Mission
Improve the future economical and educational situation of women of Cuentepec (and their children) by enhancing the capability of their traditional clay work (handcraft) and finding markets for their products and selling them. Motto: Help to be able to help yourself.

Short description of project Cuentepec
The project (that startet in 2003) is aimed to improve the capabilities of the women regarding quality, design, overall know-how of their traditional clay work and work efficiancy.
At the same time the traditional character of the handcraft needs to be preserved. Participation at the project is free, only restriction: permanent presence to be able to take advantage of the developping group spirit and creativity. Donations are primarily used to finance in advance the works of the women by buying them and bring them to the nearby museum-store, where they are selled. Secondly to do investments to facilitate the womens work (builiding working spaces, ect.) and day to day spendings like clay, transportation, package material, etc. Besides the group of around 25 women from Cuentepec the project involves mainly two persons:

Susana Sotelo (Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico): , keep permanent contact with the group, buying each two month (or on demand) the works from the women and organize the transport to the museum store, consulting function, providing informations about project status quo and financials.

Sylvia Bidermann (Zürich, Schweiz): Responsible for overall organization, fund raising, contact to donators, information, visits on site.

Location
Cuentepec is a small, very traditional town in the countryside of the state of Morelos, Mexico (ca. about 2 h south west of Mexico D. F. ). Cuentepec counts a population of around 5000, mostly children, women and elderly.

Projcet achievements and outlook
- Quality and disigns of clay work improved very much over the last 6 years

- The women are selling more pieces (some also look for and organise themselves a selling opportunity)

- More women (also younger ones and even some men!) are working traditional clay again to sell it

- Each woman who applies for has a covered working space

- Some have a gas stove (for better prevention from breaking)

- Women learned about the marktet and are putting reasonable prices to their pieces

- Women are selling the pieces in a store in Cuentepec that is provided by the project. The organisation of the store the women responsability.

- Project is providing labels to put on each piece with name, price and "mujeres de barro"-origin

Outlook:
-Looking for more selling points

-Potential enlarge scope of project to community development (f.e. providing computer classes)

Contact
For more information, please contact Sylvia Bidermann.