About us
Khadi Oaxaca is a collective of artisans and other collaborators who mainly live in the municipality of San Sebastian Rio Hondo and nearby villages in the Southern Sierra of Oaxaca and Santa Catarina Mechoacan on the Costa Chica (southern coastal region of the state of Oaxaca).
The Collaboration
All of the 650 artisans are independent and work in their free time. They own their tools of the trade and work from home. This works well for the hundreds of spinners that live in small ranches and have few options for earning an income. The work is paid by the unit (kilogram, meter, piece) and people are paid every 15 days or once a month depending on the trade. The payment is made at the time of delivery of their work. The payment is based on rates made by agreement between the artisans and the central team, taking into consideration the possibilities of the company and the needs of the artisans.
Khadi Oaxaca is not a typical business
Khadi Oaxaca is a not-for-profit business. The project / business was established for several reasons. In the first instance, to provide employment for the local population, especially for those living outside the town, in small subsistence ranches. Secondly, to preserve the local culture through traditional crafts and, thirdly, to generate funds that can be used to finance sustainable community development in the municipality of San Sebastian Rio Hondo, where the great majority of the workers are from. Up until now, the business has not generated any profits. At the point when the company realizes a profit, the organization, including the artisans and the central staff, will decide how to use the funds.
We have received a lot of help
Working alongside the company there is a local foundation called One Foundation Oaxaca. It was formed in 2017 with the main objective being to support Khadi Oaxaca in the transition from a textile project into an artisan business capable of supporting many people as well as contribute to the health of the natural surroundings and the community of San Sebastian Rio Hondo. The foundation provides a temporary financial and legal base for Khadi Oaxaca during this phase of its evolution. The donations have also been supporting training and organizational development of the cotton producers on the Oaxaca coast who supply Khadi Oaxaca with ecologically produced, native, colored cotton.
The models
Due to the ground up, altruistic, social nature of the organization, Khadi Oaxaca has been largely founded upon volunteer and exchange contributions. Most of the models and photographers have shared their talents with the organization in this way. Over time we plan to diversify our visual representation of models.