Dácil Garcias, Rosa Delgado, Yolanda Verona, Ely Gumart and Brigada Bonilla. Five women from Lanzarote with different lives and professions, but united by the same cause: selling second-hand clothes to help different associations and even people on the other side of the world with their project 'The Secret Market'.
They started three years ago with the desire and concern to "do something new" for the island, they had the need to start with "something different from what was already being done", emphasizes one of the entrepreneurs Dácil Garcias to La Voz.
"These stalls in the markets are something innovative in Lanzarote", she acknowledges. A form of sale that differs from the shops of a lifetime in which they started by chance. "It has emerged spontaneously, none of us knew each other personally", says Garcias.
From Lanzarote to India
Solidarity and sustainability is the commitment that these women offer to society. All the profits they make from different events such as the stalls they set up in markets, inside hotels, premises, etc. are destined for different NGOs and solidarity associations that operate in Lanzarote.
In the particular case of Dácil Garcias, due to her relationship with India and her family background, she is dedicated to sending money to the country with the proceeds from the sale of her products.
"An association of women there needed to justify that they could export their work, in order to qualify for a microcredit from the Government of India", which is why she was encouraged to help in this initiative. For this, she imports turbans, which come directly from India and then sells them in Lanzarote. "I send them the designs in drawings, adapting the clothes to Western taste and then I receive them directly from there", reveals the woman.
"It is gratifying to send money to India and see that women can move forward with it in their personal and professional lives", confesses Garcias.
"A woman bought her daughter a computer so she could continue studying thanks to the contribution"
This has changed the destiny of a family. Without that money, the girl "would not have been able to study", rather she would have had to "start working", or have a completely different life already "married". A more than necessary money that is a great help to see women "advance in their personal and professional lives", she says.
The union between women as a motto
What stands out most about the project is the union that the five women have in the professional field. Their beginnings were "little by little with meetings", she reveals "and until now". The most admirable thing about the project is the good relationship that exists between them, for whom "there is no type of rivalry" between their colleagues. "We have no competition", they prefer to use the skills that they all have to "complement each other", confesses Garcias.
The help between the five is the main point for the initiative to work. "Each of us moves in a different environment but we inform each other", she says. Each one with our space but we are clear that, "we understand each other better", she adds.
Vintage clothing as a novelty
The novelty that these five women have brought to the island has been Vintage clothing, a form of textile sales that does not stand out much for its activity in Lanzarote. "We have included vintage clothing in our stalls, and we have also opted for handicrafts but of manual and own production", explains Garcias. Although little by little, it is being integrated into Lanzarote society. "The island is adapting to second-hand clothes, people are starting to see it as an option to differentiate themselves from others and adapt it to their style", she stressed.
"The island is adapting to second-hand clothes, people are starting to see it as an option to differentiate themselves from others and adapt it to their style"
Their products are also marked by personalized designs. "We make clothes and accessories to the taste of the customers", she says. As for their sales, which reach around "300 or 400 euros", such as what they have raised in the past month of September, they mainly sell accessories. "Sunglasses sell very well, as do bags", reveals the woman.
Their objective is also to boost the economy of Lanzarote, for this reason, "most of the products and fabrics are bought in the Canary Islands", she points out. In addition to promoting sustainability with "recycled products", she also bets on those that are affordable for all budgets.
"I sell things that range from five to sixty euros, to be able to reach everyone"
Men's and Unisex clothing, options for both men and women, for which they have not yet opted but do not rule out doing so. "We don't have men's clothing but it wouldn't be bad to include it", she says.
As for the upcoming projects, "we are thinking of doing something special for the first half of November", a meeting in which "invite other women to participate", she anticipates. In addition, she confesses one of her future wishes with the help of "the institutions" is "to organize a textile fair": "I would like to be able to do a textile fair like the craft fair", she reveals.
