are social, conversational. Health and family problems can be brought up and discussed. This makes the knitters happy to be together. Meetings are usually positive, social times. Women are used to (culturally) working and being together.
• “Desahoga” – there is pressure from the families (especially husbands) to be working and caring for family members, to be more focused on them (and not knitting)
• Criticism – Knitters worry about criticism of their work from the quality control person in the group. If something is not made well, then it needs to be fixed/redone at the knitter’s expense. There is a bit of a show here when something is made wrong – it is obvious to everyone.
• Stress – from balancing order demands, housework (cooking, sweeping the house/patio, hand washing clothes) and family demands (children, husbands).
• Being alone in the house - Women are used to (culturally) working and being together. Most of the knitting takes place alone in the house.
• Challenge of being a part of the organization and the responsibilities it brings – complicated knitting, high quality standards, orders knit quickly, constant deadlines.
• Sad and without money. In Bolivia people are usually paid monthly. Sr. de May pays every 6 months – because they say that is how the customers pay them. There is confusion amongst the women about how much they are earning and when they will be paid.

CHALLENGES
• Time:
o Husbands want, attention, hot tea and meals ready and waiting for when they come home (which is often unpredictable because of schedules and transportation)
o Children need to be brought to and picked up from school and cared for when in the house.
o Orders need to be knit accurately, with top quality, and on time (knitters are often interrupted when knitting for family matters so it is hard to concentrate on what is being made.)
• Work:
o Is often interrupted by household demands (children, husbands, time, other responsibilities (cook, clean, wash).
o They don’t have a specific place to work (some knitters talk about hiding their knitting from family members (husbands), putting it under the bed, so they are not accused of being lazy and distracted and taking good care of the children and the home).
o The work is not recognized. No one is praising them for what they are doing, giving importance to the money brought in or skills learned, the work is largely ignored to criticized. (Note some husbands do engage in the work – helping to roll yarn, watching the kids when the mom is knitting, or even knitting themselves, this is rare but does happen. Also some children take an interest in the kitting, mostly young girls, and will knit with their moms.)
o The male in the group machine knits and often there are not machine knitting orders for him. This is difficult for him. He does notice that the women in the group seem to benefit socially and have a higher self esteem.

BENEFITS
o Economic
• More things can be bought for the family
• There are more family earnings
o Social
• They feel a higher confidence in themselves being a woman. They are working independently, making money, making high quality products, managing their own time
• Friendship

OTHER
o Money is paid very slowly. This makes it hard for them to explain to their husbands the value of their work. it is also hard for them to track and plan.
o 30% is paid to the organization (note: women do get an annual bonus of rice, cooking oil, noodles, etc. based on the amount of product they produced.)

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GROUP NIEVES – 5/18/10 (newer group – less than 2 years). About 14 members. President: Lily (board member)

EFFECTS (general comments brought up by the talking stick)
o The work is done for the children.
• So they can study - money earned is spent on books, notebooks, and “bordilla” (school smocks).
• So they can eat better – money earned is spent on milk, cookies, fruit, toasted grains (cereals).
• So they can have sewers – this is a new neighborhood so people are waiting to be able to install sewers. They need to save $ and also wait for the sewer system to reach them. They have electricity and water (this is new).
o Other jobs. Besides knitting, the women make hats, sew clothes, machine knit, anything that they can find to do. They earn about 50 – 100 Bs a month (equal to $50-$100 in value, and $8-$12 in US), but they are finding there are less and less opportunities for side jobs. Their knitting pay is often not as high as some of the other pay they get but it is steady work, and the higher paying jobs are not.
o Schedule: Most women get up at 4-5am and get the house ready and cook for the day so they have more time then to knit. When they are at their weekly knitting meetings the children are locked in the house so they do not get into trouble on the streets. In the house the children will watch TV, play together and do their homework. Most women have 3-6 children.
o The women don’t really want to knit. They do not like the long wait for pay. They are waiting for better work to come around.
o
CHALLENGES
o To learn how to knit the designs
o To maintain quality
o Coming to the weekly meetings - some women live far away in Punta Villa, the Caratera a Oruro, Chukaya, Ventanilla) and have to arrive in public shared cars (more expensive). It often costs them 4-8Bs each round trip (equivalent to $4-$8 in USA value)
o Time – they are tired. The get up at 4-5am and knit until they fall asleep from exhaustion at night – often 11pm or 1am or 3am depending on the deadline they are knitting for.
o Health – their hands hurt and many complain of authorities from knitting so much, their shoulders and backs hurt from leaning over their knitting, also they eyes hurt and it is sometimes hard for them to see outdoors after spending so much time in the house bent over knitting all day.
o Lack of medical attention – they have no insurance and it is hard to find and afford a doctor (ailments include colds, aches and pains). Note – there is a high incidence of uterine cancer in Bolivia and though it is largely in the lowlands (and the knitters are in the highlands), cancers cause death without being reported/detected.

BENEFITS
o Learn how to knit. Can knit other things for the family.
o Learn a profession
o Paid in one lump sum. This makes for easier savings and also enables women to make larger purchases
o Books can be purchased for the children’s education (note: Bolivian schools do not have books – they need to be purchased. If a child can not buy a book then he has to share with someone in class, if he can, but he will not have the book to take home and study from and do homework in.)
Receive annual food bonus of rice, cooking oil and sugar. This is a big motivator for them. the more they knit, the more food they will receive.
o Leave behind their worries and sadness (unsupportive/violent husbands, no husbands, financial worries, problems with children, health issues – sore hands, back, eyes) when in group. It is a cheerful group with lots of laughing and jokes.
o Working together
o Getting advice from the group for personal problems.