For March 8th, International Women's Day, the "Empowered Women: Learning to Sell a Dream" workshops were held.
Day of the Walk in the Forest of the University Villa
To know a bit about the context that turned the activity of day 8th: At this time, the longest blackout that our country has experienced since the arrival of electricity was carried out. We were left without communications when the electricity went away from us on Thursday at approximately 17:00 - it took us by surprise. So we could not communicate because we had run out of electronic equipment charges.
Nevertheless, the activity was also carried out; the children arrived in the early hours to prepare the hydration and the sharing that was given to the women that day. In Trujillo, we call this drink “agua de panela” (lemonade sweetened with “papelon” which is a brown sweetener from sugar cane) and some fruits for bringing to participants. While in Lagunillas, the community was making a “sancocho” (chicken, beef and chicken soup) and we already had the agua de panela and the fruits. In this way, people of the community with members of our Cooperation Circle waited for participants at the Quinaroa Cooperation Circle’s headquarters, to honor women in their day.
Click the yellow arrows to scroll through the photos in the slideshow below.
We started the walk in the middle of the forest in a very special place. We sat on the rocks, we did a ritual of Gratitude, and we expressed and shared our experiences of life, to close with the delivery of the certificates.
In Lagunillas, we started with a ritual in our Sacred Place Jama where the Urao Lagoon is located, there we started the recreational walk through the main streets of the city. There were stations to taste with fruit to go through one of the ancient roads, still land. It should be noted that Lagunillas is a town with many paved streets and the old or real roads are few - this road linked us with the Quinaroa Cooperation Circle Headquarters. When we finished the activity there, we were able to reward all the participants, giving them a detail in their day.
At the end of the day, people were full of enthusiasm and gratitude. We arrived to two important agreements during the Workshops and we closed them on the day of the Walk.
Since many women were interested in taking the training but learned about the Workshops too late for reasons beyond their control, as the fall of electricity that affected communications, they could not attend them, so they asked us to plan another session. This was an important decision, given that the next phase of the Project is the training in the Entrepreneurial Market and there were women that completed the first training; however, even if the women who attended had to wait for having the continuity, they gave an excellent contribution because they concluded that they can wait for the rest, to come together to the second phase and give opportunities for all. This showed us the generosity, the solidarity, and willingness to share of our women.
Two important dates are approaching in May: Labor’s Day and the celebration of San Isidro, who is the protector of plantings and farmers. Many of our women dedicate themselves to Agriculture. The participants asked to schedule more activities in commemoration of these dates; and they offered to speak from their experiences in these events and in the next workshops.
The Mercadito (Small Market) is the pending activity of the Project which will take place from April 8th to May 14th.
We are grateful for the support of URI WIN Cooperation Circle. With this Award, many of us are motivated to continue carrying out activities to protect and promote the good use of our natural resources, inspiring and encouraging more women to follow the path of Entrepreneurship in Hand Made Natural Soaps as a way to contribute with the domestic economy.
