Pottery Collective Empowers Women Economically and Challenges Gender Norms in Rural Mexico Mayela Sanchez - Global Press Institute
go to original June 1, 2013

Rita Reséndiz, 52, introduces women to economic opportunities and their rights through her pottery collective, Mujeres Alfareras de Tláhuac. (Mayela Sanchez/GPI) See photo gallery here
 
One woman runs a pottery collective to empower women economically in a semirural region where, even 20 years ago, it was taboo for women to work. Sixty women have learned the trade of pottery through the collective. Exposure to new people, places and ideas also introduces women to other rights they did not know they had.

MEXICO CITY – Rita Reséndiz, 52, and her fellow potters use wooden spades to scoop the white clay that forms their ceramic crafts. An electric mixer helps the women to complete their work. But the most powerful tool in the process is their own arms in this pottery collective that has shown them their right to work and ability to support themselves.

After mixing the clay, the artisans pour it into plaster molds that they made themselves. They also built the workshop’s tables and shelves. Once the pieces of clay harden, they sand, decorate and finally bake them in brick and steel ovens. They constructed these ovens too.

The potters’ finished products include cups, pendants, earrings, crosses, rings, vases and crockery. The women sell their goods by order and at craft fairs throughout the country. In addition to earning money to be financially independent, they gain awareness of their rights as women, starting with the right to work.

Read the rest at Global Press Institute

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