CATIE receives a shipment of leather that strengthens a workshop for women in rural areas

• Strategic Alliance between Southwest Airlines® and CATIE promotes entrepreneurship and economic empowerment of women.

January 17, 2024. Four containers full of aircraft seat leather arrived at CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Teaching Center) this week, being a significant step in the Southwest Airlines "Repurpose with Purpose project" program of which CATIE is a partner of.

The partnership between CATIE and Southwest has been operational for more than three years, seeking to support the economic empowerment of rural women in Costa Rica, where the airline provides leather removed from the seats of its airplanes, allowing participants to learn to work with the material and establish their own ventures While keeping waste out of landfills.

Eliecer Vargas, coordinator of the International Master's Degree in Sustainable Tourism and responsible for the program, highlighted that this is the first year in which they have managed to schedule regular leather deliveries, marking considerable progress compared to previous years, where the receipt of the material was They performed sporadically and arrived from El Salvador.

The recent shipment of 299 leather boxes is equivalent to the number of 8,000 seats on approximately 60 Southwest Airlines aircraft, highlighting the magnitude of the commitment and collaboration between both organizations. The materialization of this agreement not only ensures the continuity of the program, but also lays the foundations for a long-term horizon.

With the arrival of raw materials, CATIE hopes to continue to motivate rural women to participate in the program, knowing materials and training resources are available via the workshop at CATIE.

During 2023, around 56 women have gone through the program, of which 25 successfully completed the workshops. Currently, 12 of these people are working on their initiatives, representing 7 different ventures.

The participants mostly belong to communities far from the center of the canton of Turrialba, such as Mollejones, Pacayitas, San Vicente, Mata de Guineo, 100 Manzanas, Chitaría, Santa Cruz, Guayabo and a little closer, such as the El Mora neighborhood. and blue.

Lo que viene en 2024

“Looking to the future, the CATIE program has ambitious plans for 2024, where its main objective is to develop a small leather reuse industry, with three key components identified: the raw material, which luckily we already have the leather necessary to work with, the human capacity, that is, the artisans and the market,” said Vargas.

“With raw materials secured, thanks to Southwest Airlines continued commitment, the focus is now on skill development and market exploration to consolidate a sustainable industry,” he concluded.

The scheduled arrival of raw materials represents an important moment for the program, laying the foundation for the skill development of many women in the leather industry.

In an emotional interview, Ana Lorena, a resident of Morá de Turrialba, shared her inspiring story of improvement through her participation in the program. At 63 years old, Ana Lorena has found a new opportunity for personal and economic development.

She came to CATIE thanks to the invitation of a friend and today, both on a personal and financial level, she thanks CATIE for the golden opportunity she found.”I am a cancer survivor and at my age, it is difficult for me to find employment elsewhere. However, the project has given me the opportunity to improve myself thanks to leather products. Here I have someone to share with, friends that we are making along the way, because this space also gives me mental and emotional health,” she said.

Lorena maintains that working with leather was something completely new, but she was impressed by the possibility of taking apart seats and creating beautiful products with her own hands. Her story is an inspiring testimony of how perseverance can open new doors, regardless of age or adversity.

Do you want to buy some of their products?

For people interested in purchasing the artisans' products, the workshop has an exhibition area where you can see the different products and buy directly from them.