Happy Spring everyone! We're continue our celebration of Women's History Month, and the arrival of sunshine and color, with lead artisan Viviana.
Viviana and her husband Christian lead Andean Collection's tagua workshop, and have been partnered with the company since its founding. Viviana is instrumental in developing Andean Collection's vibrant color palette for our tagua bracelets. Not only does she dye the seeds, but she also creates the formulas that achieve specific colors. When Andean Collection brings new colors into the line, Viviana is the one who helps perfect the palette. When you're working with a natural material like tagua, this is a very complex process! "Viviana's attention to detail is incredible, she is able to match colors beautifully,"says Bria Bergman, AC Partner, Director of Business Development and Private Label Design. "Christian and Viviana's workshop is always one step ahead in terms of color and brightness. They innovate with us."
Chiara, AC's Non-Profit and Environmental Resource Manager, recently visited Christian and Viviana's workshop, and talked to Viviana about her work, the recent addition to her family, and gender equality in Ecuador.
Q&A
How long have you been working with tagua, and who taught you?
I am self-taught. I’ve been working with tagua for about 10 years and have been dying tagua seeds for about 7 years.
You've said that it's important for women to learn a trade, why is that?
Both men and women have to struggle together to achieve things in life, such as getting a house, raising and sustaining a family. When Christian used to travel to Otavalo to sell our products, I was able to support him. Also, I feel it's important for women to learn a trade so they can have their own income and not have to rely solely on their partner. It's a way for women to protect themselves. If the relationship falls apart, it's important to have a skill set as a safety net. Also, if women have their own income, they don’t allow men to treat them poorly. Some women justify staying with a man for all sorts of reasons, he's paying for food, the children need their father, etc; but they don’t need an abusive man in their lives, it’s much better for women to become independent and have some power to say no!
You just had a baby! Tell us about your children...
I have three daughters, Ariana (11), Emily (6) and Kristin (3 months). I love listening to them. Emily is so funny and creative, and Ariana always wants to go shopping!
What's a typical day like for you?Right now I'm busy balancing work and the new baby. Feeding her, changing her, washing her. Fortunately, Ariana and Emily are on school vacation, so Ariana helps watch Kristin.
Do you see the role of women changing in Ecuador?
There is definitely more equality now. Women are able to work, and men can't be macho and control women like they used to. My mother suffered a lot. Her husband didn’t value her and mistreated her. Christian values me. He always brings me into decision making at home and work, and asks for my advice and opinion. We are equals. I hope that my daughters are able to get a good education and become professionals. We will give them whatever they need to make that happen, hopefully they will make good use of it.
What is the most important thing your mother taught you?
She taught me how to gain people’s respect. She also taught me the meaning of work hard and perseverance. She told me not to rely on men. As women, we need our own income and skill set.
Who is your biggest role model?
My grandmother is a real role model for me, her name is Barbara Jesus Sanchez and she is very devout. She's lived by Christian principles her whole life, and they are not just empty words for her. She always talks about respect between men and women, to think about people’s feelings, we all deserve respect and love. For example, her husband had an affair and she took care of her husband’s lover’s son. She simply said ‘this child is not guilty of anything, why should he suffer?’ That's pretty selfless!
Final note from Chiara:
Viviana is fantastic, she welcomes so many people into her home and has managed to create a big
network of family and friends around her, which translates into essential support at this crucial
moment in her life, having just given birth to her third daughter three months ago. Like a true coastal
woman from Manabi, Viviana is quite relaxed and laid back, but don’t let that fool you, when it is
really needed she saves the day through her commitment and hard work.
 |
| Viviana tests new colorways for the Classic Tagua Bracelet. |
 |
| Final product! Riverbed Bracelets |
Q&A
How long have you been working with tagua, and who taught you?
I am self-taught. I’ve been working with tagua for about 10 years and have been dying tagua seeds for about 7 years.
 |
| Tagua |
Both men and women have to struggle together to achieve things in life, such as getting a house, raising and sustaining a family. When Christian used to travel to Otavalo to sell our products, I was able to support him. Also, I feel it's important for women to learn a trade so they can have their own income and not have to rely solely on their partner. It's a way for women to protect themselves. If the relationship falls apart, it's important to have a skill set as a safety net. Also, if women have their own income, they don’t allow men to treat them poorly. Some women justify staying with a man for all sorts of reasons, he's paying for food, the children need their father, etc; but they don’t need an abusive man in their lives, it’s much better for women to become independent and have some power to say no!
You just had a baby! Tell us about your children...
I have three daughters, Ariana (11), Emily (6) and Kristin (3 months). I love listening to them. Emily is so funny and creative, and Ariana always wants to go shopping!
 | |||
Christian, Emily (hamming it up), Viviana (expecting!) and Ariana.
|
Do you see the role of women changing in Ecuador?
There is definitely more equality now. Women are able to work, and men can't be macho and control women like they used to. My mother suffered a lot. Her husband didn’t value her and mistreated her. Christian values me. He always brings me into decision making at home and work, and asks for my advice and opinion. We are equals. I hope that my daughters are able to get a good education and become professionals. We will give them whatever they need to make that happen, hopefully they will make good use of it.
What is the most important thing your mother taught you?
She taught me how to gain people’s respect. She also taught me the meaning of work hard and perseverance. She told me not to rely on men. As women, we need our own income and skill set.
 |
| Viviana's grandmother (L) and mother (R) lend assistant artisan Lilibeth a hand. |
My grandmother is a real role model for me, her name is Barbara Jesus Sanchez and she is very devout. She's lived by Christian principles her whole life, and they are not just empty words for her. She always talks about respect between men and women, to think about people’s feelings, we all deserve respect and love. For example, her husband had an affair and she took care of her husband’s lover’s son. She simply said ‘this child is not guilty of anything, why should he suffer?’ That's pretty selfless!
 |
| Barbara Jesus Sanchez. |
Viviana is fantastic, she welcomes so many people into her home and has managed to create a big
network of family and friends around her, which translates into essential support at this crucial
moment in her life, having just given birth to her third daughter three months ago. Like a true coastal
woman from Manabi, Viviana is quite relaxed and laid back, but don’t let that fool you, when it is
really needed she saves the day through her commitment and hard work.
Viviana's grandmother keeps it REAL! I love it.
ReplyDelete