 HISTORY
OF THE MANOS DEL URUGUAY COOPERATIVE
The Manos del Uruguay Cooperative was founded in 1968 by
five friends. Their goal was to develop economic opportunities
for the women in rural Uruguay. Although Uruguay has one of
highest literacy rates in the world, there were and continue
to be few employment opportunities for women.
Olgita Artagaveytia, one of the founders of the cooperative,
had been volunteering at a village school in 1968. She and
her friends were very impressed with the level of expertise
in the craftwork produced by the village women. They decided
to take the products to Montevideo and sell them for the village.
This was a very successful venture and everything they presented
was sold in one day! The name of Manos del Uruguay (Hands
of Uruguay) was born.
The founders also helped the women organize socially and
financially. They were committed to creating a professional
organization that had legal standing and a strong marketing
plan. The Cooperative was formed as a non-profit organization,
committed to developing work for the women in the countryside.
In 1976, working with the InterAmerican Development Bank and
a marketing consultant, they opened a showroom in New York
City, where they sold knitted and woven garments as well as
Manos yarn. Over the ten years that the showroom existed,
it employed Lola Ehrlich, who went on to become the editor
of Vogue Knitting. Anne Simpson, also an employee of the showroom,
created the space-dyed colour range and was the U.S. distributor
for many years.
The original method of dyeing was done in iron kettles over
wood fires. The dyes interacted with the iron in the kettles,
producing a striated, faded quality, which was at first, seen
to be a problem. It was a marketing consultant who saw the
beauty in the colour shadings and named it Stria. Over the
years, the process has been refined. Using stainless steel
pots and steam heat, the dyers can now control the water temperature
and provide a consistent range of over ninety colours. Manos
Stria is a trademark of the product.
The Cooperative continues to be a strong, viable business,
providing employment and income for the women of Uruguay.
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