This year marked Peace Corps Panama’s fourth annual Healthy Artisan Seminar, a five-day seminar for women put on by PC Panama’s GAD committee. Around thirty Panamanian women, plus ten female Peace Corps volunteers as facilitators, came from all over the country, eager to share their skills and learn from others.
The seminar is structured with a mix of interactive, informational sessions about women’s health and business, as well as hands-on skill sharing workshops in which the women learn and teach how to make artisanal handicrafts. Health themes include self-esteem, nutrition, reproductive health, family planning, and domestic violence awareness. This year, women learned to weave natural fibers to craft bracelets and "sombreros pintados," distinctive patterned hats. They also practiced making crafts from recycled materials, like crocheted bags and wallets made from plastic bags, elaborate purses and wallets made from chip and cookie wrappers, and jewelry beads made from old magazines. To empower them to capitalize on these new skills, participants were made to think about the business of business, and they learned about goal-setting, basic money management, quality control, marketing, and customer service.
The Healthy Artisan Seminar is one of several annual events that Panama’s GAD committee directs – which include four annual youth leadership (GAD) camps, a new Men’s Leadership Seminar focused on health and business, and a volunteer flash mob dance on World AIDS day. Like these other events, the Artisan Seminar is highly anticipated each year, and is the highlight of many volunteers’ service. By empowering women with skills and knowledge to better care for themselves and their families, we’re creating a healthier, happier, more gender-equitable Panama – and having lots of fun doing it!
PC Panama's Annual Women's Artisan Workshop
By: Kelsie Pombo, PC Panama
GADGab Goes Global
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