Janet Avila

Manos del Uruguay: Our values ARE our business

An interview with Lisa Meyers, distributor of Manos del Uruguay
by Ann Weaver

Today’s post showcases Manos del Uruguay, a group of twelve women’s cooperatives in Uruguay that produce hand-dyed—and some hand-spun—yarns.

Five Uruguayan women started Manos in 1968, first to sell handmade wool products, then to produce and sell yarn to fiber artists all over the world. Manos has been employing and empowering women for over fifty years—FIFTY
YEARS. Women were producing Manos yarn before I was born. This is astonishing!

You can read more about their history here.

Fairmount Fibers is the exclusive distributor of Manos yarns in the United States, so I asked Lisa, the director, a few questions about the company.

Ann: Please tell us a little about the women who dye your yarn. How large is your dye team? How long have they worked with Manos?
Lisa: About 25 women work in the coops where our yarn is dyed—some dyeing, some winding, some spinning. Their tenure with Manos varies, from about 3 years to nearly 40, including at least one whose mother spun and dyed with Manos.

Ann: Where is Manos located?
Lisa: Manos is actually a cooperative of cooperatives. Because our mission is to reach women where they are, there are separate workshops (each run by their member artisans) in different villages throughout the countryside.

Ann: Please tell us a little about the inspirations behind your colors.
Lisa: New color development can be shaped by the Uruguayan
landscape of rolling grassland, but also by runway trends in North America or Europe, because Manos is not just a yarn company—we also produce handknitted and handwoven goods for export, which means staying in touch with ready-to-wear trends in those markets.

Ann: How do your values impact your business?
Lisa: We started Manos with the same mission we have today: to provide opportunities—economic, social, personal—for rural women in Uruguay. Manos is a certified member of the World Fair Trade Organization, which means we’ve been audited for compliance with these FairTrade principles. We are artisan-owned, self-governing cooperatives. In effect, our values ARE our business.