Factory Visit and Timberland Shoes

As part of the curriculum for my Processos Politicos de la Cultura Dominicana (Political Processes of Dominican Culture) the professor wanted to take us to a Zona Franca. A Zona Franca is a private sector formed by several factories owned by Dominican business people to export to the U.S. A Factory in a Zona Franca doesn’t pay taxes to the Dominican government. Whatever product is made in the country cannot be sold in the DR. This product is for export only. So if Dominicans want to purchase this product, even if they made it themselves, they have to wait until this product is shipped back to the DR and purchase it at a ridiculous higher price! The salaries at these factories are minimum wage. Work is intensive because employees are encouraged to work at a fast space. The expected number of shoes produced a day is written in a big chart for everyone to see.

We visited a factory that is currently working with Timberland Shoes. The factory is fairly big and divided into different sectors that each makes a different part of the shoe. 

Our guides introduced themselves and made sure to answer all our questions.The shoes are made from real cow skin. Before they are shipped to the factory, the skin is pigmented with different colors. Then they are expected to check that the quality of the skin is in perfect conditions for shoe making. Then they are cut into different parts by a machine using specific molds.

After this they are expected by two women who check that the skin is smooth and ready. 

These pieces are then sowed together by the workers. Slowly the shoe starts taking its final form.

It was interesting to see both men and women working in the factory. The workers were of different ages-from young to old. The environment felt friendly, but pressured. I was surprised to hear music playing in the background.

it says "guaranteed waterproof"

I was very impressed to see these shoes be sowed by hand!

Workers had to wrap their fingers in tape and band aids so that their fingers are not poked by the needle. They worked at an incredible speed. It was obvious they had years experience.

the workers that sowed the shoe did it while they were standing up

Visiting this factory brought many emotions to my heart. My hard working mother is a machine operator as well. Since she immigrated to the United States she has worked sowing clothes and recently parts of a sofa (where u put ur butt in). I am not ashamed to share this part of me because I have been raised in a home where money is earned with dignity and a lot of work!

When I was a little girl I always heard my mom talking about the names of the machines, so when I was in the factory I asked the workers what were the machines they were using. I felt attached to the environment. I also learned to appreciate everything I have that much more, because I imagined my mom working hard at these same machines back in Los Angeles.

I thought about my mom and my family back home as we continued walking through the factory…..

After the shoe is sowed and finally put together, they are inserted into an oven where they are heated so that the color and the texture improve in quality. Then they are taken out and put into a machine to dry. Next they are inspected one final time before they are placed in their respective shoe box before being shipped to the U.S.

This visit was very interesting because I was able to see one way that many Dominicans earn their money. Zonas francas play important roles in this country. For countless families it’s the only medium to earn income. As I said it also brought many thoughts to my head as I thought about my mommy working hard every day for 8 hours.  This visit made me want to work harder and be determined to achieve all of my goals-because I know my mom has made so much sacrifice to raise me.

Visiting the factory also made me ponder on all the products sold in the U.S. at ridiculous high prices because they are "brand names" but little do the consumers know where and in what conditions those products were created. I have an Aeropostale shirt that says made in Haiti. Im pretty sure the working conditions and the pay of the workers who make the shirt is not nearly as much as the price of that shirt in the U.S.

*Just things to think about*

*I want to thank Ms. Biondo for taking amazing pics

which I used in this posting 

"El Tubing"

I am so excited because last night I was able to do my own “tubing”!

In the Dominican Republic tubing is what the women do to their hair to keep it from frizzing up at night. Because Dominican women highly value straight hair, they straighten their own hair by going to the hair salon and getting a “blow” (from “blower”) or straitening their hair with the hair blower.

 At night, to keep it from getting messed up they wrap their hair up and use a net. Growing up in the States I thought that this was only done by African American women. So when I commented to my Dominican family they asked why I didn’t wrap my hair before. I said I didn’t know I could and I didn’t know how.

The first time I got my tubing done was by Luisana, after she straightened my hair. It felt weird and I was anxious to see my hair in the morning. She commented how my hair was so long and it was so hard to wrap it. In the morning when I unwrapped it I was surprise to see how perfect looking my hair was, just as if I had gotten it done.

This is how I looked the next day! Slash this is in a Tobacco field

The second time I got it done by Hector Luis and he did a really really good job, even though it was his first time doing it.

So this weekend I got my hair done by Luisana again and unfortunately I wasn’t near her before going to bed to get my tubing done by her. SOOO I had to try doing it on my own!

As I parted my hair I remembered what Luisana had told me to do and did what I membered.

I was happy with my results!

In the morning the net thing was not in my head and I was worried. I looked in the mirror and my hair looked on point! I told my family and my friends and they were surprise that I had never done it before but proud I was able to learn!

Im planning on having a workshop on “tubing” so everyone can make use of it,  no matter your hair texture.

If anyone is interested! Holla at a scholar!!!