{"id":24545,"date":"2019-02-22T10:27:28","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T09:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/arte-la-artesania-sostenible-una-manera-diferente-progresar-cuidar-del-planeta\/"},"modified":"2019-12-04T12:56:55","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T11:56:55","slug":"arte-la-artesania-sostenible-una-manera-diferente-progresar-cuidar-del-planeta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/arte-la-artesania-sostenible-una-manera-diferente-progresar-cuidar-del-planeta\/","title":{"rendered":"The art of sustainable handicrafts, a different way to prosper and care for the planet"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is difficult to erase from one\u2019s memory the image of Diana C\u00e9spedes walking through the banana groves in Azua, Dominican Republic, with Queen Letizia of Spain.<\/a> An encounter that made the front pages, occupied minutes on news programs and took up radio airtime. Diana gave visibility to the reality of thousands of female banana growers<\/strong> and who have succeeded in changing the labor rules in the countryside, which too often are in favor of men.<\/p>\n

130 km from Azua, in Mao, Renata de los \u00c1ngeles Montesinos also works with guineo<\/em>\u00a0\u2013a variety of banana grown in the Dominican Republic\u2013 contributing to a sector that provides livelihood for a town of nearly 80,000 inhabitants.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Using the bananas that are not eaten and the waste they generate, Renata makes hand crafted items to improve her family\u2019s life and\u00a0 care for the planet.<\/strong> Before starting her business, she learned to make costume jewelry out of banana fiber and later, all that was needed to create a brand. After much hard work and effort, \u201cRAMY Artesan\u00edas\u201d (from the initials of her name) became her dream come true.<\/p>\n

The workshop opened eight years ago and, with support from Banco Adopem, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation\u2019s institution<\/a>, she has managed to make it work. At the beginning, all the work was manual but over time and with small loans, she has introduced machinery and other tools that have made the processes faster.<\/p>\n

She was able to see in the organic waste what nobody else could: art.<\/strong> Her creations attract the attention of everyone who passes by her workshop, and the articles she makes are so delicate that the banana fiber is imperceptible to buyers who visit her workshop to do their small part in Renata\u2019s family’s success and also, perhaps without being aware of it, in caring for the environment.<\/p>\n\n\t\t