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About Us

The Chol-Chol Foundation is a non-profit Fair Trade organization, whose mission is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the Mapuche population in the Araucanía region of Chile through economic and social development, the increased self-sufficiency of the families and the valorization of the Mapuche culture.

We were based in values of ethics, trust and commitment. We engage our activities with transparency and responsibility; we are in constant search for originality; and we promote the participation and the recognition of the culture of the Mapuche people.

Our services are initiatives that seek to improve the quality of life of those with whom we work. We actively contribute to the development and preservation of ancestral techniques of production; we rely on a system of commercialization of Mapuche Textiles based in principles of Fair Trade; we advocate trade associations and self-management; we grant micro credits and technical assistance; we use a participative methodology of work and an integrative approach towards the personal and productive development of the women and their families.

Our areas of action are oriented to the reality of the life of the rural family and place special attention to the problems that concern them:

• Development of Mapuche Textiles: This program works to improve the productive process through four primary means: a) Training in spinning, dyeing and weaving techniques; b) Granting of Micro credit for the purchase of wool; c) Technical assistance subsequent to the initial training in the production process; d) Maintenance of quality and pursuit of innovation.


• Commercialization of Textiles: This program is based in the standards of Fair Trade. The Chol-Chol Foundation acts as a non-profit intermediary in a process that seeks to promote the dignity and improve the working conditions of the weavers that are a part of the Ñimi Kafe Pu Domo Association. The objectives are to promote the access to markets and to advertise the products for sale in national and international markets. The Chol-Chol Foundation is a Fair Trade organization and a member of IFAT, the International Federation of Fair Trade.


• Productive Activities: We have ample experience as trainers in productive activities for the rural population. Currently we are conducting a program developing the cultivation and commercialization of Medicinal Plants with two local community groups.

The Volunteer and Resource Development Programs actively support the above-mentioned areas of action.

The people are important: We differentiate ourselves by having an active Board of Directors, an effective professional team and engaged partners, all of which give our organisation the stability, transparency and independence necessary for out work. Our comparative advantage is the use of a participative methodology of work and an integrative approach towards the personal and productive development of the Mapuche people of the Araucanía.

We focus our work in the Araucanía region, located approximately 700 km south of Santiago, the capital of Chile. In this region lives a great part of the Mapuche population, the largest indigenous settlement of the country. Araucanía is also an important tourist attraction thanks to its pristine natural beauty: it contains four national parks, five volcanoes and countless beautiful rivers and lakes. The main productive activities of the region are agriculture and forestry. The climate is relatively temperate, with a humid winter and a warm summer. The capital of the region is the city of Temuco, a modern city of approximately 300,000 inhabitants.