Esperanza
Market is an online store selling purses and yoga bags made by hand
in Nicaragua. Each bag is made by a small group of artisans, mostly
women, who are paid Fair Trade wages, not just minimum wages. For
each bag sold, the company donates a solar-powered light to one of
the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguan children who live without
electricity.
Austin,
TX, USA (March 16, 2016) -- Austinite Jennifer Simonson has spent
all her vacation time during the past 15 years traveling Latin
America experiencing both its colorful culture and the poverty that
lies underneath.
Wanting
to highlight the cultures and help alleviate some to the poverty,
Simonson recently launched the Esperanza
Market, a social enterprise dedicated to improving
the lives of women and children living in Nicaragua's impoverished
communities.
The
online marketplace sells purses
and yoga
bags made by hand in Nicaragua. They work directly
with artisans, mostly women, to provide them with regular employment
and fair wages. For each bag sold the company donates a solar-powered
lamp to students in those communities who live in homes without
reliable electricity.
"Esperanza
means Hope in Spanish. I wanted to create a website that shares all
these amazing handmade bags and purses with my friends in the United
States and also raise awareness of some of the problems facing our
neighbors to the south," she said. "I started in Nicaragua
because I know the country very well and because it is the second
poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, there is a lot of need for
help."
One-third
of the Nicaragua's population lives without reliable electricity.
Some of the population lives off the electric grid, while others
might have access to electricity, but can't afford to use it.
Families without energy rely on burning candles, wood or kerosene for
light, which can be expensive, flammable and can cause poor air
quality.
Esperanza
Market distributes solar-powered reading lamps to students in efforts
to improve education by providing students with light to read and do
homework once the sun goes down. They started with Education Plus
Nicaragua, a school in the Pantanal barrio outside of Granada. The
neighborhood has 13,000 residents, 8,000 are children. There are no
paved roads or running water and electricity is very limited. The
children of this area are vulnerable for child prostitution, criminal
activity and glue sniffing.
Esperanza
Market also has a link
for those simply wanting to donate solar-powered lamps to children in
Nicaragua. Since its launch in November 2015, the Esperanza Market
has donated 100 solar-powered lamps.
Esperanza
Market is an online store selling purses and yoga bags made by hand
in Nicaragua. Each bag is made by a small group of artisans, mostly
women, who are paid Fair Trade wages, not just minimum wages. For
each bag sold, the company donates a solar-powered light to one of
the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguan children who live without
electricity.
Media
Contact:
Jennifer
Simonson
Esperanza
Market
512-496-6649
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