SERRV works with thousands of small-scale artisans and farmers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other developing regions of the world by marketing their handcrafts and agricultural products. Through our work with 75 community-based organizations in 36 countries, we create economic opportunity so these producers can support their families.
In addition to purchasing and marketing products, we work with producers to assist them in becoming economically self sufficient through product design, training, information, technical assistance and market access.
Learn more about our work with artisans and farmers.
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Five years ago, Yodi Moran says she was “timid, didn’t talk, and couldn’t communicate.” This is hard to believe, seeing her speak today, full of confidence and pride, about the work of Grupo Mercurio, an association of women artisans she helped organize in the very poor and remote region of Huancavelica, Peru.
Like many women of Grupo Mercurio, Yodi’s family fled the rural mountainous regions into the city of Huancavelica during the violence of the 1980s and 90s that are known as the “years of terror.” They came in search of both security and a new way to make a living. For many women, their first work was washing clothes, or working in wealthy homes, often earning less than a dollar a day. Many of the men are unemployed day laborers with unstable incomes. Yodi organized other women to start knitting finger puppets, focusing on women like herself who were mothers with limited incomes.
Says Yodi: “I am very proud of this work. Not just for the economic gain, but also for the personal changes we have made. Like me, other women in the group have suffered from mistreatment and machismo. Today, we value ourselves, have work, and have something to give to our children.”