Nueva Vida Women's Sewing Cooperative

In 1998, Central America experienced a devastating hurricane that destroyed most of the urban areas of Nicaragua. Many Nicaraguans lost their homes to this natural disaster and families were relocated to a new urban area located in Ciudad Sandino, just outside of the city of Managua, called Nueva Vida (meaning "New Life" in Spanish). Through a marketing partnership with the CDCA (Center for Development in Central America) and Maggie's Organics of Michigan, USA, the idea came about to form a sewing cooperative for the women of Nueva Vida to help rebuild their lives, their country's economy and to combat the 80% unemployment rate of that area.

This all women's coop is quite successful and specializes in producing high quality t-shirts made of organic cotton fabric for export. They are currently the only "worker-owned" cooperative in the world producing "clean" tees. The women are free to leave their stations as needed, work regular hours and any overtime is voluntary and paid double. The average worker at Nueva Vida earns 45% more than a free trade zone worker in Nicaragua. Plus all members of the cooperative share in the profits, of course!