Ecuador - Infrastructur for a training college for women

Professional Training of Disadvantaged Women

 

Description of the prevailing situation 

Ecuador has a population of 12.6 million people and 49.8% of them are women. The town of Ibarra lies in the Andean region of the Republic Ecuador.in South America.  The people of this region are mainly indigenous Chachi Indians, who speak Quechua and Spanish. According to the US State Department, 70% of the population live under the poverty line and unemployment rates are high at over 60%.

Ibarra, with a population of 136,000 inhabitants, lies 68km to the North of the capital city of Quito, and just 15 minutes from the town of Otavalo, which, thanks to its local arts and crafts market, has become one of the principle attractions for tourists visiting Ecuador. However, apart from the market  mentioned, Otavalo doesn’t have anything else of much interest to tourists, while Ibarra, only 15 minutes away, is a veritable jewel of colonial architecture, with several very beautiful churches and other historic buildings, set in a maze of charming little piazzas and cobbled streets. In the past, a lack of vision combined with endemic corruption has let this remarkable 17th Century town deteriorate into a very dilapidated state.

But recent restoration work carried out by the municipality has revealed Ibarra’s considerable tourist potential. Any visitor to Otalavo would be well advised to pay a visit to nearby Ibarra. And it is in this context that the project for the Professional Training of Disadvantaged Women (Formation Professionnelle des Femmes Défavorisées) finds even greater range: these women, having learned the skills of seamstresses, will find themselves with a profession that not only lets them sew clothes for the local population, but also the traditional dress of the region for the benefit of visiting tourists. Sales of these will provide a revenue for the women, their families and the local economy. 

 

Project description 

 

With Luxembourg’s support through Unity Foundation, the “Fondation Mas Allà De Las Fronteras” has agreed to equip the classrooms with sewing machines for  cloths and leather patterns and other necessary materials.

Training takes place in cooperation and partnership with the municipality of Ibarra, Ecuador, and is integrated into the town hall’s project for supporting local resources as an “micro-business incubator” in the improvement of living standards and quality of life for its least advantaged citizens.

The three local trainers were chosen by the municipality, which also pays their salaries. The construction of the three buildings housing the workshops was completed by the Municipality San Miguel de Ibarra.

 

Duration of project: 2003 - 2004 

Beneficiaries: 90 women and their families in one year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Budget  

 

	year 1
MAE	12.291
UF	6.145
TOTAL €	18.436