Bolivia. Eva Francisca Colque. I am from Tupiza in Potosí. I went to live with my husband in La Paz, because he had a well-paid job there. My son was born a year later and every day at home with my baby, a pet, my husband and all day at work started to depress me so I started knitting therapy.

I knitted for my baby and my pet. When we went to the market, many asked about my pet’s clothing, so I ended up knitting clothes for my neighbors and friends’ pets, until one day out of curiosity I donated to a pet store. I had to deliver 1 box of clothes in one week. It was quite the sacrifice. I barely slept or ate for work because the price I charged was so cheap so I stopped knitting. After a while I discovered that there were automatic knitting machines. I bought one and the saleswoman offered me a 2 hour training to learn how to spin and weave a small sample of round and V-neck. I ended up practicing with wool cones until I felt like knitting a garment and it didn’t work for me, so I knitted a section with a toothpick and then with a machine. With time and practice, I’ve made many modifications until today. But there was a time when I stopped weaving because of the birth of my daughter and what other people thought about my work. I couldn’t deliver my orders and I was frustrated on top of the pandemic. Today, because my children are older, I have more time to work on knitting. I have also learned how important it is to have financial independence. 

Through taking  the MBS course, I learned the importance of using the 6 Ps. You need to plan,  to have a good product and therefore a satisfied customer. You need to know the process of the product well, charge a fair price, and know how to promote to make the products known. You need to encourage customers to continue buying and know it is important to keep track of expenses and income.