Cabildo
CABILDO is an industrial company with six plants and a total workforce of 50. CABILDO was created in 2005 on the initiative of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, whose general mission since 1938 has been to safeguard the city's historical and cultural heritage by directly involving its most vulnerable inhabitants.
Its clothing and textile accessories workshop is located in the heart of Old Havana and employs 10 people, 80% of whom are women seamstresses.
CABILDO
CABILDO is an industrial company with six plants and a total workforce of 50. CABILDO was created in 2005 on the initiative of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, whose general mission since 1938 has been to safeguard the city's historical and cultural heritage by directly involving its most vulnerable inhabitants.
Its clothing and textile accessories workshop is located in the heart of Old Havana and employs 10 people, 80% of whom are women seamstresses.
Description
The first step will be to immediately renew CABILDO's machinery and equipment in order to raise production levels and improve quality. In concrete terms, this means acquiring two five-thread sewing machines, three two-needle flatbed sewing machines, four fabric cutting machines and a Japanese cutting sharpener. In the short term, these investments will enable the company to optimize its production process, expand its product range into new market segments and improve finishing standards.
The training program will start at the same time, but will be phased in over 2 years. During the first half of year 1, the eight seamstresses, the plotter/cutter and the mechanic will be trained by our two Swiss professional seamstresses in the use of the new equipment and the acquisition of new know-how, including maintenance.
The CABILDO management team is also looking to recruit and train a further eight seamstresses during the year.
The aim is to double production levels and take on more complex work. Year 2 will be devoted to consolidating the activities of the 16 existing seamstresses, while further raising their skill levels, and passing on this know-how to eight new seamstresses a year, who will then join an employment exchange. Our sewing experts will continue to pass on their experience and will welcome two Cuban seamstresses to their workshops in Switzerland. As for securing supplies of raw materials for the Atelier CABILDO, GANYDAR will make one or two dedicated shipments, depending on the Atelier's needs and available logistical slots, to enable CABILDO to build up a strategic stock of fabrics, threads and spare parts - a guarantee of its independence and future development. It should be noted that the CABILDO workshop already has recurring markets and captive customers. These include the employees of 60 national museums, health centers, pediatric clinics, care centers for the elderly and retirement homes, as well as hotel, restaurant and public space cleaning staff in Havana. CABILDO also aims to offer a range of high-quality clothing and accessories for tourists. Perhaps this will be the subject of a new project supported by GANYDAR and its partners... to be continued!
Why this project?
In terms of materials, everything is in short supply in Cuba! The Atelier CABILDO's supplies of sewing machines, spare parts, fabrics, threads, paper for patterns and wood for worktops are very limited or non-existent. On the other hand, our Cuban interlocutors are resilient and have a remarkable capacity for cooperation and initiative.
GANYDAR wishes to encourage this state of mind.
Objectives
The overall aim of the CABILDO project is to secure the 10 existing jobs and create 16 new jobs for seamstresses, ultimately improving the quality of life and financial independence of these initially unskilled women.
To achieve this, GANYDAR will focus on three key areas:
- Modernize and develop machinery and equipment to raise CABILDO's production level and quality.
- Set up an appropriate training program to enable the entire team to acquire new skills.
- Secure long-term supplies of raw materials for the Garment Workshop.
Location
Cuba (Havana)
Project start
2020
Duration
2 years (2020-2022)
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