Contents
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- 1 Profile of CONTIGO´s partner Montezuma
- 1.1 Supply Chain
- 1.2 Products
- 1.3 Location
- 1.4 Founded in 1985
- 1.5 History
- 1.6 Cooperation with CONTIGO since 2013
- 1.7 Structure of the business
- 1.8 Sales
- 1.9 Goals
- 1.10 Special features
- 2 Fairtrade classification
- 3 Fairtrade aspects
- 3.1 No child labour
- 3.2 No discrimination
- 3.3 Fair wages
- 3.4 Humane working conditions
- 3.5 Transparency
- 4 Monitoring
- 5 Country information
- 6 Photos
Profile of CONTIGO´s partner Montezuma
Supply Chain
Trading Partner: SAPIA, ccordinator
Producer: Montezuma, microenterprise
Structure: own workshop, associated workshops
Trade way: direct Import CONTIGO via SAPIA
Products
Panama hats
Location
Sandoná (ca. 520km south west from Bogotá, near the border to Ecuador), Colombia – distance to Europe: 9,700km
Founded in 1985
History
- 1985: Business founded by America Montezuma, she learnt the traditional craft of weaving hats from her mother
- Due to slow local sales members of the business attend a trade fair in Bogota (Expoartesanias)
- Daughter Aide gets involved in the business, orders rise
- 2005: Partnership with Sapia starts, one of Montezuma’s biggest clients, panama hats can be exported
Cooperation with CONTIGO since 2013
Structure of the business
Number of employees:
- 5 full-time employees
- Cooperation with 5 workshops and some single weavers
- Locations of hat production: district of Nariño, municipality of Consaca, Linares and Sandoná
- Depending on the order situation up to 30 people can be employed
Organisation:
In the main workshop in Sandoná:
- The delivered semi-finished hats from the workshops are completed (pressing into shape, sewing works, attaching hat bands)
- Payment: agreed piece rate
External workshops and individual weavers:
- Receive the raw material from Montezuma (depending on design: coloured straw, hat shapes/circumferences, other elements)
- Receive financial support/advance payments (if necessary)
- Single weavers produce at home
- Payment: agreed piece rate
- Ivan Montezuma visits the workshops at least 1x/week, task: quality control
Background information:
- For most weavers this activity is a sideline besides their actual work in agriculture (e.g. coffee harvesting), or in the household
Sales
- Home market (60%)
- Exports (40%) to Germany
Goals
- To develop new designs
- To increase orders volume
Special features
Why does CONTIGO work with Montezuma: The company produces hats of superior quality. CONTIGO wants to support them in achieving their goals and provide more people with jobs.
Fairtrade classification
FTA = Fairtrade Approved
Fairtrade aspects
Montezuma complies with the following Fairtrade Principles:
No child labour
No discrimination
No discrimination due to gender, disability, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political orientation, or infection with HIV
Fair wages
- Minimum wage in the region: € 100
- Wage at Montezuma: € 140-160
- Full-time employees and weavers (from the external workshops) receive agreed piece rate
- Weekly payment of workers in cash
Humane working conditions
Working hours:
- 5.5 days/week
Transparency
- SAR (Self Assessment Report) was duly submitted to CONTIGO
Monitoring
Personal visits in Sandoná (2015)
Country information
See Encyclopaedia Britannica: Colombia