This International Women’s Day 2026, the global theme “Give to Gain” highlights how generosity, collaboration, and shared action can drive progress toward gender equality. At UPAVIM Crafts, this idea is not just a theme—it is the foundation of how our artisan cooperative has grown for more than 35 years.
Our Story
UPAVIM began in the La Esperanza community on the outskirts of Guatemala City when a group of determined women came together to create opportunities where few existed. With support from volunteers and community partners, they formed a women-led artisan cooperative, producing handmade crafts that could be sold internationally. Their goal was simple: create dignified work for women while investing in education for the next generation.
Today, that original vision has expanded into a multifaceted organization that includes an international fair trade craft project, a K–6 Montessori school, a daycare, a tutoring center, and a community library. These programs help remove barriers that often prevent women from participating fully in the workforce, especially access to childcare and education.
Image caption: UPAVIM’s daycare, tutoring center and K-6 grade school serve 262 students, providing learning opportunities many mothers never had.
A Safe Space Created for Women, By Women
Within the cooperative, women hold many different roles. Some manage production, quality control, or design development. Others prepare raw materials, manage inventory, or teach in the school. Many artisans sew products from home, allowing them to earn income while raising children and caring for their families. Because the cooperative is entirely women-led, it has also created a safe and supportive workspace for women in a community where traditional gender roles can sometimes limit women’s ability to work outside the home.
Image caption: Leaders of UPAVIM Craft meet with Director Angela (center). UPAVIM is fully woman run.
Creating Intergenerational Change
Over time, this model has created meaningful economic and social change. Fair trade employment provides stable wages, leadership opportunities, and professional skills. Many artisans support their families through their work with UPAVIM. In households where income is shared, many women earn wages equal to or close to their spouse’s earnings, helping reshape traditional gender dynamics and increasing women’s influence in financial decision-making.
Education has been another important investment. Through scholarships and community programs, second- and third-generation children of UPAVIM artisans have graduated from university and entered professional careers. These outcomes demonstrate how investing in women creates long-term generational impact.
Image caption: Ingrid and Clara are mother/daughter UPAVIMAs. Ingrid’s daughter also attends the UPAVIM school.
Growth Through Collaboration
UPAVIM’s partnership with retailers across North America and beyond plays a crucial role in this ecosystem. Wholesale orders help sustain the craft project and directly support artisan employment. As fair trade retailers grow their business with UPAVIM products, they also help expand opportunities in La Esperanza. Increased orders mean more production capacity, which in turn creates additional jobs for women artisans and strengthens economic stability within the community.
By offering fair trade handmade products from Guatemala, shops are not only providing customers with meaningful goods—they are helping create dignified employment, fund education programs, and invest in the long-term success of women entrepreneurs and artisans. If you’re one of our retail friends reading this- we thank you!
Image caption: Retail partners who joined our 2024 UPAVIM Guatemala Tour visit with woodworkers Diego and his wife Raquel.
This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the power of collaboration- when businesses choose to give through partnership and purpose, everyone gains.