little bit o that

February 8, 2009

Well, I did have a meeting of some sort, I met with one of the other members of the directiva, at Martha’s house, and talked with her, she really didn’t have an opinion either way of having a meeting or about having me help the association. But I credit that to the side remarks Martha was making throughout the conversation about how she doesn’t support me and she will not be participating in any of courses or charlas I would give in the future. Not to mention that fact that she voice multiple times her desire not to work with me. I told her that I understand and that me not working with her is my job, me helping the women in the association is my job. And whether I can do my job or not is up to them, and for them to decide, the women must know what I can help them with. So we set the meeting for the 16th at 3. This is a meeting only for the active socias, not the “300” she claims to have.

I should also mention here that this is the second meeting I tried to have, unsuccessfully with the directiva, Friday’s meeting only one showed up, because Martha didn’t inform anyone. The only reason that one showed up is because she was passing by on her way to the health post and saw us talking. We did reschedule the meeting, in order to have the whole directiva in attendance, for Sunday morning at 8. I went to that as well and somehow again, Martha swore up and down that she told them and their non-attendance was because they didn’t want to hear what I had to say. Well either way, I said it was up to all the socias to tell me that they didn’t want to hear what I had to say, not just her.

After I left the meeting on Sunday I went to the treasurer’s house to talk with her and ask why she skipped the meeting when she put the hour to it. She was busy buying fish to prepare lunch for her sons who were going to the chacra for the day. I relayed to her what happened in the reunion and said that I felt like I was being belittled by Martha and I think she is talking bad about me to discredit me to other socios, which hello, duhh. But I also told her the date of meeting as well as the fact that again Martha said she didn’t want to work with me and I told her that I planned on mentioning that at the meeting with the socias on the 16th as well as, the things that the association is missing that I proposed to help her with and by rejecting my help she is denying the association of having an accounting book, finance book, sales book and book of actas. These are things that every business/association in Peru has not to mention in the world, minus the actas, and I wasn’t sure why Martha was being so hostile about keeping books and records for all artisans to see what was being sold and for how much, inside the association. I will also mention that even though I will not be working with Martha, through her choice, I will continue to help them in order to give the socias charlas of family accounting, fair prices, product designs. I also mentioned something to Isidoro that I could create a type of contract for every artisan to have that says when they give their product to her to sell, it is obligatory for Martha to show the artisan after her sales sheet from the fair and the price it went for. Yes, I know she can forge it and make one up after, I know, but honestly I can’t think any other way around Martha as of right now.

I did do something I don’t deem to be playing fairly, Isidoro was commenting that she remembers seeing me and Martha writing down the prices for each fair and I agreed and said I know, therefore you know she has the price sheet and I know for a fact she does, and I had the book that I wrote it in. Well, I normally I ripped out the sheet and gave it to her for what I assumed were her records or something, but I overlooked ripping out the one sheet that had the prices from a recent pedido to the man from NY. Noticing that I had this, I mentioned I have right here a copy. Now she did mention before in the convo that Martha has been giving her 20 soles for her sombrero and I mentioned that right here it says that she sold it for 40. Yes, I know I stooped down, but I honestly and sincerely wasn’t going to tell her, but I ended up flipping through my notebook and the page popped out I couldn’t just overlook it. I don’t think it was place to tell her the price difference and I told her that and I also mentioned that telling all the women this would anger them and then they wouldn’t come to the meeting, so she can freely approach Martha about this after the meeting if she would like and tell the other women about the obvious price difference, but after.

And I guess I should mention, as a way to purge my conscious, I was at that point really angry because Isidoro told me Martha gave the artisans 20 soles for sombreros from the last feria we went too, by saying that I sold the products and I sold them cheaply. When I know I wrote down the prices for each product and sold them accordingly and told her Martha has the paper work for each product and how much and I know I did not sell one sombrero for less than 30-35.

I can’t help but feel partly guilty and can see myself getting future blame and deservingly so because I was ignorant and didn’t keep copies of papers or prices, because they were all hand written. We were supposed to be starting a finance book to put them into or so I foolishly believed.

But good news is I am feeling lighter everyday. Now that this situation is getting settled for better or worse, it lifts a huge stress off of me. Today was also a successful day because I had my second class in San Clemente with Jovenes Emprendedores and it went well with 14 of the 18 showing up. Annd I’m semi famous now, well not really but in one Temple U English classroom people will watch an interview done by the future famous filmmaker Grant Hutchinson! I was very honored that my brother choose me when I feel like the last person in our lives to deserve that status. Thank you G, you have my heart.

Tomorrow I’m helping another local artisan group do registration and then in the afternoon I have my 4 hour class which is when I will upload this! Woo hoo!

love <3 the “small victories” princess