Colombiamoda: the former Farc combatant who dreams of being a fashion designer
Ruth, a former Farc combatant, is one of the members of the Tejiendo Paz cooperative in Icononzo (Tolima). She dreams of being a professional fashion designer and having her own company. Her garments reached ColombiaModa and ColombiaTex 2021. Photo: Courtesy
Ruth turned 31 yesterday, July 27, celebrating that the garments she has been making for three and a half years at the Tejiendo Paz cooperative, located in the Territorial Space for Training and Reincorporation (ETCR) of Icononzo (Tolima), were for the first time in the virtual showcases of Colombiamoda and Colombiatex 2021. Both are the most important textile events in Latin America, which take place in a blended format between July 27 and August 2. Nobly, she acknowledges that she still hasn't grasped what that means, but she believes that she is one step closer to achieving her dream of becoming a fashion designer.
Her real name is Luz Marina, but since she joined the former Farc guerrilla in 2006, at the age of 15, when she lived in the municipality of La Uribe (Meta), she began to use the name Ruth to identify herself. And that's what she likes to be called. She is currently one of the members of the design and clothing area of the cooperative that brings together 21 ex-combatants who exchanged their camouflage for colored garments and fringes, and who, together with the company Manifiesta Made in Colombia , have made their way into the clothing industry. Fashion.
Ruth's story with clothing is significant because she has been woven with her personal decisions. Since adolescence, when she entered the guerrilla and was part of the Eastern Bloc of the Farc, she called her attention to take the needle and thread to experiment with garments. “At that time, obviously we only had the camouflage and we always received uniforms of enormous sizes, very large and I transformed them into smaller clothes. At first it was just that, but later I began to put patches of other colors on them because I liked to invent”, she says.
That was, for many years, her hobby. She sewed everything by hand and from time to time she offered to fix the torn or worn clothes of her companions when she was not on duty. Since 2017, after the FARC laid down their weapons and when she began her reincorporation process, the first thing she did was sign up for the clothing workshops they offered. “There was an offer for those who liked livestock, agriculture, other topics with food and the clothing workshop. That's where I signed up." Although she first finished school, she had dropped out in fourth grade due to the obligation to bring some support to her house.
(She may be interested in: Former FARC guerrillas open the doors of her enterprise in Medellín)
The first thing that she got to make in the cooperative were 30 kimonos and dresses for women. That's now her specialty, though she says she doesn't wear them because it's more “classic” in her style. She likes the comfort of a new mom: T-shirts, jeans, and flats. "It is the ideal garment to carry them (the children) everywhere and run them, if necessary," she says, while on the other end of the phone her son Jhon, 2 years old, sobs. Before continuing to talk about her life project, she makes a necessary pause and explains that the important thing about what they do with productive projects is "to build a different country for their children." A country in which studying and working do not have to be sacrificed for lack of livelihood.
Ruth prefers not to remember much about her past. She assures that the war blinded her and denied her the opportunity to study, to work in what she likes and to grow up with her family. Rejoining, far from being a purely physical process, has been like starting over for her. “There are many words that I did not understand when we got here. The fact of picking up a pencil again to learn, to study and above all to learn to use a sewing machine , that has been the most beautiful thing”.
She also says that there are two things that the war prevented her from doing and that today she can say are her life project: being a mother and working in what she likes. "I had always wanted to have children, but one never imagines that being in the jungle can achieve that, much less being able to have your own business." She assures, for example, that she was one of those who distrusted the peace process and reincorporation; but it is thanks to her Agreement that today she can raise her son Jhon de Ella normally, together with her partner, also a former combatant.
What is making me feel so bloated? 10 hidden causes of bloating and how to avoid them http://t.co/YdAqdDTO99 via @standardkenya
— Kinyanjui wa Gitau Mon Jul 07 12:11:29 +0000 2014
In the ETCR of Icononzo (Tolima) three lines of collective productive projects have emerged, which have been consolidated by the more than 200 ex-combatants of the Farc who live there: the agricultural one, with which they commercialize fruits and vegetables; the tourist one, in which tours are developed from the municipality to the village of La Fila, where the reintegration space is located and talks are given on recognition of the territory and historical memory, and the industrial one, in which the clothing workshop stands out Weaving Peace and the La Roja craft beer plant.
With the textile collective they have participated in several fashion shows. The first of them was PAZarela , carried out at the Universidad de los Andes, in September 2019, a space that they themselves created together with Ángela María Herrera Puyana, entrepreneur, founder of the company Manifesta, with whom they work “on key” . For that show, Ruth was one of the women who led the clothing team: they made the kimonos and the dresses for several days and nights.
However, his biggest step so far, without a doubt, has been that his garments reach Colombiamoda and Colombiatex 2021 . "I hope that this opens many other doors for us to continue making more products, to sell more, make new designs and, in the future, be able to have more experience to consolidate my own company," he says timidly, although he clarifies that for now he will continue working on collective.
These two events, according to Ángela Herrera, are spaces that, in addition to selling, consolidate new alliances and allow them to meet suppliers and future distributors for the brand. On the first day, Manifesta had already made an appointment with a boutique interested in selling the garments. Herrera clarifies that this work has not only been carried out by ex-combatants of the Farc, but that "there came a point where the brand grew so much that they themselves told me that they did not want everything to remain there, but that we include victims of the armed conflict. that they could contribute”.
(See: Remember not to repeat: Icononzo (Tolima) will have House of Memory)
At that time, Nicolás Galvis, 34, joined, who with his family jacket company in Soacha has helped promote this type of garment since 2019. He came to the project as a way to heal and continue with the reconciliation process. His brother David Sebastián Galvis, who was a professional soldier, was assassinated in the middle of a guerrilla ambush on August 13, 2013. “From then on, a new era began for us,” he explains with a broken voice. He says that as part of the psychological process that his family has undergone, after going through several moments of anger against the ex-FARC, they now work together with the "peace jackets" , as he calls them.
His history with clothing also dates back decades. He entered the world of textiles when he was 14 years old, because of his mother, who was then his childhood sweetheart and who taught him how to make jackets and other clothes. Now, both the ex-combatants who belong to the Tejiendo Paz cooperative and the victims of the conflict who are part of Manifesta are training to continue advancing, soon, in a new collection. Ruth and her classmates are studying a clothing and fashion technician offered by Sena in a blended manner, at the ETCR in Icononzo. “There we are learning color theories for designs, new forms of clothing and we are seeing fashion references. I didn't even know what that word meant before, ”she says sadly. And Nicolás and other families go to a workshop offered by the Arturo Tejada School of Design and Fashion, where they learn about new trends.
For now, they hope that the two most important fashion showcases in Colombia will open more doors for them and allow them to reach other national and international stages. The collective dream is to have their own clothing store and that the designs, in the future, are inspired by the historical memory of war and experiences. Ruth, for her part, says that her greatest career goal in life is to have her own collection of bathing suits, a garment that generates a kind of mysticism in her because few times in her life has she dressed according to the dynamics of war. "I've never bought a swimsuit, but I wish I could be inspired by my life to launch my own collections," she says.
To purchase any of the products made by ex-combatants of the Farc and victims, she enters her page on her Instagram.
