ABOUT TIME FOR CHANGE
We are TRIWA (Transforming the Industry of WAtches) founded 2007 in Stockholm.
We think the watch industry is too focused on status and tradition. We like to work with our product category to move away from that and to drive positive change. By wearing a watch with a story bigger than tradition and status we hope the issues are being highlighted and talked about. We understand that we’re not saving the world by doing watches, but we think that the watch can become a strong symbol of change. In this blog we will write about these projects, what we’ve learned in the process and how it has affected us. We call it Time for Change.
TIME FOR PEACE
Our first Time for Change project, made in collaboration with IM, Swedish Development Partner. We made watches from destructed illegal firearms, to fight violence, give back to conflict torn societies and make the watch into a symbol of peace. For each watch we give back 15% to anti violence projects in El Salvador where the metal is being produced. See more about process below.
The idea was presented to us by IM, Swedish Development Partner in 2016. And we loved the concept, but needed to get our heads around production. It took about 2 years to figure it out. The basic model for the Time for Peace process shown to the left. Our first watch launched on Kickstarter, in May 2018. Since then we have been able to give back approximately $100 000 to IM and their local anti violence work in El Salvador.
Armed Violence
Armed violence is a worldwide problem accounting for more than 1,500 deaths each day. Every year at least 500.000 people are killed by firearms, making small arms true weapons of mass destruction. The costs of armed violence extend beyond the loss of human life and physical harm. Given the variety of impacts that violence can have on a society, measuring the social and economic consequences of armed violence is complex. The global economic costs of armed violence run into the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The global cost of insecurity generated by armed violence is estimated at $400 billion annually, and it could decrease the GDP growth of an average economy by at least two per cent per year.
El SALVADOR
The first weapons destruction program dedicated to Humanium Metal by IM was held in November 2016 in El Salvador.
El Salvador’s government says that criminal gangs command an estimated 60,000 active members, and their battle for supremacy has fractured this tiny country of 6.4 million people along an expanding web of invisible fault lines that run red. In 2017 the homicide rate was 61 per 100,000 people, making El Salvador the second deadliest of any country not at war, after Venezuela*.
THE RIVAL GANGS
M-18 and MS-13 are the largest and most notorious gangs in El Salvador. M-18 is also known as 18th Street and M-13 as Mara Salvatrucha. M-18 was formed in the 1960s by Mexican-American youth in the Rampart neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California.”[15] The 18th Street gang, originating in Los Angeles, has proliferated in San Salvador. The Mara Salvatrucha is a rival gang.
DESTRUCTION PROGRAM
The first Humanium Metal destruction program was initiated in November 2016 in El Salvador. In cooperation with Salvadoran authorities, IM produced 1.5 ton of Humanium Metal. Since then, the program has been directly involved for the removal and destruction of thousands of illegal firearms. Until today IM has been able to destruct and melt down almost 4,500 illegal firearms.
GOING TO EL SALVADOR
After working with the project for almost 4 years, from Sweden we, decided we wanted to travel El Salvador to get a better understanding of were the funds were allocated.
Appart from the violence El Salvador is a very welcoming country and beautiful country. The capital San Salvador is located at the foot of the San Salvador Volcano in El Salvador’s Valle de las Hamazas – the Valley of the Hammocks – named for its powerful seismic activity. During our 7 day visit we would feel earthquakes every day of small magnitude. Though the city of San Salvador was founded back in 1525, the majority of San Salvador’s historic buildings have collapsed over the years due to earthquakes.
LOCAL NGO:S
Through the Time for Peace project we have been able to bring in approximately $100 000 to IM and their local partner organisations. When coming to El Salvador we where able to see, with our own eyes, the important work that is being done, to help prevent violence and build a better future.
FESPAD
One of the biggest and most important organisations, that participates in the implementation of Humanium Metal by IM in El Salvador is FESPAD. It was founded in 1988 and defines itself as an institution for human promotion. FESPAD promotes democratic values and the organization belongs to several national and international networks and alliances, from which they promote knowledge and respect for human rights. From our point of view they seem to have a very strong connection to both the government and the local communities, which gives them a strong voice for change.
Fundación Red de Sobrevivientes
IM began collaborating with Red de Sobrevivientes (RdS / “Survivors’ Network”) in 2016 and the organization has been a core actor for the overall development of Humanium Metal by IM. RdS supports people with disabilities and their families to gain more power over their lives through reintegrating them into the society and strengthening their economic empowerment. RdS estimates that one out of every four disability in El Salvador is caused by an act of violence, where the vast majority of which are related to handguns.
The organization plays an increasingly important role in the Salvadorian context, especially in the public debate on how to prevent the armed violence. Over the years, the organization has built up a nationwide network with direct presence of the affected societies by violence and poverty. RdS has an overall responsibility for the implementation of the project activities at the community level.
Amilcar Durán – A change agent
It’s not an organisation, but a person that made a very deep impression on us was Amilcar Durán.
Amilcar is one of the founders of Rds / Survivors’Network. Amilcar himself has suffered from the armed violence in El Salvador. Amilcar and his colleague were attacked and fired at by a group of armed men. Amilcar survived but his friend didn’t.
During his rehabilitation, Amilcar met other people with similar experiences. Talking to people in the same situation has inspired him in his work. He describes it as “you only believe that life can be better when people in the same situation tell you so”.
Amilcar is working to change the attitudes towards handguns in El Salvador. He often talks to young people in the streets and they tell him that there are only three “destinations” for them; the hospital, the prison or in the end the graveyard.
Amilcar replies that there is a fourth way; to end up in a wheelchair like himself. With his willpower and effort, Amilcar works actively to prevent violence and to support the survivors in order to have a better life.
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