Yesterday, we had a successful pricing workshop with the women of Santiago Zamora, after discussing fair wages and business strategies the previous day. We asked them to tell us the products they made that took the least amount of time to make and the prices they currently sell them for. These products were chosen because we learned that products that take more time to produce usually end up being sold for very cheap. For example, a centro de mesa that takes 80 hours to make was usually sold for Q250, which would leave them with an hourly wage of Q1.5 after subtracting the cost of materials. They agreed that this was not a fair price but that they must sell it cheaply because of competition in the market.
Therefore yesterday, after explaining the Guatemalan minimum wage of Q8/hour, we asked them to make a new price list, using the new number for labor cost, of the products they can produce quickly that they might be interested in selling at a store in Antigua. By the end, we had a price list for about a dozen different products, including necklaces, bracelets, napkins, dolls, baskets, place mats, bookmarks, and bags. Almost every woman has her specialty in a different product, which explains the variety. Many of them were already selling above cost, but there were some items that we saw that needed a price fixing or a new way of making. All the women seemed very interested in the difference in prices from before and after and were encouraged to think about changing their prices.
Tomorrow, they will meet Irma from Manos Preciosas, a store in Antigua, to show her their products and (new) prices and discuss as a newly formed group with her about a possible collaboration in the future.
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