ETCA
Well, the clutches have arrived! Jen Lewis Designs has partnered with a lovely group of fishermen's wives in El Transito, Nicaragua, to bring you the following lovely clutches:
I met Julie, founder of El Transito Centro de Artes (ETCA), through a rather random email. An instant and obvious partnership formed where we combined our best talents and connections into helping create jobs with the women of El Transito while their husbands fish. Having a steady (and not seasonal or unpredictable) source of income helps to insure that these families are able to provide for themselves and their children. And notice that I said that we are creating jobs with the women and not for the women. Julie does an amazing job maintaining the focus of the mission of ETCA - helping improve lives in the community while encouraging self-sustainability.
If you look carefully, each clutch has sewn inside a fish with a small initial below the wholesaler's name. That initial will let you know which of the talented artisans sewed each clutch. If you check out their website, you can read a bit more about each woman.