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

 

Photos