Experiencing Empowerment at KK Peru

Sammi Harvey Shares Her Experience

Last month we invited a team of storytellers to visit our empowerment project in Peru and experience our work and mission first-hand. Writer and blogger Sammi Harvey, along with her husband Branden Harvey, ventured to KK Peru where they saw empowerment in action. Today, Sammi is reflecting on her time at KK Peru and the long-lasting impact of this experience. As our taxi pulled up to the Krochet Kids Headquarters in Lima, I wasn’t sure if we were there or not. We were in the middle of a quiet neighborhood with dirt roads, much different than the urban city our hotel was located in. We got out of the car and went to the door and said “Hola?”, one of the few phrases in Spanish we were confident in at the time. The door soon opened up with smiling face behind it. Patricia, the Country Director of Krochet Kids Peru, greeted us and walked us upstairs to meet the rest of the staff before we started our tour around the seven buildings that make up Krochet Kids Peru’s headquarters. We walked through each division and step of the process it takes to make the products. We visited the yarn room, knitting room, quality control, packing, shipment center and everything in between. We even stopped by the child care center where many ladies have their young children stay while they’re at work. Throughout each phase we met the ladies who create the products and were so inspired by their hard work & dedication to their craft. What many people don’t realize about Krochet Kids is that, for the women who are creating the products, they are joining the Krochet Kids as a program. Hardly any of the ladies have previous experience sewing or knitting; many have no previous work experience. The program makes sure they not only learn these skills but learn to do them with excellence. The three main goals for the women who join Krochet Kids are to learn new skills, be mentored, and to eventually graduate from Krochet Kids to start businesses and careers of their own. What I love most about Krochet Kids is the way they empower people. We had the opportunity to do a home visit with a lady who is in the program named Maribel. We went to her apartment, just a block behind the headquarters, and got to meet her two year old son who stays at the child care center. We talked and laughed as we fumbled around our language barrier but were able to ask her through a translator what her dreams were. She said she dreams of opened a clothing store of her own and for her son to get a good education, both now made possible through working at Krochet Kids. I honestly didn’t know much about Krochet Kids before visiting their operation in Lima other than that they were an ethical fashion brand with beautiful, quality products. After getting to meet the incredible people behind the signatures, I am now more confident than ever how important it is to know the makers of your products. By investing in a Krochet Kids product you're investing in someone’s new story. You're investing in a woman who’s hustling to begin a new chapter of her life, full of a new sense of confidence, empowerment, and self-worth. - Sammi Harvey Follow Her On Instagram | Visit Her Website