Industrias Tema, Nicaragua

Endemic poverty and scant job opportunities are driving more and more people to diving, but lobsters are becoming scarcer in shallow waters. Thus, despite new regulations, the work is increasingly perilous. Though well-paid, injured divers – who are almost exclusively men – become outcasts in a society where they were once valued breadwinners. “Disabled ex-divers are often abandoned by their families or hidden away,” says Martha Down, a disability-rights activist in Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas on the Caribbean coast. “They should be seen as individuals and citizens of society.”
This is a little-known part of the world with a unique problem. But when Manuel Román, CEO of Industrias Tema, a company that manufactures bespoke wheelchairs and other mobility aids in Nicaragua’s capital, heard about the plight of the divers and their families, he decided he had to get involved. “It had been my dream for many years to help people in this area because it was very difficult for them to get a damaged wheelchair repaired,” says  Manuel. “It would almost be cheaper for them to buy a new one.”
Manuel has been an advocate for disability rights since the 1980s when he fought in the country’s Contra War, which took the lives of tens of thousands of Nicaraguans. Aged only twenty, Manuel was shot in the back and the injury affected the movement of his right leg. He eventually trained in business administration before founding Industrias Tema in 2001 with a group of young people with disabilities – some wheelchair users, others hearing-impaired.
Manuel’s first visit to Bilwi on the Caribbean coast revealed the conditions the divers lived in. “They go from being the head of the household to becoming a burden, relegated to another part of the house or hidden away,” he explains. “A lot of them are abandoned by their families. Some find activities like making crafts, carpentry, selling lottery tickets; others end up living on the streets.”

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2.1.39 Woman And Man Holding Wheel Thriive Industrias Tema Copyright Thriive Nicaragua

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One of the many injured divers makes repairs at his home workshop, helping him to reinstate himself in the labour market. 
Manuel started working with activist Martha, quadriplegic since a swimming accident when she was 19. As the first disabled person in Bilwi to graduate from high school, Martha carried a lot of influence. Together, they organised a fortnight-long wheelchair-repair course. “Some ex-divers become drug addicts because of their injury,” says Martha. “They lose their independence and self-esteem. In the Caribbean climate, wheelchairs are quickly damaged by the sea air, and many divers cannot afford food, never mind mobility aids.”
The initial workshop was organised as ‘repayment’ to Argidius’ partner Thriive Nicaragua for a US$10,000 loan they had provided Industrias Tema. Thriive works with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in different sectors to generate a culture of social responsibility. Beneficiaries can access loans as well as training and networking opportunities, with 10% of the loans repayable in cash, while the rest is given back in the form of community investment or ‘repayments.’ 
Martha says that people’s attitudes have begun to change as a result of this project. “Among the injured divers, greater self-esteem has started to lead to decreased rates of drug and alcohol abuse,” she says.
Thriive’s Maryangel Alemán points out that Nicaragua’s economy is largely sustained by SMEs, which provide an accessible alternative to the informal market. “Many people don’t finish school,” she says. “They don’t get qualifications and end up working in the informal sector. Thriive’s support helps entrepreneurs like Manuel Román escape this cycle and can also provide employment to others.”

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2.1.39 Men With Bike Thriive Industrias Tema Copyright Thriive Nicaragua

Manuel Román, CEO of Industrias Tema, heard about the plight of the divers and their families and decided he had to get involved. 
One of the challenges Industrias Tema faced at its inception was a lack of capital for vital but expensive equipment, such as a bending machine. “We went to a scrapyard where they recycle metal, and had a light-bulb moment,” says Manuel. “We used a truck’s brake drum to make our own bending machine – for under US$100!”
People advised Manuel to patent this innovation but he was unwilling to make money from something people needed, and instead allowed a team from San Francisco University to use the model in parts of Asia and Africa. “We were overjoyed to learn that our idea had been useful to other people,” says Manuel. “We still use this tool and replicated it for our work on the Atlantic coast.”
Irene García, programme manager with Argidius, says that what she finds most fascinating about this project is that it has allowed what started as a “vertical philanthropic relationship to turn into a more resilient horizontal one of solidarity.”
“What I feel has been the main impact here – beyond revenue growth and the creation of employment – is an engaged and proactive individual who believes they have the power to transform their communities,” she says. “Discovering this potential and power within yourself is revealing, and gifts others with confidence.”
Many of the injured divers have been able to reinsert themselves in the labour market and one has set up a repair workshop in his home. “One hundred per cent of people working in wheelchair repair in Bilwi have been trained by us,” says Manuel proudly.
Industrias Tema has been working full tilt during the Covid-19 pandemic, supplying organisations including hospitals with wheelchairs. They are requesting a further loan from Thriive to help them branch out.
“Survival means diversification,” says Manuel. “We want to be around for the long-term.”
<h4>"Manuel is a remarkable example of an engaged and proactive individual who believes they have the power to transform their communities. Discovering this potential within yourself is revealing, and gifts others with confidence." </h4>
<h4>Irene García, Programme Manager</h4>

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2.1.39 Man In Wheelchair Crafting Thriive Industrias Tema Copyright Thriive Nicaragua

Managua-based wheelchair manufacturer Industrias Tema, a small and growing business, receives business development support from Argidius partner Thriive.

Industrias Tema, Nicaragua | Argidius

Wheelchair manufacturer Industrias Tema has grown a busy repairs trade at the coast, bringing jobs for disabled ex-lobster divers, with business development support from Argidius partner Thriive Nicaragua.

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