Knitting Peace- Knitting Consciousness into the Bottom Line

Some years ago, during a visit to her native homeland of Bolivia, Sonia Gallardo, a knitting enthusiast and founder of the socially conscious business Knitting Peace, was struck with the realization of a need for opportunity in one of the least common places to be associated with opportunities, a correctional facility in La Paz, Bolivia.  This insight marked the birth of Knitting Peace; a social enterprise committed to making a difference by empowering incarcerated women in Bolivia with opportunities to continue to support themselves and their families while engaging in therapeutic work so part of their heritage, knitting.

What makes Knitting Peace knits different?

At first glance, these ultra soft hand knit Alpaca products evoke sensations of indulgence, warmth and nurturing.  However, to really get a sense of what makes these products special, it serves to hear the story behind them.

The story begins with women convicted until proven innocent of crimes such as theft, fraud, debt and drug trafficking. Their freedom depends on their ability to obtain legal representation, usually impossible due to their level of poverty.  However, the peculiarities of these jail sentences don’t stop there. In a country as poor as Bolivia, children of indigenous decent have few options, including having to live with their mothers within a jail or correctional facility if she is incarcerated.  Furthermore, these facilities do not have enough provisions to feed these mothers nor their children on a daily basis and thus the women are forced to continue to work while incarcerated to support themselves and their children.

Obtaining work within a jail is hard enough, and even harder for a population with little formal education.  However, most of these indigenous women were gifted early on with the skill of knitting, weaving and crocheting, passed on through the generations as a means to endure the cold winters in the Andes.  And this is where Knitting Peace comes in, serving as the much needed bridge to opportunities, empowerment and sustainability.

Knitting Peace recognizes the natural craftsmanship these local artisans are known for as an opportunity that can be leveraged into financial freedom for these women and their children. Under the dismal circumstances of Bolivian jails that house both these women and their descendants, this opportunity is serving to nurture both the soul of the women and the children that they feed.

Luxury Meets Generosity

The products created by the women of Knitting Peace exude the artistry of an ancient wisdom passed from generation to generation, fused with a modern touch. The materials used are clearly intended to invoke the tradition of their native Andes yet in a contemporary, luxurious and practical way.  This is achieved by means of the material, Alpaca fiber that is often compared to cashmere yet due to its thermal qualities can be used in warmer weathers, and the deep and rich colors used throughout the product line.

True to the known Andean form, the quality of the products show the women take great pride in the work they are doing. Every scarf, wrap & throw blanket gives off a sense of appreciation and care.  But what makes these products really beautiful is how in their creation, the women of Knitting Peace are empowered through their heritage artistry to provide for themselves and open up the road of opportunity for their families.

Conscious Business Practices

Knitting Peace as an organization does not judge or condone the inmates for the actions leading to their incarceration, but has the intention of assisting the inmates in realizing they have talents that can be used to create opportunities for poverty alleviation, empowering them to see that they have the freedom to choose.

Sonia consciously intended to create a conscious business that not only offered opportunities for poverty alleviation for its employees, was gentle with mother earth, and was financially sustainable, but also applied business practices that empowered its employees to decide how productive they would or could be based on their own needs and responsibilities.

For example, being that many of the knitters of Knitting Peace have as many as 3 children and babies inside the jail with them, Sonia recognized that is was unfair to set a global productivity standard on all of them. Therefore, Knitting Peace along with applying fair wages pays each knitter a bonus if they finish the work on time while not penalizing those who can’t.

This flexible work policy has proven successful on all accounts, since most work is finished on time, and all production deadlines have been met with enthusiasm and willingness from the knitters.

Knitting Peace currently employees 22 women within the correctional facility, and it is expected that this number will double by the end of this year.

For more information, see the website: www.knittingpeace.com

Tweet This