Each woman of the cooperative plays an important role in the business whether they are a seamstress or a weaver but in the end, it is the Quality Control team that ensures every piece meets the high standards, day after day. Their careful attention guarantees that each product is as beautiful and well-made as intended.

We’d like to introduce you to Ismelda, a member of the QC team who joined the group in May of 2024. You may remember meeting Sonia in an earlier post, she has taught Ismelda everything she knows!

Ismelda is a 28 year old woman who lives at home with her mother and a nephew. Before joining the group, she focused on taking care of the house and farming. Ismelda shared that she stopped going to school after the third year of middle school as she struggled to complete her work. One day through a mutual connection, Ismelda found out from Sonia that there was a job opening within the group. The job was as a quality control assistant for the products they make. Ismelda was hired for a 6 month trial to wash, iron, check the products for accurate measurements, and make sure there were no flaws. After six months, she was happy to be asked to stay on as a permanent quality control assistant.

“This position has given me insights into how to compare good and bad quality when I shop for finished products.”  She also loves being part of a team, something she hadn’t had the opportunity to do before. “We have times when we have fun and laugh about simple things and then we also have get togethers.”

Outside of the group, Ismelda is involved in a women's project building greenhouses to grow tomatoes and other vegetables that she then sells at the market in Cajolá. She also enjoys weaving on a foot loom and looks forward to continuing to grow more in her role within the cooperative.  

If you're interested in reading more about the Quality Control team, check out our post Weaving Quality into a Handmade Business.