Five forgers are being trained in haute couture, thanks to the opportunity provided by Zunilda Gutiérrez, a Panamanian fashion designer who has her workshop in Cali. César, one of the young men, says that what he is experiencing is beautiful and that it is the starting point to fulfill his dream of becoming a designer. 

César, 23, is living a dream. For the past few months he has been training and practicing in the workshop of Zunilda Gutiérrez, a renowned fashion designer from Panama, based in the United States, who has her company and brand in a neighborhood in the west of Cali, Valle del Cauca.   

César's dream, he says, began like this. "I found out about the offer to study through my psychosocial teacher from the Forjar Oportunidades program, who told me that there was an option to learn haute couture thanks to an opportunity that a fashion designer was giving me. Without thinking twice I said I wanted to apply and the day of the interview I left my home, located in the east of the city, at six in the morning, even though the appointment was at ten o'clock. When my other classmates arrived to take the tests, I had already finished", says this young man, from the LGTBI community and born in Buenaventura, almost laughing.  

"They put me to operate a sewing machine and this gave me a lot of excitement because my dream has always been to be a fashion designer, so this is like a starting point to fulfill my desire."

César, then, hopes to live each experience in the fashion workshop as if it were his last and make the most of it. "I admire Zunilda Gutiérrez (owner) and Zulma Sandoval (head of production) because they are betting on young people and giving them opportunities. For me this is like when you give a glass of water to a thirsty person, and in this case I wanted this and dreamed of it, I was thirsty for the fashion world. I am happy and proud, and I hope I don't fail them," he says.  

Now, this forger sees himself in the future with a fashion design or garment manufacturing company. "In my company I will apply everything I am learning here. At this moment, for example, I am in the area of buttons, I make them in different sizes, colors and textures, but I have also learned to weave, cut, sew, I know how to differentiate types of fabrics, how to treat them, how to iron them, how to handle them, that is, here they have taught me things that I never thought were so important," he says and adds that "I tell Forjar Oportunidades and Compromiso Valle to continue giving opportunities to young people. This is something very beautiful and it is very much appreciated".   

Like César, there are four other forgers going through the same process in this fashion workshop. All of them have the option of remaining as employees, if they are ever needed. Similarly, as regards the Forging Opportunities program, which is implemented by Compromiso Valle, there are currently 1,135 forgers in different training processes, thanks to alliances with strategic actors.

The doors opened by Zunilda Gutiérrez

Zunilda Gutiérrez, who is now an example for forgers, has been in the fashion industry for a long time, but only two years ago she decided to create her own brand. She did it in Cali because of the language, the trend, the raw material and the labor force, but also because of life opportunities.

"As a company, it has always been clear to me that we have to offer the possibility to people who may not have had the opportunity to have studied in an institution, but who like me dream of the world of fashion. And in the Sidoc Foundation and its program I found the profiles of those people who could perhaps become part of this family," says Zunilda.

"I am a person who comes from a very humble family, from the countryside, from the village, and I think there are many people who stay in that world not because they want to, but because they are not given opportunities. That is what we want to change here in my workshop and so far we are doing well," he says and smiles a little.

This fashion designer says that she and her production manager, Zulma Sandoval León, are very happy with the decision to train the forgers because "we see the boys and girls very interested, they are eager to learn, they are focused, learning and with many dreams ahead of them. I imagine them working in the future or with their own businesses and with a better quality of life for them and their families.