Talent Becomes Action

CDA's Artisan Crafts Project, Artisans for Action

Caminos de Acción works with a small, women-led co-op named Las Tinecas, located in San Martin, El Salvador. The co-op creates paper earrings for Caminos de Acción through a technique known as quilling, which involves tightly rolling strips of paper into unique designs. Part of the proceeds from the earring sales go directly to co-op members who are paid a fair wage for each pair of earrings they make, while the rest of the proceeds help facilitate Caminos de Acción's local community development projects.

What is Las Tinecas?

Las Tinecas is one of many women-led artisan co-ops in El Salvador that uses their talents to generate income for themselves and their families. As El Salvador continues to recover from a 12-year civil war that ended in 1992, these co-ops are also a means of engendering solidarity, pride, and empowerment for marginalized and impoverished communities throughout the country. By supporting these co-ops, you make a direct positive impact on the lives of others. Click HERE to visit our online store to purchase earrings.  

How are the earrings made?

The talented artisans of Las Tinecas create quilled earrings by tightly rolling strips of paper around small wooden sticks into different sized circles that they bend into the desired shape for the design. Each shape is then glued to other shapes and painted over with layers of transparent sealing glue and set out to dry. It is a relatively time-intensive and detailed process that takes about 30-60 minutes per pair of earrings to complete, depending on the design's complexity. The last step in the process is to attach metal hooks and loops to the earrings, which is completed in the United States by volunteers. The original and playful earring designs were created by a collaborative effort between volunteers in the United States and Las Tinecas.

Learn more about Caminos de Acción's current projects here: http://www.caminosdeaccion.org/projects/