Short Video

This short video will give you a flavor of the opening and the ambiance of the area. I encourage anyone visiting SMA to take the trip out to the store to support the women. Transportation can be arranged. http://youtu.be/YbvD0j0jifg

The opening of the Las Rancheritas store a great success!!

Yesterday Jan. 24th we celebrated the opening of Las Rancheritas store. So much has gone into the last details, making and installing the road sign, decorating the building, installing sun shades, painting the bathrooms, and general fluffing and puffing. We have over 50 people who bought tickets for the Mujeres en Cambio birthday luncheon. Mujeres is the group that started the prefect 15 years ago. They raise funds to give scholarships for girls living in  rural communities. http://mujeresencambio.org/  The Rug Hook Project is the other arm of their work to improve the lives of women. They were the major contributor to the funds to remodel the store. 
The food made by Las Rancheritas was amazing. The list of all the home made food will make your mouth water: tamales, potatoes patties, two types of chili rellenos, nopal salad, pork in chili sauce, chicken in chili sauce, big salads, beans, decorated tortillas, five kinds of salsas to name just a few of the delicacies. The people attending were delighted with the food and the location. And Mujeres plans is to do this again next year!!

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

Of course the big event was the raffle. This was created by Rebecca Brooks as a fund raiser to remodel the building. Over $700 was raised with $10 tickets. The winner of the silver heart was Sarah Gaetner of Austin, TX. The winner of the rug was Ray Andersen of Minneapolis MN. Congratulations to you both.
However the biggest winners were Las Rancheritas. They sold 15 rugs and now have a store ready for business. Tomorrow is opening day. There is more to learn but the seed is planted. 

I have included a few photos from the event but more are to come including some videos.
Thanks so all of you who have contributed to making this a smashing success. 

Grand opening for Las Rancheritas Store and Restaruant

I am pleased to announce the grand opening of the store: January 24, 2013. Lots of hard work by the villagers and money donated by many of you have made this dream a reality.
Those of you in San Miguel can see the store and enjoy an excellent homemade "Rancho" meal. The event will be held from 2 - 4 PM. Transportation will be arranged for those of you without cars. 

half_page_add.pdf Download this file

We will also have the drawing for the silver heart and rugs at the luncheon. There is still time to purchase a raffle ticket.
Stay tuned for more on the exciting event. 

Wool and new rugs

We have exciting news about transporting wool to San Miguel. There is going to be a race in central Mexico and many people will be bringing their race cars to San Miguel. We have a connection through Mujeres en Cambio to one of the organizers. They have agreed to bring wool down in the cars. Race cars and wool, what a concept!! They will be coming through Austin, where I am, around Oct 11. If any of you would like to donate this would be an excellent time. Please only wool and if clothing it must be deconstructed with linings out. Pack the wool in strong plastic garbage bags and send to:
Charlotte Bell
1403 Kenwood Ave
Austin, TX 78704

New website:

I have created a new site which is easier for me to edit. The other site will still work but this will have the most updated information. It now has all the new rugs that are in the USA.

http://rughookproject.zenfolio.com/

Check it out and do some Christmas shopping.

Also we are still $300 short for the raffle. Perhaps this could also be something you could consider for gifts. We will have the drawing Jan 24th at the grand opening of the store. 

 

Painting the Store

It has been a very busy and productive summer. Las Rancheritas have meet two times for paint parties. The first time they arrived with all their kids from 3 to 16. It was wild. Everyone wanted to paint. My husband brought 30 tennis balls donated by a friend in Austin. He passed out all the balls and while some painted other kids played ball.

More progress on store

I wish you all could have been with me yesterday at the village. We had a meeting of everyone to distribute money from rugs sales in the US. They were so happy to have this cash. There was around $1000 divided up between 16 people. I want to put this into perspective. When they make a large amount at a sale it has varied impact. Some women only make 25 to 50 dollars others may make as much as $500. So the impact on each family varies. However they are grateful for every dollar and their optimism is refreshing. 
After the distribution we all walked from Boni's house to the store. They are all so excited about the progress and the possibility it symbolizes. It was 6:00 PM and the light was magic. As we approached we could see the lovely new color on the outside. They choose a shade of melon.

Mujeres en Cambio visit the store.

Last week our parent organization, Mujeres en Cambio, traveled to the store to check on the progress. Mujeres gave us the seed money in Jan. to start the process of remodeling. They saw all the improvements and were delighted by the location. They gave us some new ideas on details that will improve the area and provide access to the public. We also discussed the grand opening party on Jan. 17th. One of the ways mujeres does fundraising is through luncheons. Tickets are sold to the public and the proceeds go towards providing scholarships for girls living in rural villages. Many of Las Rancheritas daughters have received these scholarships. They support around 150 girls each year in junior high, high school and university. Please check out their website for details on this well run and important organization. the luncheon will be at the store and the women of Las Rancheritas will be the guest chef's. This will also be the date when we will hold the raffle. So you still have time to purchase tickets and win a silver heart or a rug of your choice.
In addition to this event the promotional committee met and planned a second event. We need to get the word out so we have visitors. San Miguel has 15 tour guides and they are looking for new and interesting places to bring their tour groups. The village is on the road to the local Otomi pyramid so this can be an addition to groups visiting this site. It also provides a great place to stop for horse riding or hiking tours. So we are excited and hopeful about the future. "Build it and they will come". However advertising is essential. 
I stopped off at Boni's house after the visit and got treated to a snack,  fresh tortillas filled with tomatoes and chilies. There is nothing like a tortilla fresh off the fire.