Manos del Uruguay

Manos del Uruguay was founded in 1968 as a non-profit organization to improve the lives of Uruguay’s rural women by using handicraft skills passed along through their families and raw materials on hand: wool from Corriedale sheep raised in Uruguay’s open-air pastures. This special brand creates handmade luxury. All the yarns, some hand spun, are hand dyed in small lots using pots heated by wood, resulting in bold colors and no two skeins are alike. Manos del Uruguay created these collectives to give rural women jobs that provides not just an income but the opportunity to develop and gain independence, while keeping their traditions and staying close to the community of their home villages. Behind every skein of yarn is the signature of the woman who made it and the artisans are the owners of the company with profits being shared among the cooperatives or reinvested back into the organization. Manos del Uruguay has been a member of the WFTO, World Fair Trade Organization since 2009.