Learn About Our Cooperatives

Our Producers
Our producers are worker-owned sewing cooperatives located near the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. The majority of our entrepreneurs are women. Back in 2004, Solidarity Clothing provided an interest-free startup loan and vocational training for this project. Our Bolivian staff, both professional and volunteer, offer on-going support for the cooperatives, empowering the members to gain financial sustainability for their families.



K’anchay
The K’anchay cooperative is located Villa Pagador, an immigrant settlement in the dusty outskirts of Cochabamba. Most people came to this neighborhood from the countryside, after a 10 year long drought greatly damaged the traditional agriculture.

While over the years some infrastructure has been provided to this area, there is still a dire lack of basic services like water and sanitation. The rate of unemployment is still very high, as is the street criminality.

K’anchay means ‘splendor’ in Quecha, a native Bolivian language. The cooperative was created in 2004, and has 10 active member-owners. Solidarity Clothing has provided an interest-free startup loan for this project, which was used for sewing machines, equipment and a guarantee deposit for the work space.

The cooperative produces T-shirts and polo shirts for the local markets and for Solidarity Clothing. The production capacity is 8,000 garments per year. Our most important international customer is Dharma Trading. K’anchay also manufactures most of the Solidarity Clothing polo shirts.



Tata Esteban
The Tata Esteban cooperative is located in the idyllic village of Tiraque, about 45 miles east of Cochabamba. It is a vibrant traditional Quechua community at an altitude of over 12,000 feet in the Cochabamba highlands. The cooperative was created in 2005 and has 15 women owners ages 14 to 25.

The Tiraque church temporarily provides a room for the cooperative’s manufacturing activities. The young women owners are alumni of a training center affiliated with the church. The cooperative produces textile handicrafts, which are sold on local fairs. In addition they manufacture cotton clothing for Solidarity Clothing.



Warmis
The Warmis cooperative is based in the village of Tiquipaya, an agricultural/ecological neighbor community of the City of Cochabamba. The cooperative was founded in 2000 and consists of 30 women.

The cooperative produces beautiful hand-knitted and crochet articles combined with raw cotton cloth called ‘tokuyo’. The women work in their homes, and meet twice a week to discuss the products and coordinate the orders. They use a room in the vocational training center ‘Montecillos’ as a warehouse and point of contact. The production capacity is about 4,000 pieces per year. The products are sold on local craft fairs and markets, and in the US through Solidarity Clothing.