Table Colombia Challenge

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Lack of employment and social/economic empowerment with little to no emotional development opportunities for women who have been victims of the violence in Colombia (forced displacement, armed conflict, among others). Through the productive project “La Joya”

La Joya, produces a wide range of jewelry and accessories made from natural seeds in sustainable ways, these are designed by the leader and founder of Lajoya, Sully Gomez. This is jewelry is handcrafted by women who choose to take part in this project and are trained for free to make these designs. They then have the option to continue to work for Lajoya and get paid for the jewelry they produce. La joya also offers these women opportunities to become agents of change in their communities and within their homes by empowering with opportunities they did not have before.

Market Opportunity: Female population between 35 and 60 years of age who are at a middle or higher socioeconomic level with disposable income. Who has access to the Internet, social networks or like to attend craft fairs and preference that are geographically located in Colombia and the United States.

Market Size and Trends: The market in which La Joya has demonstrated the most success has been in the United States through online sales and social media. In Colombia, social networks and participation in fairs have shown a smaller percentage of sales in comparison than the USA. In relation to consumer trends in the USA, it is observed that people are looking for a healthy life and this fact remains a key factor. This makes people more aware of the need for environmentally friendly which has increased their preference for healthy products, organic handicrafts and sustainable products. These consumers are willing to try new products which helps them and the environment. The handicrafts sector is also a growing trend in the USA and one of the most highlighted reasons of purchases due to the culturally rich identity for our handmade work. Our products offered to our clients have a unique culture design which adds value to our consumers. We also provide a sense of contribution to form a better society and helping those in need as each piece of our product is crafted by women who are working towards a better life for themselves. Purchases of our products contribute to a better environment, offer unique designs and open opportunities to those who do not have them, in a country that doesn’t offer much.

Risks: In Colombia, there is a high offer of artisanal accessories but they are not well paid, the informality in the commercialization makes it a fragile sector that can be easily affected by inappropriate policies. This is according to a consumption study conducted by DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics of Colombia).

For this reason, La Joya focuses its efforts to market its products in the United States, where they are valued and accepted by a high percentage of the population.

In Colombia, the manufacturing and marketing of jewelry from natural seeds increase every day, much of which is informal or done outside of normal business practices. Due to the lack of employment opportunities and ease of which materials obtainable in Colombia, this market oftentimes overcrowded inside the country. I see two main types of competitors in Colombia, craft fair sellers, and professional artisans. However, La Joya sets itself apart by being involved in the local community and selling a majority of its product in the United States where there is a larger market.

You can often find a large variety of these products at local craft fairs in Colombia, that are made of similar designs made with the same materials. However, these products are often poorly made, lack consistency and do not offer the option of unique designs. It is of my opinion these sellers have little to no quality control over their products. While La Joya takes pride in offering products that meet our high standards and often will reduce or redesign a product that does not meet our expectations.

Professional artisans sell mostly in galleries and higher-end retails stores. This product is often made of higher quality materials and often better made than what is seen at craft shows. However, this product is often priced too high to be accessible to the majority of the market. La Joya offers a product of similar quality at reasonable prices that are more enticing to larger amount of people.

Given the competition in Colombia, we have chosen to focus on the international market, mainly in the United States. While we recognize this area is not without its own competition we feel that our value for the price, our unique designs, high standards, and social impact sets us apart from other competitors.

Examples of our competition operating in the United States: 

1. Seed Design: (direct competition) This company is located in the city of Seattle, Washington state in the United States, they make jewelry using different Latin American seeds and jewels, some of which are also tagua seed. However, the company is created and directed by the United States. La Joya has the competitive advantage of being local which allows us to maintain higher quality control. We also have a more authentic representation to our customers. For example at craft shows and fairs we offer our customers samples of the tagua seed in different stages of the process detailed look at the process, These sample seems exotic to customers and invites them to buy more.

2. ColombiangirlJewelry: (direct competition) This is a company created by a Colombian that is now based in the United States, they work and support artisans from the city of Bogotá. They also support women of low economic resources and gives them an economic opportunity. ComobiangirlJewelry is very popular but their jewelry often incorporates dyed orange peels (in the shape of flowers). These peels are biodegradable and fade with the time that is why La Joya has chosen not to use this in our jewelry. ComobiangirlJewelry also lacks unique designs, most of their product is a replication of what is often found everywhere in Colombia for cheap prices. La Joya is constantly designing new products and testing its market for high demand designs.

3. AmanoArtisans: (indirect competition) This is a company created by a Colombian who currently lives in the United States, they support artisans with different skills around Colombia in addition to natural seeds for their jewelry, they include in their portfolio different accessories made in bullhorn and wood, leather and threads. AmanoArtisnas products are often high priced which has put them of reach for the average consumer. Where La Joya has found a balance between price and quality that is reasonable for the larger target market.

In 2015 we started to introduce our products in the North American market, we participated in 3 fairs in the city of Seattle, United States. We had success in sales and customer feedback who saw the tagua as a characteristic element with a particular beauty in the materials. Our main clients were between the ages of 35-60, who reacted very positively to the jewelry and the history of Colombian women who make the jewelry. They often overlook the slightly higher price for imported jewelry because they know we are having a positive social impact. We know that women under this age range do not typically buy our product as we have gotten feedback telling us the design style is not in their style.

In 2016 we participated in larger fairs in the United States and our sales increased, we sold 100-150 pieces per day. During the same year, La Joya Project was selected among 6,000 social enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean to go to a scholarship program in the United States, (250 entrepreneurs were selected), during this program there was the opportunity to have a recognition the US government and expand our Communications network by publicizing the products in television programs, this of course increased the clients and followers of our project and opened many doors for us.

Back in Colombin in  2017 we have undertaken with more force the sale of our products through local acquaintances, connections made in our passage through the United States, offering our products in social networks, and although we have evidenced that our prices are not cheap for the Colombian market, we have managed to find and retain customers as we sell products in a couple of hotels who resell in their gift shops.

The main objective of La Joya is to position La Joya products internationally, as a leading brand in the production of handcrafted accessories made from natural seeds and championed through its social program with women who were victims of violence in Colombia.

To do this, La Joya focuses its market in cities of the United States of America to achieve permanent clients.

SOCIAL FUNCTION:

- Empower women who were victims of conflict in Colombia by teaching them how to manufacture and sale of Handmade Jewelry, as a means of labor and social integration.

- The social program of La Joya seeks to train women, teach them a job, and strengthen their skills to face the business world, thus contributing to the construction of sustainable models in their communities, making them replicators to create the difference in their environments and thus abandon Illicit occupations.

- La Joya seeks to make society from the most vulnerable communities that are outside the social integration plans of the State.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES AND VALUE PROPOSAL

SOCIAL WORK

• Strong social inclusion work with women victims of violence in Colombia
• Sensitization activities
• Women empowerment

EXPERIENCE

• Experience and knowledge in production processes.
• Participation in different programs for young entrepreneurs in the United States, Bolivia, and Colombia

QUALITY

• Group of expert craftswomen in jewelry making
• Suppliers internationally recognized for the quality of the raw material they sell.

ENVIRONMENT

• Raw material from natural sustainability resources, the tagua palm is not cut down, only the fruit is collected and the palm grows naturally from the seeds that fall to the ground.
• Where there is tagua, there is an abundant forest, so forest conservation is promoted.

MARKET OPENING

• Target market identified by first-hand research.
• Visit Argentina in May 2017 and it was discovered that there is a potential market
• Fairs scheduled in the United States in recent years.

PRICE

• Competitive level prices
• Competitive prices despite being a new company

Sully Gomez is the founder and sole owner of La Joya. She is bilingual in Spanish and English with a background in fashion designing. She has over 8 years of experience working with women who have been victims of violence in Colombia between her company and nonprofit organizations. During this time, she learned how to develop her business, networking and entrepreneurship skills. She founded La Joya in 2017 and is responsible for the sales, promotion, and training of women who make jewelry.

Maritza Sánchez, works part time for La Joya making jewelry and also lends a workspace where to carry out the workshops. She has previous experience working with jewelry and is able to help share her knowledge and skill. Martiza was displaced from Condoto - Choco in 2017. She is a high school graduate and has worked in different jewelry workshops and making Christmas decorations. She also does social work with the Mujeres Guerreras Foundation, focused on child assistance, cultural activities and search for economic resources for work with children. She took an entrepreneurship course called “undertake and learn”; at the University Minuto de Dios, she also took a course for women caregivers since she has a child with physical disabilities.

Claudia Melo, is a high school graduate displaced from her home in Guapi-Cauca by violence in 2017. She also graduated in braids maker and works in her spare time. She is the head of her family with 2 children she works hard to provide for. She has great skill for crafts and has learned how to make La Joya’s jewelry designs quickly, which she does part-time.

Erika Ibarguen, is a high school graduate and is currently studying early childhood. She was displaced by the violence from Condoto-Choco in 2017, is a mother of two children. She is very active in her community, collecting food, clothing, and assists different children of her neighborhood with homework. Erika is the leader of the group of artisan women of La Joya, she ensures quality control, supervises and helps other women.

Martha Gomez, has taken courses at SENA (National Center of knowledge of Colombia) in jewelry and sewing. Currently, she works from her home doing sewing work and is involved in the Women Warriors Foundation as support work with women who have been displaced by violence in Colombia. Martha is part of the small group of artisans in La Joya making our jewelry part-time. She stands out for her careful and detailed work in the elaboration of the jewelry.

Chris Morris, In an American based in the USA, who has voluntarily involved with La Joya since 2018 and is now the primary distributor of sales in the United States.

Paola Ramírez, is an industrial engineer from Bogota, graduated from the Agricultural University of Colombia, who have voluntarily worked with La Joya as a project formulation advisor since La Joya started in 2017.

La Joya was created after noticing a need for employment opportunities for women displaced by violence in Colombia. Our work has always focused on granting economic and social opportunities to improve the quality of life and self-esteem of women who have been marked by war. They are taught that life continues despite how difficult it is sometimes, this encourages, empowers them to create a positive change their own environment. We aim to provide an opportunity for these women after a difficult life by showing them alternatives income and to be part of productive projects. Our hope is to generate confidence in themselves, this results in their own desire for change, forgiveness, reconciliation, and productivity. The families of the women we hire are also an important part of our activities and most of them are single mothers. Since the strength and empowerment that women receive is transmitted to their children so they can grow up with a different mentality amid the real circumstances of their environment. Seeing their mothers motivated and working helps build a solid understanding of good work ethics. We often include activities with children to involve them and awaken their creativity.

The seed we use to make the jewelry is called Tagua. Due to the plants origin and its physical similarity with ivory, it is often recognized as a sustainable substitute for items traditionally made from the fangs and teeth of elephants and whales. Tagua is a wild fruit, which grows in the tropical forests of Colombia under the shade of other trees. It is almost impossible to reproduce the conditions and the type of soil in which it can grow, therefore, all the tagua is harvested from wild sources. We take care to preserve the environment since the seeds picked from the ground after falling from the trees, the collection does not have any adverse effect on the forests. There is no logging that would damage the forests and manual collection generates economic income for collectors who are mostly local farmers. It is important to mention during the dyeing/coloring processes we use non-toxic food coloring with great care taken not to contaminate waterways or rivers.