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Floridalma

Floridalma is a mother of 5, who works at the garbage dump and studies at Safe Passage. Her children look up to her for creating beautiful jewelry and finding ways to earn a living without sacrificing her safety to work in the toxic, dangerous dump.

In addition to studying in the Women's Literacy Program at Safe Passage, Floridalma is a participating member of CREAMOS, a local women's cooperative that markets beaded jewelry made by hand from recycled magazines.  The success of Floridalma's jewelry business has made bearable the unreliability of work and wages in the Guatemala City garbage dump.  "CREAMOS" stands for "Recycled Creations Made with Hope and Love by Organized Mothers in Solidarity." 

“It's a great blessing because where I work, in the dump, there isn't any money anymore.  I give thanks to God for having opened this door to help us get on with life and to help our little ones too.  It's going to rain soon and it's not good to go down there because of the danger - there are landslides and people get buried.  I've worked there for 15 years and now I hardly go anymore.  I used to go from Monday to Saturday all day and now I only go one or two days a week.  It's not like before. You could earn Q125 a day about seven years ago, but now maybe Q25 a day or even Q10.  The truck-drivers' helpers didn't used to take everything beforehand.  Now everything is already sorted through and it doesn't ever get to the dump.

"My children are happy and they say keep going with it [making jewelry].  My son says he's going to get me some of those bamboo sticks to cut up and make necklaces.  I'm always thinking of what else I can use - white beans, peas, other seeds - they're good because they're hard.  I like being creative.  My children say, 'Look at how you're getting out of the dump.  You're not in danger anymore.'  God opened this door for me.  It's a great blessing.  When I make something my children say, 'Mum!  It's turned out so pretty!'  My daughters-in-law wear earrings I've made and my son has a necklace of brown paper beads which he wears.  When people ask who made it, he says, 'My Mum!'  I make lots of necklaces and bracelets, all different colours.  I say to my children, 'I'm going to have my own business,' and they say, 'Will you hire us?,'  and I say, 'Of course!'  My daughter-in-law gets magazines for me out of the dump. We go looking for good colors!"