Ni En More
Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.5 million inhabitants, is located in the north of Mexico and south of El Paso, Texas. It is a city riddled with low wage factories, with a reputation for crime and violence. It is a particularly dangerous place to be a woman.
But Juarez has not always been like this. There was a time when women could go out at night without the fear of being raped or murdered and when mothers didn't have to spend their lives searching for the bodies of their lost daughters. That time, however, is gone. Today gender violence is part of everyday life in Juarez. Fortunately, there are those who refuse to accept this. Seeking opportunity for change, Norwegian artist Lise Linnert, together with Juarez native activists and artist Janette Terrazas and Veronica Corchado, founded NI EN MORE, a social innovation project with aim to empower women in Juarez.
It started with a shared belief in the transformative impact of economically empowered women; the potential to collaborate across borders, the contribution of different skills, and a willingness to work hard. With one sewing machine, a small borrowed room and a name, they started. NI EN MORE is a mix of the Spanish, Norwegian and English words meaning ‘Not one more’. Now, two years later, NI EN MORE is an act of resistance, solidarity and a small nonprofit sewing studio for women in Juarez, that makes unique garments. The purpose is to provide a safe environment, fair wages, education and a warm place to be for women in need. This vision has drawn women into the project who have a wide range of skills. Examples include Tine Mollatt, a Norwegian designer who created the initial four styles and donated the first 400 metres of fabrics, to illustrators, writers, photographers, and artists who are conscious of the importance of women supporting each other.
Extract from Berenice Hernandez's article Ni En More from the current issue. Subscribe to Selvedge here.