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Mayorga Partners with Fabretto to Support Families in Nicaragua

In 2002, Fabretto helped start the Pinos Fabrettinos initiative which is now a legally incorporated, self standing and successful cooperative made up of women from Cusmapa and the surrounding rural communities.

The women of this remote mountain village often have little education, few marketable skills, and even fewer opportunities for gainful employment.  Membership in the cooperative provides them with a chance to earn personal income, gain new skill sets, and feel pride in their achievements.

A traditional art form in the northern Atlantic Coast of the country has always been basket weaving using long pine needles gathered from the forest floor.

Today, the cooperative offers over 40 local women the chance to earn wages over and above their regular family income, sometimes 2 or 3 times as much, depending on their personal production. The women make the baskets at home, on their own schedule, and produce as many or as few as each wishes. When ready, they bring the baskets to the cooperative’s store in Cusmapa, where the baskets are tagged and packaged for sale. Pinos Fabrettinos items are sold in Nicaraguan street markets and at ShopMayorga.com!

The women of Pinos Fabrettinos have not only earned financial independence, they have also taken the management and advocacy skills they learned in running the cooperative out to their community.  Many of them now play important roles in the civic leadership of Cusmapa and the surrounding villages.  Together, they have created a loud voice for their own rights and those of their children!