Our work in action
UN Advocacy initiative
Come alongside us as we strive to make a meaningful impact worldwide with our UN Advocacy initiative.
Our commitment lies in magnifying voices, championing sustainable development objectives, and forging partnerships with the United Nations to tackle urgent global issues head-on. By uniting our efforts, we possess the power to translate dreams into tangible results and forge a brighter future for every individual on this planet. Together, let's transform aspirations into impactful actions and pave the way for a more inclusive and prosperous world for generations to come.
Capacity Building for Artisans
Explore our groundbreaking Capacity Building for Artisans program, a collaborative effort aimed at equipping artisans with the tools, expertise, and support necessary to excel in today's dynamic marketplace.
Through a process of co-creation, we empower artisans to enhance their traditional skills while gaining proficiency in contemporary business techniques. Our unwavering commitment lies in fostering sustainable livelihoods and safeguarding cultural heritage for future generations.
LEYENDAS
Embark on an adventure with Leyendas, where age-old stories are revived to nourish young intellects and safeguard cultural legacy.
Through captivating storybooks, we build bridges across generations, safeguarding languages and nurturing empathy. Join us in sparking wonder and knitting a fabric of togetherness as we delve into the enduring insights of our forebears, paving the path for a dynamic cultural legacy.
HxN Communications:
Embark on an exploration of groundbreaking communication and innovation alongside HxN Communications.
Serving as a vibrant center for creativity and cooperation, we leverage the potential of technology and storytelling to forge connections, captivate audiences, and ignite inspiration across the globe. Come alongside us as we pioneer the evolution of communication, weaving together inventive concepts and novel approaches to shape a future where connectivity thrives and ideas flourish.
HxN Toolkit
Igniting regenerative and circular models through collaboration
Facilitates a collaborative environment where participants can initiate new experiences, solve problems, and share ideas.
HxN Ignite facilitates a collaborative environment in which participants can start new ventures, solve problems and share insights. By uniting stakeholders from all areas of the fashion industry, we will accelerate systemic change.
In the Toolkit project, we are focusing on promoting traceability throughout the value chain, building the reputation of natural fibers and underscoring the value of ancestral wisdom. Also, we are facilitating training and building resources for artisans, designers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs.) Through our proposed platform, we plan to deliver circular sustainable solutions to designers, producers and fashion practitioners. We hope to help MSMEs scale-up their ventures in a sustainable way and enable designers to use circular design techniques.
CIRCULARITY
The Toolkit itself is a circular process. As collaborators work to solve challenges, they will develop case studies and tools, growing the resource library.
The Toolkit's role
What is our Toolkit
Co-creators
Role of the Artisan
Latin America has an abundant and rich culture regarding its ancestral and traditional arts. Beyond being a differentiated and congruent sociocultural entity, the region is a producer of various incredible handicrafts native
to the continent.
As manifestations of living cultures, handmade objects are constantly transforming. The handicrafts produced in Latin America can be seen as symbolic and emblematic pieces that leave behind a cultural footprint. Handcrafts have the capacity to disseminate the image and cultural identity of a nation, a region or a group of people to the world. They are used to tell a story, to show the evolution of cultures and belief systems to the observer.
Today, the ancient techniques used in craftsmanship allow us to get closer to rich traditions. The added value of one object as a single piece is tied up with the memory and knowledge of each artisan. Traditional artisanal techniques are incorporated into the notion of heritage. They require both the assistance of governments and the support of local communities if they are to be preserved over time.
The current state of cultural heritage
The current global economic model does not value ancestral arts and techniques and the precarious situation of most of the communities producing these works is worrying. When profitability is valued above authenticity and the preservation of cultural heritage, it leads to the loss of local traditions and ancient knowledge passed down through generations.
Because of the lack of recognition, formal education, communication and financial support artisans are unable
to enter the market and make a living from their crafts.
This process leads to a reduction in the capability of communities to keep hold of their traditions and
pass on knowledge.
The merging between ancestral knowledge and contemporary styles
Artisans and designers need to include a contemporary vision of craftsmanship, and thus achieve a harmonious encounter between tradition and modernity that allows them to stand out and value both design and quality.
The Ethical Fashion Forum of Latin America seek s to strengthen the work of artisan groups through their arts and crafts centers. These centers, together with experienced designers, organize clothing workshops to train vulnerable sectors of society. At the same time, they promote the exchange of experiences within groups of rural artisans.
The focus, as always, lies in sustainable design, recycling and recovery, as well as uniting ancestral knowledge
with contemporary styles.
Artisan products are part of this flowering industry. Indigenous communities have knowledge, skills, art, and a message for the world.
Our participation in the artistic and cultural value of the craft product
Animaná is aware of this value. Through its alternative business model in the world of fashion, design and decoration, it seeks to contribute to the social development of these communities and to environmental conservation. lt has set in motion the production and commercialization of unique, timeless and handmade products.
Hecho x Nosotros provides the artisans with training, administration skills, design, commercialization and marketing in order to help them become self-sufficient and to compete in the market.
Projects such as the research center and observatory of interdisciplinary sustainable business trends are also included. Through these entities, local, regional and international seminars and conferences are held, which promote sustainable principles for professionals, designers, consumers, children and young people.
The Latin American Fashion Forum is a platform created by the NGO. lt is open to all sustainable fashion projects with its main objective being to promote ethics in fashion, innovation and sustainability.
In addition, networking through institutional alliances between NGOs and IGOs is carried out, with the aim of empowering the local workforce and preserving the environment. AII this work is presented to the UN, through events carried out by the NGO.
Moving towards an ethical and sustainable industry
How to achieve a responsible and respectful industry for the marketing of artisan products?
At the beginning of this new century, a new path for the industry has emerged, one that would devote more time to craftsmanship and be able to rescue cultural legacies that will otherwise be left behind.
Sustainable design respects artisans and promotes the cultural traditions of local communities. Ethical fashion promotes the work of local communities ancestral techniques and empowers communities by valuing their
traditions and skills whilst generating fair working conditions.
In addition, sustainable design aims for a sustainable economy that generates better living for the producers as well as for the consumers, while respecting the environment.
Do you want to be part of the change?
