2021 fundraising campaign
Donation of four sheep to an Indigenous family
Arhuaca mochilas are traditional bags handmade by the Arhuaca people of northern Colombia. They are made from sheep’s wool and are among Colombia’s most significant handicrafts.
About the project
For more than four years, we have supported Indigenous women in northern Colombia in making mochilas, traditional bags crafted from various materials. For many women, this craft is their only source of income to support their families and, indirectly, their communities.
Our work focuses on supporting the women in production and sales in a variety of ways. For example, we raise donations to buy sheep for the families, enabling the women to produce their own wool rather than buying it at higher prices.
After our first contact in January 2020 with a group of Indigenous women who make traditional bags and sell them to earn a living, we launched a fundraising campaign in Austria. The aim was to raise money to buy sheep so the women could produce their own wool for making bags rather than buying it at a high price.
A year later, the money raised allowed us to buy four sheep locally and deliver them to the families in person. The following photos show the purchase of the sheep and their transport to the family:
A few months later, the first wool could already be gathered from the sheep:
