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Needs and Donations

An informal craft sharing class at the Center

Over 50 women and children are coming to the Center each week to participate in the artisan classes.  We have had wonderful yarns and needles donated which the women have been using to learn basic crocheting and knitting skills.  Many women are sharing stitches and patterns with each other, like this recent informal class.  The women are rapidly developing their skills and learning which products sell to the local markets and which products sell best to the tourist markets.  We have plans for financial management classes and eventually a micro-loan program so the individual artists can truely launch their own small businesses.  

We have had requests for a wonderful variety of classes and we need your help to launch them and sustain them:  

Crocheting and Needle Work: 

These have been our most sought after workshops.  Crocheting and kniting seem to be the gateway arts that bring women to the Center.  We have had tremendous success in creating hats, purses, shoes, table clothes, medicine bags, novelty items, and blouses.  We have used many, many boxes of donated yarns, and welcome all donations!  please clean out your hobby and sewing rooms, we will use everything you send us.  We also welcome cash donation for this fund so that we can purchase some high-end wool and cotton yarns for our most advanced artisans. 

Pottery:  We have located a Mexican potter who is willing to relocate to Palomas.  We need approximately $5,000 to move him and his family, and get him set up in a workshop space.  He will be able to provide classes both in New Mexico and Mexico.  This fund would also purchase materials and tools and provide scholarship funds for interested students.  It would also help us renovate an old shed at the Center into a pottery studio.  A number of people have indicated an interest in learning from this gentleman.

Jewlery Making: 

We have had one fimo clay bead making class which was very successful.  The materials were all donated by the instructor, Paul Edmunds.  We would welcome $1,000.  to fund additional bead making supplies to the most promising students, and then we feel this can become a self sustaining program, with sales supporting new supply purchases.       

 Glass Bead Making:  We would like to set up a two person glass bead making studio for the interested students in this medium.  It will take approximately $1,500 for the tools and supplies, and the safety equipment to get started. 

Rag Rug and Garment Weaving:  We have had two floor looms donated to the Center and offers for one or two more.  We have also had offers from weavers from Silver City to come, set up the looms and teach interested students.  We welcome all donated materials to get this class started.  Eventually we would like to invest in new materials for this class and fully fund it for the first year, until the skill level of the students allows them to sell their wares for a fair price and they become a self perpetuating enterprise.  We invite an investment of $5,000 in this project.

Sewing:  One generous Columbus resident has offered to purchase two sewing machines for the Center.  We are in the process of putting this class together.  We need donated fabrics and threads and patterns to get us started and a teacher who would be interested in shepharding this project.  This could easily become self supporting with the right ideas.  An apron project has already started, and we are looking for other good ideas!  We would like to invest $2,000 in new materials, again using the micro-loan concept.

Silver Jewlery Making:  This project needs an expert teacher to help us develop what is needed to launch this program.  We have people interested in silversmithing, but we don't know where to start!  Any help we get here will be very welcomed.

Basket Weaving: 

We have had a number of

requests to bring in other basket weavers, after

the success of the Haida Weaving workshop with

Merle Anderson at the Center in Spring 2008. 

We have been communicating with Mavis Muller

from Alaska about coming to do a community

healing basket workshop in March 2009. 

We will need $2,000 for this workshop.  See her

website:  www.mavismullerart.com

 Poetry and Writing:  Poetry and Memoir writing classes would be a welcome addition to our artisan workshops.  We welcome anyone would would like to teach in these areas or students who are interested in taking poetry or writing classes.

Workshop Space Columbus:  We have two patio spaces that need to be enclosed for class room space.  One space is adjacent to Compassion House near the RV parking pad, and the other is attached to Compassion House  out the back door facing the garden.  Both spaces could be easily converted to class rooms by using sliding glass doors as walls (don't you love desert living!).  $15,000 would purchase the doors, footings, lighting, sheet rock for ceiling, lighting, flooring, window covering and tables and chairs.  All work would be done by volunteers. 

Public Bathrooms:  A welcomed addition to the class room space in Columbus will be a "Desert Utility Building" with two bathrooms, a shower, sink and small kitchen space all utilizing sustainable solar and dry technologies.  We have successfully installed a dry toilet in Palomas, and we want to replicate that technology at the Center in Columbus.  This will be an integral part of the garden demonstration project that is being funded by the Office of Border Health as part of the Community Greening Project.  We will also be planting over 500 trees in Columbus with the help of school children.  See our Community Greening Project on www.ourladyoflaspalomas.org. If you would like to contribute a tree to our memorial garden, please contact us at info@ourladyoflaspalomas.org.

Workshop Space Palomas:  We have had a tremendous transformation at our Palomas site with a $2,500 grant from the Southwest Episcopal Deanery of the Diocese of the Rio Grande and about $500 from individuals.  We need about another $4,000-$5,000 to complete this space and the adjacent bio-intensive desert vegetable garden, and set up the computer (donated by the Village of Columbus) that can be used for internet marketing and sales.

Children's Corner: 

We have set up a children's corner with wonderful donated books from the Rev. Deacon Tom Bates and art supplies from the Rev. Dr. Sharon Betcher and Polly Edmunds and the Rev. Judith Lethin.  

We welcome more books in English and Spanish, new or tenderly used, and art supplies for our children so they can have a great learning experience while their mothers are busy with their projects.  Please send your donations to Palomas Family Cooperative, PO Box 622, Columbus, NM 88029 or simply donate what you like to our Pay Pal account and we will select what we need as we go.  Thank you for your kindness and generosity!