Our centres in Ecuador provides training in paper-making, jewellery, screen-printing and sewn textiles, providing our disabled artisans with skills and employment, lifting them out of poverty. We purchase their work every month to provide them with a dependable income to support themselves & their families with dignity & pride.
Meet some of our artisans
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Hi, my name is Stephen, my friends call me Chonillo. I had a motorbike accident when I was 18 years old. I was devastated to become disabled, I found it so hard to leave the house, finish my education and keep up with my friends. I feel really happy to work with Artizan Ecuador, life has changed and I am able to keep my mind busy doing what I love, which is making cards and jewellery. I can now say that my talents are playing wheelchair basketball, making cards and making jewellery!
“I feel extremely happy to be able to do what I am passionate about. I thank God and Susie for giving me this opportunity to show that I can make beautiful cards and jewellery.” - Stephen
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Hi, my name is Federico, I am 37 years old and live at home with my parents. Because of my intellectual disability, I feel rejected by society, and I have never been given the chance to be independent. When I was invited to join Artizan Ecuador, I was so grateful to finally be given the chance to earn my own wage. Outside of Artizan Ecuador, I love to play football. I was not always allowed to play with the older teams, but now I have greater self-confidence because I have a good job making beautiful cards
“Thank you for taking me on in this project of Artizan Ecuador, thanks to you I was able to show my talents. I thank my teacher Lydia for being patient with me and teaching me to make cards.”
- Federico |
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My name is Pedro, I had an accident at home when I was just 20 years old, I fell off the roof of my house whilst trying to carry out maintenance. At the time I had a girlfriend and a baby on the way; she left me at the hospital and never came back because she couldn’t cope to be with someone with a disability. In 2019 I had another accident, this time I was knocked off my hand bike by a car and left on the side of the road with a broken leg.
I love making cards and jewellery for Artizan, to keep my hands and mind active is so important, craft is a true therapy. Outside of Artizan, I play wheelchair basketball and have played for Ecuador internationally. “Being part of Artizan Ecuador has changed my life. We have a real community, Artizan for me is family.”
- Pedro |
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Hi, my name is Ramon. I had a motorbike accident 13 years ago that left me unable to walk and needing to use a wheelchair. As a result of my disability, I lost my job at the hotel I was working for. At Artizan Ecuador, I have been able to develop the skills to create beautiful cards. This has helped to improve my life because I am able to work and provide for my family; I have a wife and two teenage sons. Outside of my work with Artizan Ecuador, I love gardening and taking care of my plants. I also play wheelchair basketball and am part of a team here in Santo Domingo.
“Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity and giving me back the fire to support my family. The best thing that God has given me is to be part of this project and live happily in my daily life and contribute to society with my work!”
- Ramon |
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Hi, I’m Douglas. My accident was in 1999, I fell into a 100-meter chasm in my car resulting in hospitalisation and the loss of use of my legs. At Artizan Ecuador we have formed a beautiful group, and we look out for each other. Outside of Artizan Ecuador, I love painting and listening to music. At the weekends, I use my adapted car to take trips to the coast to buy and sell fish. I am able to continue making cards for Artizan Ecuador as I have been provided with all the equipment I need to work from home.
"Artizan Ecuador is a great project for us as all people with disabilities feel included. I am very grateful for this project."
- Douglas |
Enjoy our five-minute video about our project in Ecuador, which encapsulates the spirit of what we do and why it matters.
Maura lino printing cards. Lydia Trezise (now our UK Volunteer Coordinator), teaching Ramon & Pedro on their first day at the project.
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In Ecuador we're working in Santo Domingo province, where we've established a training & social enterprise centre for people with a wide range of disabilities.
As in other parts of Latin America, people with disabilities are often to be found on the margins of their society, excluded from employment and therefore consigned to a life of poverty. These are bright, capable people who long for the same chances as everyone else. We trained and sent out UK volunteers for 1-2 year placements, to establish the project and train it's first 3 groups of artisans, before handing over to a local Ecuadorian couple to lead the project: Carlos & Jessica Bravo. 
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Hope and a Future
The participants join us for 4 - 6 months training in paper-making and print-making, and some learn jewellery making too. We then equip them with everything they need to have their own paper-making workshops at home, where they make beautiful paper from banana leaves and recycled paper. They're free to run their own businesses and we also commit to buying a large quantity of their work every fortnight, if they would like to sell through us. This model is extremely emancipating, but also provides a vital safety-net of a regular income, allowing them to support themselves and their families with dignity and pride.
A message from Ramon, one of our very first trainees :
“Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity, and giving me back the fire to support my family.
The best thing that God has given me is to be part of this project and be able to live happily in my daily life and contribute to society with my work!”
- Ramon
“Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity, and giving me back the fire to support my family.
The best thing that God has given me is to be part of this project and be able to live happily in my daily life and contribute to society with my work!”
- Ramon
Meet our Artisans in Ecuador in this 5-minute Film:
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We sell the beautiful hand-made cards that Ramon, Pedro, Federico & all their colleagues make, in the best card shops in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Also in the Galapagos Islands, Mindo & elsewhere. We also sell through Fair Trade shops around the UK including our own in Harrogate, and have an online shop too.
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Artizan International is a member of the British Association for Fair Trade Shops & Suppliers (BAFTS) and abides by all 10 of the World Fair Trade Organisation's principles of fair trade:
