Our Mission
To Implement fair trade and to generate growth opportunities for Mexican families of Ñäñho artisans.
Khoti is an initiative that was born in 2018 in Querétaro, Mexico. At Khoti we have always had in mind the idea of approaching the indigenous communities of San Ildefonso and specifically the artisans of that community. All with the mission of being able to support them and embark on a journey of growth along with them. Now, a year later, we enter a new stage and thereby we want to solidify our mission as a social enterprise. Here we explain what our official mission means.
To implement fair trade ...
In an earlier post in our blog we explained what we mean by fair trade: "The goal of fair trade is the reduction of inequalities between developed and developing nations." In simple terms, what we want at Khoti is that indigenous artisans receive a fair price for the products that they arduously create and that thanks to that, the inequalities that afflict their communities can be addressed at the root.
"Small textile producers have difficulty placing their product so that it may be consumed by many and the commercial exchange is slow." What we have seen in the community of San Ildefonso in Amealco, Mexico is exactly this. Indigenous artisans have difficulties placing their handicrafts in a market where cheap products are sought, regardless of where they come from, the quality they have, or who they have impacted:
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Living in a rural community away from the big cities, the artisans we work with do not have many opportunities to show their products to enough customers.
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The exploitation of artisans is common as possible "customers" arrive in the communities seeking to pay prices well below a fair price. The artisans, not having enough sales opportunities, are sometimes forced to accept these prices.
Generate growth opportunities ...
Khoti seeks not only to buy products and sell them to customers in Mexico and in the world. We also seek to generate opportunities for artisans to get the most out of their skills. We want them to have the tools so that with or without Khoti they can be independent and discover the potential they already have. Apart from the opportunity for their products to be sold worldwide, Khoti will also give workshops to artisans every two weeks. These workshops will include topics from new cutting and sewing techniques to very relevant topics nowadays in marketing, business and entrepreneurship.
In addition, through our blog we seek to raise awareness of the importance of indigenous peoples and the value of Mexican crafts. This will also translate into more opportunities for Mexican artisan families as we seek to raise awareness among the general population so that in the end they pay a fair price for Mexican crafts.
For Mexican families of Ñäñho artisans...
We seek to directly support indigenous artisans but we know that change goes beyond the artisans themselves. The artisans live in communities that are very family-centered and, in most cases, they will tell you that they weave and work to support their children and their families. Khoti seeks to support artisans but also as a consequence, their families and their communities. And all this taking into account their identity as artisans, as indigenous people of the Ñäñho community and as Mexican women. The Ñäñho are an indigenous community in central Mexico and we hope that through our products and our work you can learn more about this great town.
This is Khoti. This is what we want to do and we hope you can join us on this journey!