UPAVIM Email Format
International Trade and DevelopmentMaryland, United States11-50 Employees
UPAVIM is a women’s cooperative operating within the international trade and development sector. Based in Ijamsville, Maryland, the organization connects handmade, fair-trade crafts with a global market, using proceeds to pay women’s salaries and to fund community programs such as a health clinic, school (including daycare, pre-school, and elementary), a public library, free English classes, tutoring, and a bakery and soy factory that supply affordable goods. The cooperative is managed by women from La Esperanza, a marginalized neighborhood in Guatemala City, and aims to empower its members by expanding access to education, employment opportunities, healthcare, childcare, and professional development. With a focus on sustainable, community-driven initiatives, UPAVIM operates as a small-to-medium sized organization that supports its members through economic activity aligned with social services. A recent development includes ongoing operation of its integrated services and crafts program that sustains the cooperative and its community projects.