Union of Artisans accuses that there are intermediaries who take 70 percent of the profits from the sales.

PUEBLA MEXICO. The artisans of Puebla suffer losses in the commercialization of their products due to intermediaries who take up to 70 percent of the sales, denounced Tomás Juárez Fuentes, president of the Union of Artisans of the entity.

“These are people who come to monopolize the true producer, because they buy the products at a low price and sell it at double or triple, when it is the artisan who invested time and money (…) This has been happening for years, what which means losses for them, and therefore, economic inequality,” he said.

He explained that resellers buy dreamcatchers from artisans for 70 pesos, and they sell them for up to 500 pesos. Another case is that of the silver slaves, which are bought for 100 pesos and sold for 600 pesos.

The representative of the sector, announces that the result of wasting the crafts, generates that the producers cannot cover the operating expenses, much less, obtain a fair profit to satisfy their basic needs.

This problem is present in all craft branches, among which the miniature palm, wool textiles, thread embroidery, pottery, chopped paper and jewelry stand out.

Another factor that also affects the income of artisans from Puebla is haggling by direct buyers, who seek to acquire products at a lower price.

This situation causes producers who seek to sell their own items to lose up to 20 percent of the real value of each handicraft, which would be their profit from labor.

“It is our own people, both from Puebla and Mexicans, who do not value work and always ask for discounts. When an artisan agrees to haggle, he is losing 20 percent of his income (…) Unfortunately, it is only people from other countries who value our work and pay what it is”, he explained.

For artisans, intermediaries are such a big problem that in some communities they have already organized themselves to prevent them from taking their products. Such is the case of the community of Papatlatla, located in the municipality of Huauchinango, where 12 women formed a group calling themselves “textile defenders” to avoid being victims of hoarders and handicraft resellers.

All of them are mainly dedicated to making embroidery on a backstrap loom, artisanal textiles from the area (blouses) and “quexquemetl”, which is a type of shawl used to cover the torso.

One of its representatives, Cirila Florentino, announced that among the artisans they are notified if there is a possible reseller or a strange situation in the purchase of their products, with the aim of not selling their items to those people.

PRODUCTS WASTE

The haggling of buyers and the need to sell makes the artisans have to lower the price of their products. Such is the case of Mr. Alejandro Morales Navarro, who for 35 years has been making handcrafted products such as gold, silver and talavera jewelry, hand-engraved portraits, leather goods, glass and bone.

The artisan stated that on several occasions he has found it necessary to sell his products at a lower price, in order to earn a little money to buy food. This, even being aware that he was not able to recover the investment destined for the raw material and the transfers, as well as the money that he had to obtain for the labor.

“It often happens to me that I have to sell off my products to be able to buy some food or even to get the money for the ticket. It doesn’t seem fair to me because I spend money on transportation and the raw materials I use, but few buy, and those who are interested in a product want it cheap (…) Due to this situation, it has cost me a lot of work to raise my economy ”, he commented.

Maritza Rojas Rosano, coordinator of the central area of the Union of Artisans of the State of Puebla, announced that all producers have joined forces to find a series of solutions that help eradicate the most common problems in the sector.

The first project is to reactivate the Casa del Artesano, which would function as a museum, and in turn, a space for crafts producers to sell their products.

With this, local, national and foreign tourists will be able to learn about the gastronomy of the different regions of the state, as well as their dialects and music.

Additionally, they seek to offer workshops and craft classes.