Manos Nicas, Nicaragua

Aid to Artisans

Capacity Building Program and Product Development and Design

Daniela worked with Manos Nicas in Estelí, Nicaragua as part of the Aid to Artisan´s 2017 Business Accelerator. After the assessment the consultant divided the program so the staff can have an extensive Capacity Building training and a Product Development and Design Program as planned.

The capacity Building program, included subjects as exports planning overview, retail strategies and production management. The PD and Design program focused on product development with seven groups of artisans in different mediums

Manos Nicas created a vision that raised the standards of quality and value added for the artisan ́s community through a chain of stores in touristic locations. Daniela advised regarding the need of product diversification for the stores in order to increase the variety of the current products and its offer through new categories that have great sales potential. The new PD was developed into a catalogue of ideas in different trades.

The consultant's experience in retail contributed to further develop MN strategies aiming to improve the technical skills of artisans and look for new artisans in new mediums for their collections.

Daniela got worked with Manos Nicas again in 2019 and her work included a further Capacity Building in Production Management, Training for the Creative Team and Product Development and Design.

The Product Development was organized in a new context where Manos Nicas set up a workshop that included a group of artisans in six trades and a variety of raw materials working for the MN stores. The opportunity allowed the consultant to work directly with them and develop new lines of products that were constructed in different raw materials and technical processes.