As reported by the Brooklyn Paper:
At the outset of the pandemic Mercado Global, a Brooklyn nonprofit empowering rural Guatemalan women to become entrepreneurs, pivoted to donating masks to communities in need.
And this month, the team, based out of Sunset Park, just surpassed a monumental 115,000 masks donated around New York, the United States and Latin America — all made by 750 rural Guatemalan women artisans.
“We had a moral imperative to start making as many masks as possible,” Ruth Álvarez-DeGolia, the founder of Mercado Global, said…
The nonprofit headquartered out of Industry City designs collections that highlight indigenous weaving techniques and connects rural Guatemalan artisans with profitable international brands like Levi’s, Free People and Stitch Fix.
It also provides business education, leadership programs and equipment to its artisans, and helps women create community businesses to support themselves and their families.
“We are changing the status quo for women, communities and the industry,” the website reads.
Marta Julia Cojín Coroxon, the cutting and patternmaking coordinator and designer in Guatemala, said Mercado Global is unique in its focus on women empowerment. Her role as patternmaking coordinator is typically a male-dominated position, she said.
— Posted by JVS on 12.25.20, backdated to 12.24.20
Sunset Park Reports 