From left to right: Roberto Natalio, Carlos Salvador, Samuel Iturbide, Federico Dominguez, Zenobio Iturbide
Casa Romero is an artisan cooperative located in downtown Cuernavaca, Mexico.
We had our beginnings in 1986 when the founders of VAMOS!, a registered charitable organization based in the U.S. and Mexico, Bill and Patty Coleman and Ike Patch visited Cuernavaca, Mexico and were shocked by the contrasts between the rich and the poor.
Cuernavaca has been the summer home of Mexico’s people since the time of the Aztecs. Today, it is also home to a nearly million poor people who flock to the city looking for work and opportunities for themselves and their children.
VAMOS! began by helping communities build schools and community centers and by feeding up to 2200 children and their mothers per day.
In 1993 VAMOS! volunteers met a group of indigenous street seller artists sleeping underneath a downtown church with their children. During the day they had to vacate the premises and carry all their products and supplies with them. Often going to sleep hungry and speaking little Spanish. VAMOS! offered food and Spanish lessons. So began a long and productive relationship.
VAMOS! rented a workshop nearby, which was named Casa Romero. Here the artists developed their skills. They learned to improve their designs and finishes, display their work in Casa Romero, pack and ship their products, and manage their accounts. Today they are supporting themselves, their wives and children and relatives back in their villages with money they earn as artisans.
In 2001 by Claudia Bierman and William Graham, Canadian Friends of VAMOS! began to manage Casa Romero. They work closely with the artisans to ensure that the products sold on Casa Romero’s website are among the highest quality, orders are processed and shipped to our many clients throughout the world.
Claudia and Will have also been at the forefront of bringing technology to VAMOS! projects. In 2006 they started our first mobile computers labs and today we now have over 500 students and 6 different locations, each with high speed internet access.
The picture shows the artists proudly displaying the handcrafted and hand painted decorative balls they have produced. Each item is signed so you can identify who produced the products you may be purchasing. Three of the men are from the original group found under the church.
