The Sewing Initiative

The Sewing Initiative, inaugurated in 2016, is a skill development and entrepreneurship program that empowers women to become self-sufficient through skilled handiwork. In the Manantay slums of Pucallpa, Peru, the Foundation has established a sewing centre that provides 8 month long sewing courses led by a qualified seamstress. The course is given 5 days a week, 3 hours a day, from April to November, to mothers eager to develop hands-on skills that will allow them to provide for their families.

In 2020, the program expanded into a mini-enterprise, Creacion Arte de los Manos, headed by seven of its most qualified and skilled seamstresses. Today, they receive and fulfil orders, responding to local demand.

The Pure Art Boutique has also partnered with a co-op of 19 Shipibo artisans located 3 hours from Pucallpa along the Amazon Region’s Ucayali River. The Foundation has provided 5 sewing machines to the co-op and works side by side with the artisans, producing traditional embroidered pieces and açai bead jewelry.

 Learn more about our partnership with the Shipibo in the video below.