Nareyio's Beadwork Shop

There is something most people never think about when they walk into a small shop.

The shelves.

We notice whether they are full. Whether they are organized. Whether the products look good.

We rarely wonder what it took for someone to have shelves of their own.

Today we visited Nareyio in her new beadwork shop.

She has been operating for about a month.

The room is still coming together. Materials are stacked carefully where they can be kept clean. Shelves are one of the next things she hopes to add.

Four other women currently earn income through the beadwork being produced here.

Nareyio showed us a machine she had recently bought. She said she had wanted it for years.

For more than thirty years, Nareyio worked without ever truly controlling what her work produced.

When she farmed, she did not control the income.

When she sold potatoes, she could not keep the earnings.

Years of effort went into helping everyone else survive while very little accumulated for her.

Today she stood in a shop that carries her work.

A month ago, there was no business.

Today there is.