Provide Land and a Workspace for an Indigenous Women-led Business

Just Peoples

Supported beneficiary groups within Women & Girls

Overseas communities or charities | People from a culturally and linguistically diverse background

Age Demographic

Adults - aged 25 to under 65

Project Focus

Economic development | Human rights

Project Area

International

Rural/Regional

Project Description

Indigeneous Ikojts women in San Dionisio del Mar, Oaxaca, a coastal town in southern Mexico, struggle to gain ownership over land due to unequal gender social norms. Ownership of land helps women to gain economic and patrimonial safety as well as a space to thrive and realize their goals.

This project will support a business cooperative of 14 women to secure a piece of land where they can grow crops, produce preserves, host workshops and run a business. The women have been working on their skills and refining their product offerings for more than a year and are on their way to legally register their cooperative and trade mark, which is named Munik (short name for Muntaj Ikojts, which translates to Ikojts Women).

After an intense year of several capacity-building workshops, the group is now ready to start selling their traditional and sustainable products, from corn-based flat bread to fruit preserves and textiles. The next step in the women of Munik’s business journey is to secure a space to establish their working center. So far, they’ve been working in each other homes and in the town public square, but this feels increasingly unstable given the political and religious context in San Dionisio Del Mar. The purchase of a piece of land and construction of facilities will ensure these entrepreneurial women will have a safe, functional and comfortable space to grow and make their sustainable business thrive.

Expected Outcomes

This project will include the acquisition of a plot of land, of at least 400 squared meters, the legal registration and other administrative procedures required to secure the land property, and the construction of basic infrastructure including a storage building, sanitary facilities and a light structure to cover from the sunlight.

The ownership of land and facilities will ensure that the women of Munik have a dedicated space to gather, discuss, make decisions and work. They will gain stability and certainty to plan their future as a group.

The space will also ensure each of the 14 women have a safe space even for personal crises, which often erupt in this village due to family issues as alcohol abuse, family, religious or political violence.

As development literature often shows, the health of a family is closely linked to the health of women. So, as this project is targeting the wellbeing and economic opportunities of a group of women, we estimate immediate improvements on the lives of their children, parents, brothers and sisters.

Project Data & Lessons

Those interested in funding this initiative have the opportunity to meet directly with Laura and Juan, the local Mexican Just Peoples project leaders who have designed and will deliver this project via video call. They'll be able to learn more about the local context in San Dionisio del Mar and determine whether supporting this project will help them meet their goals of contribution.

Following the purchase of land and building construction the supporter who funds this project can meet with Laura and Juan again to hear directly about the impact that it has made for 14 women involved and hear Laura and Juan's reflections and learnings from the project.

Learn More

Project Dates

Project Commences: March 13, 2022

Project Completes: September 30, 2022

Funding Details

$32,551
Funding Needed

$0
Current Funding

$32,551
Total Project Costs

Approved Tax Deductability Status

Approved Tax Concession Charity

Other Funding Sources

Other Support Opportunities
Pro bono services, Subsidies

Organisation Details

Just Peoples

ABN: 25634335130

ACNC Registration Link

Contact

Johanna de Burca

Email: jo@justpeoples.org

Phone: 0474977140

About Just Peoples

We believe in a world without poverty. Where people have the power to solve their own problems, their own way.
We don’t believe that foreign intervention is the key to solving poverty. We believe that real, sustainable change comes about when people are given the resources to lift their own communities out of poverty. We tackle global poverty by supporting grassroots leaders to design and deliver locally appropriate solutions to the challenges their communities face.
Just Peoples currently has 16 Project Leaders from across Africa, Asia and Mexico who are bringing to life a wide-range of projects based on delivering health, education, technological and economic outcomes for people living in poverty. The majority of our projects are designed and delivered by women and/or for women as we believe that supporting women around the world to step into their power is one of the most effective ways to change the trajectory for entire communities.
Our Project Leaders are effective because they have a deep understanding of the local context of poverty in peoples’ lives, and have established respected relationships in their communities. Their insight and expertise make them the best people to understand problems, and implement lasting changes that work. So far we have delivered 125 grassroots projects globally, impacting the lives of over 100,000 people living in 13 countries around the world.

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Gender equality has got to be front and centre of our plan for the nation’s economic and social security.

Elizabeth Broderick AO

Also known as Australian Women Donors Network (ABN: 28 141 197 471), Australians Investing in Women is a registered charity endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR1) under a special listing, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.