01-11-2006 - Traces, n.10 Exporting Raincoats to Japan In the midst of the Argentine crisis, Hector and a group of friends did not resign themselves to just protesting in the streets, but became agents for renewal by Paola Bergamini Hector and his wife Soledad live on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in La Matanza, the largest zone of the conurbation, with 1,800,000 inhabitants, and also the poorest of the Argentine capital. In 1995 in Argentina, unemployment hit its record high of 18 percent, with three million people left jobless–among them, Hector, who had been employed as a metalworker. Together with other unemployed people, he joined the movement of the piqueteros (picketers) and took to the streets to protest. Then, in 1997, “At a certain point, I realized,” he recounts, “that this situation was unsustainable. The piqueteros were paid by political power and practically received government welfare support–to stay unemployed. We were cogs in the machine of political power. Some of us decided we had to begin managing our own work ourselves. We wanted to combat this culture of ‘non-work,’ of depending on someone else for handouts. There was a need for an educative project, for a change of mentality, above all for our children, and so one of our first concerns was to ‘do’ a school. But, above all, we had to learn how to manage our work ourselves. In 2001, putting together the little savings we’d set by and our abilities, we created a cooperative of small companies. The fundamental thing was to demonstrate to ourselves that our unemployment wasn’t our fault, and that our will to work was intact.” Twenty friends, through a donation from the Canadian embassy, set up a bakery where they sold bread at a very low price–a social price–guaranteeing a just wage for its workers. With the bread sales, a different relationship was established with the people of the neighborhood. But the bakery was not enough. Through some friends, they presented their business projects and managed to receive small sums, often the gleanings from donations, and in 2003 they established a textile workshop. Then they needed machines and, above all, relationships to garner work and make themselves known. With the help of an NGO, they were even able to obtain a long interview with the Minister of Education. But the greatest help arrived from Martin Ciurba, one of the most important of Argentine stylists. “A relationship of trust was born right away,” explains Soledad. “Together, we created a program that enabled us to present our product at Buenos Aires Fashion, a raincoat, a garment that is used by both workers and scientists. A democratic product! This fact gave us a lot of visibility, helped by the fact that the newspapers also spoke about it. We received a big order from Japan, and so we began to export our raincoats.” “At this point,” continues Hector, “another problem came up. A lot of people wanted to help us, proposing other kinds of companies, like one for producing soap. But we didn’t know how to make soap! We needed to get organized, to associate ourselves with other companies.” One relationship led to another, and they came into contact with a person engaged in the sphere of businesses focused on justice and solidarity in Italy, who proposed exporting their sweaters to Italy. The project comprises the whole production chain, from the cotton, produced by an indigenous community in northern Argentina, to the weaving and manufacturing in the textile workshop. “We had an order for one hundred thousand sweaters a year. We couldn’t do it alone, so we got together with six other workshops.” Ideas were not lacking. A publishing house was established, and it has already published three books. The most recent, When We Are Ourselves with Others, recounting the experience of their association, has already sold over 800,000 copies. A year ago, through Javier Comesaña of the Fundación del Diario La Nación, they met the friends of the Movement. “They asked us to participate in a meeting of Movement responsibles in Argentina to tell our story. We realized right away that we shared something in common: man’s need, which can’t be reduced to mere material well being. We met Annibal, Antonella, and the work of Fr. Mario Pantaleo, and have begun collaborating with them on some projects. But, above all, the educative proposal struck us. Watching the video of Fr. Giussani on The Risk of Education, we found the answers to many of our questions. The challenge Giussani proposes is the same for which we are fighting: to educate our children, and ourselves, to a life that is closer to reality.”