Chile is a unique country: It has got a wide range of different climate zones, a considerable bio-diversity and is shaped by its plural population. However, the model country of South America is struggling to solve its social, economic and ecological problems. Especially the educational training system reveals weaknesses resulting in unemployment and skills shortage.
Kolping in Chile
The National Association in Chile was founded on 22 October 1981 and has 1,371 members in 60 Kolping Families. The activities of Kolping Chile focus on:
Handicraft market helps to gain independence
“I have sold my products here until recently”, says Hernán Zemprano pointing at stall No. 12. Today he runs his own business which is doing well, with several employees. But everything got started at the small crafts fair at the harbour which is actively supported by Kolping. There are several market stalls there, and small entrepreneurs sell their products to make a living.
One of them is Maria Durán and her husband Esteban. They collected and preserved peaches from the orchards nearby and now sell them in cans. They learned how to do that in workshops by the Kolping Families. They could afford the rent for stall No. 12 thanks to a small loan granted by Kolping which enabled them to set up their own business. They are now self-employed entrepreneurs – a big step forward, as they had previously fed their family with occasional jobs. This is also the experience of 99 other traders who now enjoy financial independence thanks to the crafts fair.
