Tinecas Women’s Artisan Group

San Martin, San Salvador
(Tinecas is a nickname for women from San Martin)

This group began in 1997 when a group of women in an impoverished community in San Martin decided they need to do something to provide a better quality of life for themselves and their families. They felt it was important to have a business that was specifically run by women. Many women in their community were idle in their houses because their husbands were supposedly providing for them. However, frequently their husband’s income is not near enough. Also, there were single mothers that had been scrounging for work to support their kids. So when this group was formed, it was not only to provide financial support for themselves also to create a support network for each other. They pooled their skills and interests to come up with a unique variety of products that they could produce as an artisan group.

Unfortunately, this group has had a tumultuous time. The business was doing very well when they started as they had the support of a church community that helped train them and provided them with most of their clients. However, in 2005 the church withdrew their support. Since then the group’s sales that they had come to depend on has diminished dramatically. With this drop in business, many of the women involved also moved on to try and find better work. Now there is a group of 5 committed women who are struggling to make ends meet. Two of them are single mothers: Mariancelma, mother of five, and Maria Gladys, mother of six. Each of the women has a distinct trade: jewelry, sewing, embroidery, crochet and cards. When they sell a product, the money goes directly to the woman who produced it.