Lula

Mena

LOCATED IN El Salvador

Microenterprise Lula Mena works with artisans in underserved communities and provides them with the opportunity to earn fair wages and maintain job security. The artisans preserve traditional techniques that have been passed down across generations while prioritizing sustainability, fair trade, innovation, and women empowerment.

Don Ciro, the master artisan, has worked closely with Lula Mena, the brand’s founder, within her textile businesses for a long time to preserve the meaningful techniques. The process to create a product begins with Lula Mena designing a product and the procurement of the essential materials, such as cotton and polyester threads for throws and pillows, natural seeds, and copper threads. After the prototype is created, Lula reviews and production begins. Artisans often use a traditional foot loom and a traditional shuttle loom, and the first step of the weaving process is to warp the threads. The threads are folded and wrapped, weaved and warped, and glued and united in the loom. The mind and hands coordinate with the movement of the feet to create the beautiful product.