Mexican artisans venture into international e-commerce

Besides altering our daily activities and the Mexican economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way artisans produce their goods. Oaxaca has become the main producer and exporter of handicrafts to other markets, both national and international.

Due to the coronavirus health emergency in Mexico, which has recently hit its most critical stage, the state government announced on May 8 that Oaxaca’s handicrafts will be sold on Amazon Handmade Aripo , an online platform where they will be sold with more ease in global markets.

This website that is part of Amazon’s online services , an American company that holds 60% of this kind of transaction in the world, is specialized in the promotion and sale of handicrafts .

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Oaxaca's governor Alejandro Murat

announced that Oaxaca and its handicrafts, that represent the identity of its people, will be part of Amazon’s e-commerce. “Today, we have a new way to develop the economy of families in Oaxaca,” he stressed.

Likewise, the honorary president of the System for the Comprehensive Development of Families (DIF) Oaxaca Ivette Morán de Murat , stressed that Amazon Handmade Aripo is a good option for buying gifts from home.

Since 1981 , Aripo (Oaxaca Handicrafts and Popular Industries) is home to works created by Oaxacan hands from different communities throughout the state and with the years, it turned into the Oaxaca Institute of Handicrafts (IOA) .

For her part, the general director of the IOA Nadia Clímaco Ortega stressed that artisans have not stopped working from home in their family workshops so this online store is an amazing tool to spread the magic and colors of Oaxaca products even during the lockdown.

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Currently, 117 people from Oaxaca who work in popular art have made their products available on this online store. The catalog includes textiles , pottery , carved wood , vegetable fibers , precious metalwork , and saddlery , among others.

Those who are interested in exhibiting and selling their creations can do so via Amazon Aripo . The products must present a “ handmade ” hallmark o prove they are the product of authentic artisanal work.

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