Women Miners Association Nueva Esperanza, Santa Filomena

The Pallaqueras (mineral sorters) Women's Association "New Hope” is located in the town of Santa Filomena, in the Sancos district, province of Lucanas, department of Ayacucho, Perú. As a non-profit association, it is recognised in the public records of Nazca and belongs to the National Association of Artisanal Mining Women in Perú. Around 180 families depend on the organisation’s activities, both directly and indirectly.

The partnership began with 40 women and there are now 180 members who perform pallaqueo work, collecting and sorting valuable minerals and waste, which are then sold to the SOTRAMI company to generate further income for their homes. The association was established in 2003, formed to address the need to organise shift work and pallaqueo (collecting) hours so as to be accessible to all members, allowing women and single mothers to carry out all duties in a safe and organised manner.

The board is composed of eight members and meets when major decisions need to be made. The members are organised into two collecting groups in accordance with the by-laws of the association, working from 2pm to 6pm each afternoon. Such period was chosen to fit around child-care demands and the women’s domestic responsibilities.

The associates each use a hand rake and sack, and are required to wear safety equipment while they pallaquear (collect) the minerals including long sleeve shirts, thermal cotton trousers, caps or hats, sports shoes without laces and red flannel scarves to protect them from the dust.  SOTRAMI places a cart for them daily at the pallaqueo point, where the selected mineral is sold to the company for processing and the women are paid in cash.

The association forbids women under 18 years old to work in the collection, unless they are teenage mothers who don’t have the economic support of a spouse.  Elderly and disabled men and women are also permitted to collect.  The association has a nursery where associates can leave their younger children while they work, the childcare being undertaken by the same women who organise themselves in shifts to carry out the different tasks. The nursery has various facilities, including educational games for the children, two beds and two cradles, a colour television, tables and chairs, a kitchen and a water storage tank. The women miners have become increasingly empowered over the past three years, participating in workshops and meetings with artisanal miners from other regions and countries.  They are very interested in achieving Fairtrade-Fairmined certification, since they strongly share the values that it represents.