Taking advantage of San Miguel de Allende’s lirio to generate jobs

Published June 26th, 2023

After months of conducting workshops, taking courses, and seeking donations, the organization “De Lirio” already has more than nine women giving workshops and working for themselves with great handicrafts, created from the water lilies that they subtract in important projects thanks to the heart and dedication they have put into helping both the dam and their families with self-employment.

“We have been making orders individually and collectively, such as the doors for a spa that is in Humaran, now we will also make cup holders for a company that does social events, so this keeps adding up,” said Laura Leticia.

He also commented that they have conducted courses in four schools, including the Montessori kindergarten and a SABES, where the teachers come to us so that we can give them a course and the children also understand the problem of this plant and how they can help to provide a solution.

He indicated that his visits to the communities have been a success since courses are given to the women there so that they can be self-employed or to their husbands who help to remove the lirio, “we have been visiting the communities of Flores de Begoña, Agustín González, Don Juan, Presa Allende, There we have provided them with courses so that they can generate self-employment and it is already happening, that they order baskets for XV years, communions, and that is what this project really seeks, self-employment, we help them to market what they make; We already have a stand in the handicrafts market, and we have to make it clear that they are not our employees and that they can also do this from home.

“This is basically a testimony of what a community can do in the face of a problem that arises and the most important thing is that the new generations are taught the value of caring for the environment and caring for their community and getting involved in what happens around their community,” said Laura Leticia Quintana.

On the other hand, Bibiana Casares commented that to make a small handicraft such as a cup holder, up to 15 to 20 lily branches are needed, depending on the size, the idea is that everything is of good quality, but if it is not good or small, more sticks must be added.

“We have made bread baskets, baskets, cup cutters, bracelets, hats, doors, rugs, and orders continue to arrive, we are grateful because large projects are arriving, and we as artisans hope that more people will join us, that they will see everything that can be used with the lily, although it is a pest many things can be done for the whole society, we have enjoyed working in schools to share what we are doing,” said Bibiana Casares artisan of the community of Don Juan Xido Cabras.

To find and be aware of upcoming workshops, to go to any school, or to volunteer in the collection of lirio you can follow them on the official Facebook page De Lirio.