Our Impact
Our programs
Each year brings the center closer to realizing a long-awaited dream: having a safe place where women can live, work, and raise their children.
Sewing Program
Cinco Raíces Estudio, (Five Roots Studio) is the Center’s brand, named in honor of the five women who first came together to transform their lives and their community with sewing and embroidery. They pursued the values upon which the Center is based: community, compassion, artisanship and sustainability. Together their initiative and creativity helped the Center grow by bringing in students who wanted to learn and improve their own lives. The skilled seamstresses share their skills with the students in a three-year program that provides scholarships so women can afford to attend.
The Studio today produces a wide range of product from clothing to homeware and is sold in pop-up shows and trunk shows in the United States. We also have an online presence. with our Shopify store.
One of our goals is to steadily increase the percentage of the budget that can be funded by the products the seamstresses produce.
As our seamstresses grow in expertise, the products they are sewing and embroidering become increasingly useful and beautiful. We have seen an increase in the amount of our budget that can be covered by the sales from their products. Our goal is to reach 30% in the next two years.
Education Program
We currently provide three afterschool programs at the Center: a first and second grade reading program offered three days a week, an early childhood program offered three days a week, and an elementary enrichment program offered two times a week. We have hired and trained two teachers for these programs. Against a national dropout rate of 50%, 100% of our students have stayed in public school. This year, four of our students graduated from high school.
Community Center
At the heart of El Salitre in Amatitlán Guatemala, our new community center stands as a beacon of hope and change for women and their children. This safe space, built with the generous support of our donors, is more than just a building—it's a learning center where women gain valuable skills and children find educational support. Here, in a nurturing environment, we are strengthening the community and empowering women to transform their lives, ensuring a brighter future for all.
Feed El Salitre
Our newest long-term initiative aims to significantly enhance the Center’s impact on nutrition and hunger, benefiting 125 women and children in the community. We are implementing a three-pronged approach to achieve this goal:
Increased Compensation and Food Support: Recognizing that better pay is essential for healthy families, we have increased the number of working days for our skilled seamstresses and raised the scholarship amounts for our students. Additionally, seamstresses, teachers, and the groundskeeper will receive regular provisions of dairy, vegetables, and eggs as part of their compensation to supplement their meals.
Nutritional and Educational Support for Mothers and Young Children: We plan to develop a comprehensive nutritional and educational program for pregnant women and infants/toddlers. This program will identify and support pregnant and new mothers, providing them with essential nutrition and developmental support for their young children.
Collaboration with Local Schools: We aim to collaborate with the local school to serve as a distribution point for nutritious egg-based snacks for first graders, ensuring that young children receive vital nutrients to support their growth and learning.
Initiative Goals for 2024, Year 1 of Initiative
Collect Community Data,
Develop Working Plans
Forge Local Partnerships,
Seek funders to support the work.
We are excited in this next step in moving beyond the walls of Center as we continue seeking solutions to poverty and hunger through partnership with and advocacy for the women and children of El Salitre.
Our Partners
Collaborating for Change
Organic Agriculture and Community Inspired by Mayan Tradition
We have found the perfect partnership for our emerging plans to become much more involved in addressing the serious issues of food scarcity in our community. Twin brothers, Emilio and Guillermo, were born in Guatemala City. After some experiences in the food and tourism industries, they started studying the ancient Mayan ways of farming – and in 2011 an idea was born! They developed the land inherited from their great grandparents into a place where organic veggies could grow together with’ the children from the community. Today the brothers offer consulting on agriculture and sustainable living.
The brothers will be supporting our gardening efforts and helping us with our chicken project. And as we begin to move beyond the Center walls to address nutrition for pregnant women, babies, toddlers and elementary age children in El Salitre, we will look to Emilio and Guillermo for their wisdom and sage advice about growing healthy food sustainably.
A Guatemalan Designer Intent on Lifting up Guatemalan Talent
We are delighted to be working with the amazing designer, Melida Uribio, who has recently started MelRose Design in the heart of Antigua. We call her Mel, and she has become a wonderful partner to us, designing beautiful clothing for our seamstresses to sew and embroider. Melida earned a degree in fashion design from FIDM in Los Angeles, California.
After a career of 38 years in the development of brands in top-name companies such as Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret, she decided to move to Guatemala, her mother’s birthplace. In Antigua she moved quickly into the rich culture of Guatemala’s fashion industry. Soon you will be finding MelRose Designs featured on our Shopify site! Look for them. They are a gorgeous addition to our products.
Your Support Feeds into the Flourishing of El Salitre
Your generous donations directly support our mission. Every dollar goes towards empowering women and providing education and resources for children. See how your contribution can make a substantial difference.