AGREEMENTS WOMEN CAN RELY ON
A letter reflecting on this year’s work and impact
From our co-founder Bernabela
I grew up in the same communities as the women who work at Pura Utz. I know how work usually looks for Mayan artisans in Guatemala.
Most of the time, it is informal. You are paid per piece. There is no contract. No certainty. No guarantee that the work will continue from one month to the next. That uncertainty shapes everything—from how you plan your finances, to whether you can say yes to medical care, pregnancy, or time off. That is why contracts matter so much here.
For many of the women on our team, signing a contract this year was the first time their work had ever been formally recognized. At the beginning, there was hesitation. A contract was unfamiliar, and it raised questions. But over time, the meaning became clear— not just on paper, but in daily life.
The contracts we developed, which came into effect in January 2026, were created together with a human rights consultant. This was essential for us. We wanted to make sure the structure truly protects the women and their rights, and not just the company. The priority is job stability: knowing that work will continue, and knowing clearly what you are entitled to. That stability has a real impact.
The contracts include semiannual bonuses, support for food and transportation, and full salary during maternity leave. These are benefits artisans in our village do not receive anywhere else. For many women, it is the first time that pregnancy does not mean losing income entirely. When women know they are protected in cases of illness or pregnancy, it changes how they approach both work and life. There is less fear and more calm. And a greater willingness to commit long-term.
Peace of mind matters, even if it is difficult to measure.
At the same time, we are working in a reality where the cost of living in Guatemala has risen sharply. Transportation has become especially expensive. Many of our artisans travel from Santiago, and without support, those costs directly reduce their income. Some women choose to work from home not because they prefer it, but because coming to the workshop becomes too expensive. Covering transportation and food is not an extra — it is necessary to make work possible and fair.
Pay is another essential part of this picture. The gap between what most Mayan artisans earn and what women earn at Pura Utz is still large. Across the sector, artisans are often forced to lower their prices and accept unstable work. At Pura Utz, we work carefully with pricing so that, at the end of the month, women earn a solid income and do not fall below a living daily wage. Job security plays a key role in this. Knowing there will be work next month changes how women plan their lives.
Mayan beadwork has been sold and admired for many years. But the women who make it have often been undervalued and underpaid. What we are trying to do at Pura Utz is different. We want the work to be valued properly, and we want the women to be respected as workers — not just as artisans.
For me, this past year has not been about declaring success. It has been about putting the right structures in place. About making work real work. About knowing that if you show up every day, you will be paid fairly, protected if something happens, and still have your job next month. Through agreements women can trust. That is where we are right now, and that is what we are building at Pura Utz.
From the heart, thank you for being part of it all - for your love and support of our beliefs, work, and small pieces of change.
Con amor,
Bernabela Sapalú
Building impact close to home
This year, instead of publishing a long impact report, we decided to pause and do something a little different. Not because impact is less important, but because we're in the middle of it.
We are still building our overall impact framework, and we’re not finished. What we are doing is the work, step by step, trying to understand what responsible growth looks like for us in real life, and how we can share that process honestly as we go.
For us, impact has never been about applying a universal model. It’s about people and context — about paying attention to what is right here, for the women on our team, in the reality we share every day. What works in one place doesn’t automatically work in another, which is why everything we do is rooted in the women’s lived realities and in the impact that Bernabela and the team feel most strongly about from the inside.
We stay close to the artisans to avoid abstract ideas of impact and stay connected to what actually makes a difference. Our team in Guatemala are skilled artisans, leaders, and businesswomen. Developing and honoring their skill, leadership, and knowledge is not something separate from impact for us, it is the impact.
None of this is always easy, and we don’t have all the answers — but we believe this work has to stay close to the people, otherwise it stops making sense.
What we worked on this year
1. Introducing formal employment contracts for artisans (effective January 2026)
2. Working with a human rights consultant to ensure worker-centered protections
3. Implementing maternity pay, bonuses, and support for food and transportation
4. Continuing pricing work to maintain wages above a living daily wage
5. Laying internal groundwork for a long-term impact framework and reporting structure
6. Initiatives and projects that provide opportunities for the team of artisans to develop and learn new skills and build on their knowledge
7. Donation of annual Christmas baskets for local families with limited ressources in the community