A successful entrepreneurial project, born out of the dedication and creativity of Bruno Avilo Arintero Quinonez, which was started after the training he received at the Indigenous Cultural and Training Center (ICTC), completed its first year in the manufacture of alpargatas (canvas shoes) of the Kawarao brand.
Bruno, who is a young indigenous Venezuelan, 21 years old, of the Warao tribe, has many reasons for celebrating, according to what he said: “I’m very happy to see that people like the results of my work – the alpargatas that I make with my own hands.”
Besides the quality of the product, he attributes the success of his brand to the way he works: “I make a good product, with love.”
The ICTC is managed by the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF), and was inaugurated more than a year ago, for precisely the purpose of offering professional training to people in the shelters.
“Entrepreneurship is one of the most important ways for the immigrants to achieve a true social and economic integration in Brazil, because besides recovering their self-confidence, it opens up opportunities for them to develop their talents and abilities, contributing with their work and creativity to the country that welcomes them.”
The above quote is from Boris Puerto López, a humanitarian worker who follows the rhythms of the work done in the ICTC , in Boa Vista, Roraima.
For Boris, Bruno’s enterprise is a very positive example: “The Kawarao brand, which means “Our Family”, is living proof that supporting an enterprise with adequate means, encouraging the autonomy, persistence and perseverance of the entrepreneur, generates successful results.”
And he adds: “more than that, Kawarao is the reflection of a life transformation; in the ICTC we have been witnesses to that change, that transformation which was reflected in a change for the better in Bruno and in his family.”
For more than five years, the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF)has been acting as a humanitarian response front for migrating families who arrive in search of a new life. “The enterprise projects we develop in the ICTC are focused on offering a real alternative so that indigenous immigrants and natives can take steps in the building of an economic autonomy that allows them to develop their own life project with dignity, and generating a lasting solution within the framework of the current humanitarian crisis,” comments Boris.
Precisely because of this, the apprentice and now entrepreneur Bruno is grateful: “The Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF) has always supported me from the beginning with a course to learn to make alpargatas, then in the creation of the Kawarao brand, and also with materials and space to work in, providing opportunities and giving me guidance for moving forward. The next steps will be to improve the alpargata, make new models and continue onward, growing and improving each day.”
Knowledge Sharing – Alpargata Workshop
Recently, Bruno, the Kawarao brand entrepreneur, was the coach in a workshop on the manufacture of alpargatas at the Indigenous Culturaland Training Center. Five people participated in the workshop, and affirmed that in that knowledge they see an opportunity for doing work that would support them, as well as a way of disseminating that knowledge, because they intend to teach this skill to the young people of their communities.
About this experience, Bruno says: “It was very gratifying to have the opportunity to help other people to learn to do what I do.”
