Maya Education Foundation (MEF) acts as US fiduciary for Oxlajuj B’atz’ (OB.)

During the last 6 months of MEF’s fiscal year (JAN-JUN14) donations have been

collected and partially expended for these specific programs:

Artisan Technical Assistance

Democracy and Group Organization

Women’s Health

Small Business Administration

NOTE: Over the course of this period of renovation and investigation it came to our

attention that OB is in need of a time tracking form that would provide figures and

feedback by division; Artisan Technical Assistance, Democracy and Group

Organization, Women’s Health, Small Business Administration. Personnel, overhead

and administrative expenses need to be apportioned within the proposed system.

The greatest part of this semester’s activities centered around building capacity for and

structuring local leadership. This has the added benefit of strengthening connections

among group’s representatives and their administrative/training staff.

Three (2) day trips were taken to Cotzal (6 hours north of Panajachel.) The subjects

presented to the artisans included characteristics and habits of Leaders. Later, there

was a “train the trainer” section featuring instruction on how to run a meeting. And, a

third, module discussed equality differences in gender in the workplace and what can be

done to change perceptions. By the end of this series, women, who had never

presented to a group, encouraged fellow group members to participate-- from the front

on the room.

The artisans themselves have become actively engaged in positioning themselves to

enter the world markets and, in order to support their choice, they researched and

embraced standard commercial methodology including inventory control measures. OB

invited the assistance of an NGO charged with developing commerce in Solola

(PROSOL.) And, as a result, an inventory and a business plan were completed.

Furthermore, PROSOL has extended an invitation to OB to display products in their

Solola based store and to provide products for a “road show” going throughout

Guatemala featuring PROSOL’s client’s projects i.e., FEDEPMA a cooperative of fair

trade organic honey and coffee producers, among others.

Democratically run meetings for business require scrupulous transparency, and there

were many details to share. Meeting time was used for combing over past expenditures

and prioritizing Plans of Action. OB made widespread community visits seeking input

and consensus on a range of proposed initiatives. One such topic was declaring the

store to be an “exclusive” shop. Fulfilling on this ratified intention required replicating

the coding and creating acceptable pricing/delivery/payment schedules and designing

systems to ensure that the more demanding production standards will be met uniformly

across the organization. Another question was whether the women would use and

or/make for resale washable sanitary products.

Because all groups within OB agreed to concentrate on upgrading production and

customer perceptions, the staff produced a workshop using guidelines developed by

Boston Consulting Group. Using BCG’s framework the women examined their work and

classified it into “Dogs” to be discontinued, steady “Cash Cows” to be cultivated into big

selling “Stars.” With this rubric, the women judged and evaluated each other’s work and

supported the (often) hard choices to discontinue a line.

Meanwhile, representatives and leaders of OBs junta directiva were polled regarding

moving the store to a better location and they have given the Director permission to

secure new quarters for the office and the retail operation. This relocation should be

completed by the end of this reporting period and will result in lower overhead.

Artisanal development time was taken as an opportunity to transmit production and

inventory controls. In these workshops, each woman was given a ledger to track her

own production and after the training, each group took charge of managing and tracking

deliveries to the store. In the case of Ranm Ixoqi’, the group from Chimaltenango, the

women were very excited about having a personal record of their products. Doña Ana

Peren said, “I’m thankful that I have my own [Olajuj B’atz’] folder because now I won’t

be in doubt about whether my weavings are sold or lost. I will know how many of my

weavings are in the store each month and what colors sell best.”

By way of background; Ranm Ixoqi’ is a group of weavers who consistently attended

workshops and trainings offered by OB from the beginning and persistently requested

membership into the association. This group’s potential was recognized by OB and

Ranm Ixoqi’ was accepted as one of OBs internal groups. Ranm Ixoqi’ has won the

prize for Best Group Development two years running and has set an example for the

other groups.

In the area of Health, OB received word that in July 2014, Days for Girls will supply the

organization with patterns and samples of reusable sanitary pads. The Washington

state based NGO sees the community delivery of these products as an opportunity to

introduce the topic of sexual health to women and adolescents and a chance to discuss

recognizing violence. In the area of Disaster Preparedness, PROSOL has requested

that Guatemala’s Federal Emergency Administration (CONRED) instruct the women in

how to identify and mitigate risks in their communities- This necessary train the trainer

class is still being arranged by ProSol. OB hopes to be able to train their extended

membership and we are seeking permission to present this training (for a fee) to other

NGOs.

In the area of small business administration, OB received notice that Zweigart. de is

sending five meters of 14 count Aida fabric for Rug Hooking. This donation was

requested by women from the Boston area, who visited the store recently and are

enthusiastic about supporting OB. These new supporters also contacted the US

distributor of the fabric and have, themselves, offered to pay to have a steady supply of

this material available to the artisans affiliated with OB.

Please refer to the following reports for further detail on expenses and projects realized

by Oxlajuj B’atz’ during the six months beginning in January of 2014. Please let us know

at your earliest convenience if you need further details for any cause. We will be glad to

provide you with any clarification that you should need.

http://oxlajujbatz.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/report-biannual-oxlajuj-batz-dining-for-

women/

http://oxlajujbatz.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/report-biannual-oxlajuj-batz-daniele-

agostino-derrossi/

http://oxlajujbatz.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/photo-journal-oxlajuj-batz-2014/