From chapter one, Cooperativa El Nido

Making it practical

Because they were a cooperative, the women had been offered a government sewing course and provided with machines. Several had taken the course, and one woman had excelled. She was the one talking with me about sewing, and I could see her expertise in the work. She became the head of the sewing cooperative on the strength of that skill. She received the materials and gathered the women.

I paid her, and she coordinated the work on their end. The women organized the tasks and how the payment would be shared. Some sewed. Others prepared food or looked after children so the work could continue. The rancho gave them a place to come together.

My starting point was what already showed potential: skills the women had developed, leadership taking shape, and a cooperative accustomed to sharing responsibility. I worked through those existing systems to help that potential develop into ongoing work. We were supporting what was already trying to become something.

Looking back, I can see how much of the design was happening before we had a finished bag. The work needed an arrangement people could participate in, earn through, and return to. The system was beginning to take shape.