The Story of madre madé
We are a socially responsible business that aims to connect local talent to global markets. Our mission is to make a positive impact on both ends of our products’ journey, delivering our customers with a product that they love and offering local artisans an opportunity for a brighter future.
Being in Nicaragua ourselves most of the time, our role in the development and production of our products is diverse: Sourcing raw-materials from sustainable sources, product design and development together with our artisans as well as setting up a sustainable supply chain, e.g. from carpenters producing primary products up until the hamaqueros that produce the final product.
We don’t only buy locally, moreover we fully support our artisans in developing products of the highest quality that can be distributed markets outside of Nicaragua, the second poorest country in Central America. We also support local NGOs and social centers, focussing on education for kids.Our goal is sustainable, positive impact for everyone involved in our story: our clients, our artisans & mother nature.
WE CARE
About You
Every product is designed to be something you love, made with the highest quality, sustainably grown materials, and carefully handcrafted by local artisans who share our vision. Our designs seek to bring comfort to your home and give you a good cause to stand for. We control every product manually before it gets sent out to you.
About our Artisans
All items are handmade by Nicaraguan artisans using traditional production techniques. By working hand-in-hand with artisans to get access to conscious consumers outside of Nicaragua, we want to help them to break the cycle of poverty in one of the weakest economies in Latin America. With every purchase, we help sustain Nicaraguan families.
About our Planet
We source our certified Teak-wood from sustainable reforestation projects. Known as a type of hardwood with high durability and resistance we chose teakwood as the perfect material for delivering long-lasting and beautiful furniture. We avoid the use of chemicals such as paint or artificial colours, delivering the most natural look possible.
Meet the artisans
Our artisans are based in the very heart of Nicaragua ́s traditional handcrafting towns: Masaya, León, Granada and Ciudad Sandino. Their production techniques have been passed on from generation to generation. With little to no access to machines or industrial production, people have developed the art of handcrafting together with unique creativity and skill that can be seen in each of our products. The love and dedication towards their art of handcraft can be seen in each of the products, which are designed and made to be loved by you.
HAMAQUEROS DE MASAYA
The production of hammocks is a part of Nicaragua’s cultural heritage and one could easily argue that the world’s best handmade hammocks come from this Central American country. Our hammocks are produced by artisan families from Masaya, a town that stands out for its handcrafts and creative talent.
Apart from hammocks, decorative products made through a special knotting technique, known as macrame are also produced in Masaya. Both product lines are made of 100% virgin cotton.
Together with our artisans we make sure to deliver you is a hand-made product, from beginning to end.
Ramiro represents the 5th generation in his family being involved in the art of producing hammocks
CARPINTEROS DE NICARAGUA
In a country with the perfect climatic conditions for rapid growth of wood and without bigbox furniture stores, the art of creating amazing pieces of furniture out of naturally given resources is widely spread. Without access to automatized industrial mass production facilities, carpinteros in Nicaragua focus on manual precision, creativity and quality craftsmanship.
All our wooden accessories and furniture, as well as primary products or wooden components used in our different product lines, are handcrafted by local artisans from Masaya, Ciudad Sandino and Granada.
We collaborate with smaller, family run- businesses as well as well-established furniture producers like MasayaCo (www.masayaco.com) which all share our values, which can be seen for example in their core principle “from seed to seat”, guaranteeing a comprehensive approach towards sustainability in Nicaragua.
Each wooden item of our collection is a piece of true craftsmanship which can be seen and felt instantly.
TELAR DE LEÓN
Our plaids and blankets are handmade by a cooperative of eight skilled women from León, one of Nicaragua’s oldest and most colourful cities. These women came together to follow a common dream: bringing their art and longstanding tradition to the world. Their designs are inspired by Nicaragua’s rich and beautiful nature, using the soothing colors of the sea and lakes, the powerful tones of the surrounding volcanoes, and the warm dashes of the national birds and flowers. The creative process is artisanal from beginning to end.
It starts with the handlooms, which are built by these working families, using recycled wood to deliver a final product that fuses design with tradition and love for the environment.
Lilliam is one out of 7 women that work as a cooperative. They regard each cotton plaid is its own piece of art.
Charity
Besides supporting our producers in every step of the process, we’re trying to give a positive impact to this wonderful country and its population. We are in close contact with local NGOs and social centers focusing on children’s education. We are constantly designing specific support campaigns where different products purchased on our website are linked to direct donations towards these organisations and Nicaragua’s children in the most transparent way possible. We encourage you to find out more about one of the NGOs we are supporting: www.fabretto.org
Fabretto’s mission is to empower underserved children and their families in Nicaragua to reach their full potential, improve their livelihoods, and take advantage of economic opportunity through education. The organization envisions a prosperous Nicaragua where all children and adolescents have meaningful opportunities to grow and learn in communities that offer access to quality education. For over 60 years, Fabretto has been building relationships within Nicaraguan communities in order to provide hope and a better future to the children and youth in need. Today, the organization serves over 40,000 children and youth through work in 9 Fabretto Education Centers and over 400 local public schools.
Get to know more about the different programs available!
World Fair Trade
WFTO prescribes 10 principles that a fair trade business must follow in their day-to-day work and carries out monitoring to ensure these principles are upheld.
- 1. Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers.
- 2.Transparency and Accountability.
- 3. Fair Trading Practices.
- 4. Payment of a Fair Price
- 5. Ensuring no Child Labour and Forced Labour
- 6. Commitment to Non- Discrimination, Gender Equality, and Women´s Economic Empowerment, and Freedom of Association.
- 7. Ensuring Good Working Conditions
- 8.Providing Capacity Building.
- 9. Promoting Fair Trade.
- 10. Respecting the environment
If you are interested to know more how we implement these principles in our every day routine, please write us to
know more, contact us here, we´ll be happy to share with you some facts.
We are madre madé
