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Location and beneficiaries
SIEMBRA is working with an Otomí ethnic group on a local level. The group has more than 1,500 women entrepreneurs who live in 27 rural communities located in the rural areas of the State of Mexico's upper mountains. As shown by the level VII micro-region classification by the Mexican government, this group is highly marginalized. The average household consists of seven members (one to two parents and five to six children), generating a daily family income from one to three salaries of approximately 3 to 9 euros per day.Characteristics of Program Participants
Mexico is a multicultural country where diverse cultures coexist with a mix of indigenous and European backgrounds. Although our Constitution ideally protects every member of society, the indigenous population is discriminated against every day, similar to other Latin American countries with a large number of indigenous people.
Mexico has approximately 11,500,000 indigenous people with a total of 62 ethnic groups. The Otomí ethnic group live in three States: Hidalgo, Querétaro and Estado de México with a total population of 693,745. Unfortunately our indigenous population faces racism, classism and "machismo" which promote discriminatory attitudes that establish social hierarchies. Furthermore, they live at or below the poverty level and often in extreme poverty. These ethnic groups are generally forgotten in public policies and regularly live in the upper mountains with access to the worst land.
Women of these ethnic groups are particularly vulnerable, as their culture constrains them to traditional gender roles where they generally do not participate in public life. Additionally, they are subject to high levels of poverty and domestic violence. For this reason, SIEMBRA is especially concerned about the following topics: women's empowerment and leadership, poverty alleviation, sustainable enterprises, women's entrepreneurial organizations, and local development through people.