Handmade by Friendship Bridge®’s animal backpacks are great for preschoolers or young children heading off to school, teens who love to have fun, and adults who love one of a kind accessories who are looking for a unique and environmentally sustainable backpack that also supports low-income mothers in Guatemala.
Handmade by our artisan Jacinta in Guatemala, these animal backpacks are made with repurposed traditional Guatemalan textiles, and no two are exactly alike. Through her sewing business, Jacinta has been able to support the education of her five children and remodel her home. She is currently committed to helping her youngest daughter finish university.
Each Handmade by Friendship Bridge product is made by a Guatemalan artisan woman who is working to grow her business, support her family, keep her kids in school, and ultimately thrive in her home country, despite a nearly 60% poverty rate.
Friendship Bridge has an in-office showroom in Lakewood, Colorado, where the community can shop by appointment.
Want to shop at Friendship Bridge?
- Call 303.674.0717 to set up an appointment to shop in person
- Email handmade@friendshipbridge.org to set up an appointment to shop in person
- Order online - All orders ship from Denver, Colorado, or locals can pick up items at the office, located at 405 Urban St, Suite 140, Lakewood CO 80228.
Save up to 50% through December 4 during the Friendship Bridge Black Friday Sale!
About Friendship Bridge
Friendship Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise with a mission to create opportunities that empower Guatemalan women to build a better life. Established in 1990 and headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, Friendship Bridge operates 12 branch offices in Guatemala and provides a suite of products and services including microcredit, Non-Formal Education, and access to culturally-appropriate healthcare. Clients are 100% women, primarily indigenous Maya, and live in rural communities with some of the highest poverty levels worldwide. Annually, Friendship Bridge supports nearly 35,000 women and through our programming, we are changing how clients see, respond to, and overcome the protracted issues of poverty for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Our Mission
Creating opportunities that empower Guatemalan women to build a better life.
Our Vision
Empowered women choosing their own path.
Our History
Friendship Bridge’s history began with its work in Vietnam providing medical education and shipping medical supplies to impoverished populations in war-ravaged areas. While medical supplies were positively impacting the lives of recipients, Friendship Bridge was looking for a more sustainable solution to poverty reduction — the solution was microcredit. In 1994, we shifted our focus from medical supplies to microcredit and began offering small loans to impoverished women. Our clients, indigenous women who were deemed ‘unbankable,’ started or expanded small businesses and began creating their own sustainable solutions to poverty.
In 1998, Friendship Bridge expanded its work to Guatemala, another war-ravaged country suffering extreme poverty and offering limited opportunities to women. Friendship Bridge shifted out of Vietnam as operations in Vietnam became unsustainable due to an unfavorable political climate. Focusing solely on Guatemala, and aided by investment from American donors, the seeds of the Microcredit Plus program we know today were planted. By 2003, almost 3,000 clients were borrowing from Friendship Bridge. By 2006 the number tripled to 9,000 clients, and today we reach nearly 35,000 women through our Microcredit Plus program.
Our Social Performance Management team ensures that through all these endeavors, we stay true to our mission. Learn more.
Our Core Values
- Empowerment
- Respect
- Solidarity
- Participation
- Quality
- Integrity
- Transparency
Connect with Friendship Bridge on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok.
Meet the Artist | Jacinta
Friendship Bridge client since 2015; part of Handmade by Friendship Bridge® since 2015
Jacinta’s parents worked in agriculture; she was fortunate to complete high school and earn a diploma in accounting. As an adult, she and her husband moved to Guatemala City to make a living but didn’t stay. The cost of living increased significantly while they lived there, and Jacinta, as an Indigenous woman, was often discriminated against. At age 29, in the 1980s, Jacinta had to flee her hometown of Tecpán due to the civil war in Guatemala.
The Artisan’s History
Jacinta moved to Chimaltenango where she and her husband started a textile business. The first products they made were bags and purses; they now create a range of handwoven products as well as items designed with repurposed traditional Guatemalan textiles (luggage tags, cosmetic bags, backpacks, and more). Thanks to her background in accounting, Jacinta took care of the business side, and demand for their products increased.
The Friendship Bridge Impact
Jacinta has been able to support the education of her five children and has improved her living conditions. Thanks to Handmade by Friendship Bridge®, Jacinta now understands the process of exporting artisan products, including labeling, packaging, and proper paperwork for shipments. In 2020, Jacinta won second place in the prestigious Citi Bank Awards for Entrepreneurs in Microcredit. With the award money, she purchased a leather cutting machine, an industrial iron, and additional sewing machines. In 2023, she won 2nd place in the Exemplary Client category of the Women’s Entrepreneurs Awards, an award meant for clients who overcome challenges. She employs many people in her community as well as several of her adult children.
Goals
Jacinta is committed to helping her youngest daughter finish university. She also plans to remodel her workshop and upgrade her sewing machines.
Save up to 50% through December 4 during the Friendship Bridge Black Friday Sale!
ENTER TO WIN
Macaroni KID Lakewood-Littleton is thrilled to give away a Handmade by Friendship Bridge Animal Backpack made by Jacinta! Backpack must be picked up in Littleton, Colorado. Only one entry per email address.
Please note: giveaway backpack may differ from photo below.
RULES: This contest will run from Saturday, November 30th, 2024, through Saturday, December 7th, 2024, at 11:45pm MST. One winner will be selected from all eligible entries on Sunday, December 8th, 2024. The winner will be notified by email and/or phone and must respond to claim the prize within the allotted time frame. An alternate winner will be chosen if the prize is not claimed within the allotted timeframe.
Backpack must be picked up in Littleton, Colorado.
You MUST be a subscriber and 18 or older to enter. If you are not a subscriber and enter the contest, you will be automatically subscribed to the Macaroni KID Lakewood-Littleton newsletter.
By entering the contest, you agree to receive emails from Macaroni KID. You also agree to the privacy statement and cookie policy. We do not sell, lease, rent, or otherwise disclose the Personal Information collected from our Services to third parties unless otherwise stated in this Privacy Statement or with your consent.
