Craftsmen adapt to new technologies to increase sales

The pandemic forced most independent workers update and transform your business to continue receiving income.

Craftsmen went through that experience and today they recognize that social networks are theirs sales allies.

Julissa Carrillo does bead necklaces and accepts that it has strong competition with products coming from abroad.

He is currently using social networksor Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in order to increase their sales, except that they have a hair dryer Western Panama. In addition, he visits fairs to promote his craft shop.

For his part, Ennio Ortizthe goldsmith residing in Las Tablas, in addition to entering an area foreign to his customs, even learned to use applications to bill clients abroad.

“Digital platforms have helped us a lot in sales during this period and makes us known throughout the country,” he thought.

Although the skirt jewelry she sells is more interesting to her Panama, has clients in Germany, Italy and the United States, the country where he traveled to folklore meetings to market his crafts.

While, Ruby Batista makes a pumpkin and tula, with which he was able to develop products for the home such as lamps, wall decorations, centerpieces and more

She also makes fashion accessories from handbags, necklaces, earrings and countless other products

Comes from San Pedro de la Horqueta, a town located 20 minutes from Santiago de Veraguas, where he extracts the raw material for his clothes.

He used his social media to promote your crafts, but with a pandemic dared to use them for sale.

“I even managed to invent bazaars and I managed to attract more audiences,” said the craftsman, who believes that one can make a living from crafts in the countryside with dedication and sacrifice.

Your problem to bear products abroad, although there is, it’s logistics, because of how fragile and sensitive their products are.

These craftsmen are part of the first users of the project Digital Artisan, an initiative of the Ministries of Trade and Industry and Culture (Mici), and the Government Innovation Authority, through which the platform will be delivered Find 24 i Center to improve your products.

“They will have different means of payment and logistics companies available that will allow the product to be taken from where they are to the customer’s home,” explained Luis Ayala, director Mici electronic store.

Ruby understands that they live the reality, which is that everything moves through technology and that they cannot be left behind.

However, he hopes that such programs will influence more craftsmen, especially those original and traditional which is in the regions, the mountain range and in places where they can’t even get their products out that are very good.

“The further a craftsman is from the city, the more he keeps his own identity, and its creation is more original, so we have to give him more protection,” says the craftsman.