| Organization and Finances |
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The cooperative meets once a month to conduct business, discuss development of products and markets, and encourage the members to use the blessing of the craft income to improve the health and education of their family. Decisions in marketing, publicity, and administration are made by the founder, Emily Edmunds. There is a Directiva or Elected Counsel of six members including President Dominga Choc Maquin. The prices are set by each artisan. The women are responsible for buying their own material, which is accounted for in the price of their craft. During the monthly meeting each woman voluntarily presents their work to the founder during a scheduled meeting at which time she is asked what price she expects for the item. Her name, cooperative ID, craft quantity and description, and price are recorded in the cooperative log, which is signed by the artesian when turning in crafts and when receiving payment. Group discussion and the opinion of each woman artisan counsel the group as a whole.
Profit for the cooperative as a whole is 100% due to the fact that all administrative and operational needs are funded by the mission New Beginnings in Bacalar. The women themselves decided to implement a 5 peso due per month per woman in order to formalize the participation of each and to begin an internal fund, operated by the Directiva. |


