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Páramo is proof that businesses can grow sustainably whilst making a positive social impact and we are proud of the remarkable journey we have been on, and the future ahead of us. We are nothing without our skilled local and international workforce whose collective years of service and expertise balance Páramo’s social and ecological founding values with future development.
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“MIQUELINA IS NOT HERE JUST TO CREATE JACKETS, BUT TO CREATE PEOPLE – TO DIGNIFY WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED EVERYTHING IN SOCIETY AND LEFT TO FEEL ALONE AS NEGOTIABLE OBJECTS.”
SISTER ESTHER CASTAÑO MEJIA
PÁRAMO AND THE MIQUELINA FOUNDATION, SINCE 1992
At the heart of our business is our manufacturing partnership with Creaciones Miquelina, which helps transform the lives of vulnerable women in Bogotá, Colombia, by creating life-changing employment opportunities for them. The challenges facing women in Colombia are great due to the country’s civil war, with many of them battling displacement and poverty and being forced into prostitution to earn a living.
When our founder, Nick Brown, was introduced to Sister Esther Castaño Mejia in Colombia in the early nineties, a truly special partnership was born. Sister Esther, a nun with the Las Adoratrices order, was running a small sewing workshop, Creaciones Miquelina, offering training, experience and practical help to women from the streets of Bogotá as well as emotional and spiritual support.
Sister Esther needed a visionary partner willing to help her social enterprise grow from twenty women working on just two second hand sewing machines, hence the collaboration between Nick and Sister Esther began, and Páramo was officially born.
Over more than three decades, Páramo’s partnership with the Miquelina Foundation has grown to provide training for more than 11,500 women, helping them to gain a valuable and transferable skillset. It has also helped some to improve their financial literacy and secure homes within a local co-operative, fostering further independence.
In 2017, Creaciones Miquelina attained guaranteed fair-trade status from the World Fair Trade Organization and all Páramo garments manufactured by Miquelina carry this label. This accreditation is incredibly important to Páramo, aligning as it does with our mission to support social development and the building of better futures for women in Colombia.
Working at Miquelina provides the women with fresh hope, stability and practical support. From a regular income to access to benefits, our partnership has helped turn around thousands of lives. We have existed in a symbiotic relationship since Páramo’s inception, the success of one having a direct positive impact on the other.
EMPLOYEE-OWNERSHIP, SINCE 2022
In February 2022, Nick broke new ground in the outdoor industry and transferred his ownership of Páramo to us, his employees. At the same time, Páramo integrated the management of the Miquelina factory into its business, ensuring the women at Miquelina also receive an equal share in our thriving company.
Our employee-owned company is truly international, with offices in the UK, USA and Colombia, and we have elected employee representatives in each of these countries to form a Staff Council, ensuring all Partners can feed into how our business is run. As well as reinforcing our dedication to sharing the responsibility of doing the right thing, we also all share in the collective success of Páramo.
OUR VALUES
We are a values-oriented organisation that champions transparency and treats the people we work with fairly and equally. We offer flexible working arrangements across all levels of the business and are proud that so many of our Partners, including some of our colleagues at Miquelina, have worked with us for decades.
We are inspired to make a positive contribution to the world and communities we operate in by ensuring the sustainable development and production of our clothing is placed above pure short-term financial gain. Every step of the way, our Partners are helping to ensure that Páramo’s core principles are carried forward for many more years to come.
