Sponsored by the Department of World Languages and Cultures, the Peace and Conflict Studies Minor, El Centro de Español and the College of Arts and Sciences.
In 1998, Julia’s life was turned upside town when Hurricane Mitch flooded her home alongside Lake Managua in Nicaragua. Along with many others from her community, Julia was forced to leave her home and livelihood behind. In her refugee community, Julia joined with other displaced women. With the support of a U.S.-based NGO, the women formed a worker-owned cooperative factory called the Women of Nueva Vida. The sewing cooperative operates within a Free Trade Zone and workers continue to share the profits of the factory and ensure fair labor conditions for all their workers. They use only organic fabric as a commitment to protecting the environment.
In the past 13 years Julia has worked in almost every part of the factory. Today she is the general manager.
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