Since 2001, Colombia is one of the priority countries for Swiss peace and human rights policies. The Confederation has played an important supporting role in the recent peace process, but much remains to be done.
We can all contribute, to the best of our ability, to providing new opportunities for sustainable development to one of the most vulnerable populations, which includes women in the informal mining sector in the Boyacá region of Colombia, and to offering new employment opportunities for people in Switzerland who are unemployed or living in precarious or poor conditions.
The Boyacá-Switzerland project’s mission is to contribute to the fight against poverty and improve the living and working conditions of women employed in the informal mining sector in the Boyacá region of Colombia.
The Boyacá-Switzerland project aims at improving the skills of its beneficiaries in Colombia and Switzerland and at eliminating intermediaries in the jewellery production line, as well as bringing together populations in both countries whose interaction and collaboration will be mutually beneficial.
On the Colombian side, the women currently employed in the informal mining sector will be trained in stone-cutting techniques.
On the Swiss side, unemployed and underprivileged populations wishing to participate in this endeavor will be trained in the creation of jewellery from the stones carved by Colombian women.
The jewellery produced this way will be low range but sufficiently attractive to find a place amongst the younger population, and in particular the “Millennials”, through an online marketing strategy.
Capacity building, elimination of intermediaries and online marketing will generate additional revenue in Colombia and Switzerland based on the principles of fair trade and solidarity.
