Colombia › Wayúu Artisan Women Initiative (WAWI)

The Wayuu Artisan Women Initiative (WAWI) was a two-year program developed to increase the income of 16 Wayuu communities, predominantly women, living in La Guajira, northern Colombia. It achieved this through business development training programs and workshops, production development and design innovation, and market development and buyer linkages. Throughout the project, we aimed to raise the income of 800 Wayuu women by 85%, with our local partner CREATA and international consultants delivering technical assistance and capacity-building services to the artisans.

Key Achievements:  

• Benefitted 405 Wayuu artisans, with 90% being women, through direct support to 16 artisan groups.

• Designed 300 new products in collaboration with CREATA’s team and an international designer.

• Conducted a baseline assessment and launch event to kick off the project in La Guajira.

• Provided over 40 training workshops on business skills, market research, costing, raw materials, and techniques.

• Generated over $200,000 in sales through orders from more than 30 local and international buyers, and increased artisans' income by 231%.

Donor: Walmart Foundation

Start Date: January 2010

End Date: May 2013

Number of Beneficiaries: 405 Artisans 

Training Hours: 504,216