Women Entrepreneurship
Welcome to the Multimedia Toolkit for the “Social innovation in support of women's collective entrepreneurship based on the traditional knowledge of Cree women” project.
Since CWEIA's incorporation, members — primary producers of traditional arts and crafts — have asked the association to initiate entrepreneurship projects. Art preserves cultural knowledge and passes it on generationally. CWEIA has supported the social economy since regional partners organized around this topic through CSERT in 2012.
The second orientation in CWEIA's Strategic Plan 2016–2020 aims to nourish the ground for women's empowerment, with a strategy to develop and support women's individual and collective entrepreneurship. In its Women's Entrepreneurship Strategy 2017–2020, CWEIA reasserts its commitment to social economy values and to supporting Cree women-controlled collective businesses.
Action Research Project (August 2016 – March 2018)
CWEIA collaborated with Niska (a community development cooperative) and CIRADD (a sustainable development research centre) on an action research initiative. Funding came from the Community and College Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Research and Transfer Support programme of MEES.
Main Objectives
- Better understand available technical and financial support for Cree women entrepreneurs.
- Design and implement a collective arts/crafts business controlled and managed by women.
- Research and experiment with processes supporting Cree women's entrepreneurship in Eeyou Istchee.
Key Outcomes
- A profile of the Cree Entrepreneurial Support System
- A Multimedia Guide with video learnings (eight videos, recommended for sequential viewing)
- A final project report
- A Business Canvas Model for the cooperative
- Standardized pricing for key items