Mayan Hands Foundation Ltd
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Mayan Hands is a fair trade nonprofit organization dedicated to providing economic and educational opportunities to Mayan women, supporting them in their quest to bring their families out of extreme poverty as they continue to live within the culture they cherish. Though renowned internationally as talented textile artists, Mayan women are the poorest of the poor in their homeland. Without an education and unable to speak Spanish, they lack the basic skills necessary for employment outside of the home. In a society where racism and machismo are rampant, they suffer a double discrimination, as indigenous people and as women. Mayan Hands also invests in the next generation by providing education opportunity for both our artisan partners and their daughters. Unfortunately, girls face barriers to the quality education they deserve, simply because they are girls. Domestic housework, cultural bias, poverty, hunger, violence, and early or forced marriage are a daily reality.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Artisan Support
Capacity building, technical assistance, business skill development, leadership training, educational programs
Education Fund
Mayan Hands Education funds supports scholarships and educational programs for the daughters of Mayan Hands artisan partners.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Fair Trade Federation 1993
External reviews
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We believe that when provided economic opportunity and income over time, women can build sustainable futures for themselves, their families and communities.
Mayan women are the most marginalized and impoverished sector of the population of Guatemala. However, with access to economic and educational opportunity, women and girls can be powerful agents of enduring change in their communities. Our artisan partners improve the health and nutrition of their families, send their children, including their daughters, to school, and invest in their local economies.
In Guatemala, a country with more than half a million weavers and far too few local and international outlets, artisans often sell below the cost of production. Mayan Hands has found a solution to this competitive race to the bottom in the introduction of innovative artisan processes, something that our creative artisan partners have taken to places they and we could never have imagined.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our work involves much more than simply paying a fair price: it includes capacity building, developing business and leadership skills, preservation of cultural traditions and environmental stewardship, as well as a demonstrated commitment to transparency.
Rather than working with individual artisans, Mayan Hands partners with democratically operated cooperatives of women. In Guatemala, cooperatives offer an economic model that can provide financial stability, shared decision-making, and leadership opportunity to economically marginalized producers. Some of our partner coops have established their own micro-lending program and all have elected leadership and transparent accounting practices.
Additionally, Mayan Hands provides scholarships and other educational support for the daughters of our artisan partners. Some of our artisan partners also participate in this scholarship program.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
With 30 years experience partnering with talented artisans, we are uniquely poised to offer both current and new artisan partners an opportunity to apply their extensive traditional skills to innovative techniques that will open new markets for their products.
As a founding member of the Fair Trade Federation, the North American trade organization of businesses and nonprofits fully committed to the principles of fair trade, Mayan Hands has undergone a rigorous vetting process, which also involves an annual renewal.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Over time, we have seen the enormous change that fair trade brings to the communities we serve. With long-term and consistent earnings, women have more control over their lives and can plan for the future knowing the income will be there month after month. For women who never attended school, the classes and trainings in which they participate generate pride in their abilities and their culture. Artisans acquire the business skills necessary to fulfill and invoice orders.
Our Needs Assessment/Impact Assessment measures indicate that the families of our artisan partners receive nutritious meals, have access to health care. and that their children, including the girls, are in school.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Mayan Hands Foundation Ltd
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Vera Eccarius-Kelly
Vera Eccarius-Kelly
Brenda Rosenbaum
Beth Walsh
Liva Jacoby
Mark Van Wormer
Rebecca Pendergrass
Laurie Naranch
Ricardo López-Torrijos
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes