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Success Story
Indigenous art brought
alive in new business
giving displaced woman
a second chance for
success
Micro-entrepreneur on Her Way to Success
Photo: FUPAD Colombia
All Kuna Art products incorporate indigenous
fabric designs
“I received a $750 grant to
buy necessary supplies, and
the business took off surprisingly
well,” said Paula
Correa, a recipient of a small
grant through a USAID program
to help Colombians
displaced by violence.
Paula Correa is not the real name of this 24-year-old woman, who is
still afraid of the danger to her and her 8-year-old son. Her story is
one of loss and pain, survival and hope, hard work and an encouraging
future.
Paula’s family had to abandon their farm in the province of Cundinamarca,
where they grew beans that were often stolen by the
FARC. After FARC rebels killed a relative, and threatened her
mother, two brothers and her baby son, Paula had to run.
After arriving in Bogota, Paula became a beneficiary of a USAID
income generation project for the displaced population in Colombia
and received a small grant to launch a business. She decided to
try her hand at creating hand-crafted leather products and used the
funds to get started.
Paula had always admired the fabric appliqués, “molas”, of the
Kuna indigenous tribe from the Gulf of Uraba (Northerna Colombia.)
She started using them in her leather products.
After about a year, Paula’s business had grown substantially and
she created her own trademark, Kuna Arts, named after the Indian
tribe whose art she loves. She spreads the bright molas on the table
and admires how they look combined with colorful leather samples.
“I have so many plans for my business: creating a catalogue and a
webpage. I think the best market is in the areas popular with foreign
tourists.”
Paula rents special sewing and stapling machines from a shop not
too far from the house where she lives with her mother, son, two
brothers and their families. She dreams of owning her own equipment
some day. Her unique items always attract attention and she
has already participated in several different fairs and expositions in
Bogotá and many other cities in Colombia.
In October 2009, Paula traveled to Miami to be part of an event in
which she won the “Heroes of the Hemisphere” award, a recognition
given to Paula and other outstanding leaders from throughout
the Americas. More than 400 people from five countries in Latin
America and the Caribbean celebrated these achievements during
the ceremony. This experience showed Paula a vast amount of
possibilities for her future. “I would like the whole world to see the
beautiful Kuna molas, and my products as well. I also have a dream
that some day I will study textile engineering and design,” she said.
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