APTEC Peru

APTEC PERU is an organization of producer artisans that offers a variety of handmade products made from many materials including clay and gourds. Learning the art of craftmaking from their parents, the artisans worked for many years for companies but now design and create the products themselves.

Art Camp

Art Camp-- The artisans of Tecalpulco, Mexico have long been known for their silver and abalone jewelry. Art Camp, short for Artesanas Campesinas or rural women artisans, is a women-owned cooperative that continues this tradition. The group continues to introduces new methods, materials, and machinery to compete in the highly competitive jewelry market, surviving a collapse in the 1990’s in the marketability of their pieces with the influx of jewelry from other countries to the US market. The women have become business women, understanding the importance of customer service, quality, and design. The jewelry product range includes semi-precious stones, shells, or tiny flowers captured in resin accentuated by silver alloys or precious metals. The tradition of fine Mexican jewelry is present in each piece.

BIO Imaginarte

The founders of BIO Imaginarte take the mantra “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” to heart. The focus of BIO when it began in 1992 was educating Mexico in the need to protect and restore the environment. Working with women who live in several villages as an aspect of its education efforts, BIO helped designed bags and other functional products that are made from manufactured materials, reusing aluminum pop tops, rubber from tires and plastic billboards, as well as recycling paper and candy wrappers. The women are paid a fair price for each piece that they make, which promotes the beauty of handmade products while addressing one of the main causes of environmental deterioration in Mexico—poverty.

Bridge of Hope

Bridge of Hope is a network made up of 14 community groups, churches and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who believe that, in this era of globalization, it is important to work on the international level as well as local to have a real impact on the policies which define the context within which poor and marginalized people live.
Bridge of Hope works to strengthen the capacities of local and participating institutions to work with base communities while respecting human dignity through exercising fair democratic business practices.

Caribbean Craft

Founded in 1990 by a multinational group of young entrepreneurs, Caribbean Craft —formerly known as Drexco—promotes employment in Haiti by training unskilled - but often highly gifted - craftspeople, and by assisting the independent artisans through the introduction of new designs and new market outlets. Unemployment in Haiti, the poorest country of the American hemisphere, is variously estimated at between 60 and 80%.
The organization has gone through rough times during the past years, marked by political troubles and economic difficulties including a 3-year long embargo on all Haitian exports. Drexco saw in 1997 its premises totally ransacked and then destroyed during gang violence. Relocated in a higher-security industrial park, the organization currently employs 400 artisans either as salaried employees or outside contractors, with roughly equal numbers of men and women.
Caribbean Craft’s specialty is the brightly colored, artistically hand-painted home décor objects, which can be purely decorative, such as wall hangings , or consist of objects useful in the home, like switch plates and magnets. The natural artistic talents of the Haitians are well known, and many of these hand-painted pieces are truly works of art.

Calypso Chile
Calypso Chile is a family owned business that operates from the family home. Marcela Cofre and her husband supported their family by making women’s shoes until 1994 when the market for shoes dropped dramatically as cheaper imports flooded the market. After dabbling in various types of crafts, Marcela found a particular talent for glass making, building a sustainable business to support her family as well as the families of others who she has trained to help make glass products. As a member of the WFTO, Marcela operates the business under the auspices of fair trade, ensuring that all of the artisans and craftspeople are paid a fair price for their work.


 

Croix des Bouquet

We met Carlo Brutus and Eugene Jacques, two of the many artisans in Croix des Bouquets, an area of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti known for artisans who make oil drum art. The constant hammering from the sheds in the area led us to beautiful metalwork, with each stop offering new designs.

Eugene’s shed was tucked behind several others and yielded unique three-dimensional masks with cogs and bicycle chains for earrings. Each piece is a work of art and signed with “Eugene”. Carlo has what seemed like hundreds of different design of the ubiquitous round steel drum artwork hanging from every inch of wall space in his tiny warehouse.

The Diaspora of Haitians has spread the designs and skills of Oil Drum art throughout the Caribbean but the art is truly Haitian. Old oil drums are no longer readily available and are imported into Haiti by container and sold to the artisans. Even though cheaper, more readily available steel sheets could be used, artisans rely on the used drums for the patina in their art.

COMPARTE

COMPARTE (Comercializadora de Productos Artesanales Exportables) is a non-profit organization that exports Chilean handicrafts around the world. As members of IFAT, Comparte's mission is to improve the standard of living for owners and employees of Chilean handicraft workshops, by promoting and exporting various handmade products of the highest quality, while supporting these same artisans through technical and product development assistance programs. Purchasing COMPARTE products helps improve the living conditions of their artisans and craftsmen by paying fair prices and stimulating justice in the workplace of the developing world. The artisans often work from their homes. In some cases adult children work alongside their parents while younger children attend school. Comparte products include enameled copper earrings; fused glass earrings pendants and bracelets; sterling silver earrings; wood articulated pens, fish, snakes and dinosaurs; fused glass plates and ceramic ocarinas.

Comunidad Wiñay

Operating since 1988, Comunidad Wiñay-- a collective of producer associations in Cochabamba, Bolivia -- provides employment for women in the community and education for their children. In addition to paying sustainable wages and offering a safe working environment, the organization operates a daycare, which provides health care, education, and meals for the children of its employees.



The Enterprising Kitchen

The Enterprising Kitchen (TEK), a nonprofit social enterprise, provides workforce development and support services to women who are working toward self-sufficiency and economic independence. Within the context of a business where we manufacture natural soaps and spa products, under the brand name Choices from The Enterprising Kitchen, women receive intensive workforce preparation and skills development including: paid employment, work and life skills training, individualized career planning, high school equivalency preparation, technology training, financial planning and a variety of other support services. Located in Chicago, our enterprise enables lower-income women who have been unemployed and underemployed to maximize their individual potential and move into sustainable employment after 6-12 months. The Enterprising Kitchen was founded in 1996 and in 2005 relocated to a larger, more efficient training and production facility located in Chicago's Ravenswood industrial corridor. .

Feltsu

Susana Burgos uses her life experience of working with fabrics and natural materials and her skill as a designer to create stunning, wearable art in the medium of felt.  Needing a livelihood for herself, her adult daughters, and women who worked for her when she operated a clothing business after the clothing industry toppled due to the influx of inexpensive clothing and materials from Asia, Susana created Feltsu.  She employs other women artisans who are the breadwinners for their families and she had trained in making the labor-intensive felt products. While it is still a fledgling project, Feltsu's products are high quality and highly desired in today's fashion industry.

Fundacion Solidaridad

Fundacion Solidaridad began in 1974 as a part of the Cooperation Committee for Peace in Chile, which supported the production and sale of handicrafts made by political prisoners detained in prisons and detention camps. By 1976, the organization was supporting hundreds of community groups from the poorest areas of Santiago, including womens organizations, youth groups, indigenous groups, young artists with learning disabilities, and family microbusinesses. New and original handicrafts were invented as a result of the ingenuity and creativity of the local people, many of them made from recycled waste products. By increasing earnings, market insertion and social participation, the Fundacion helps position artisans to overcome poverty and improve their quality of life by producing handicrafts and non-industrial objects in autonomous workshops and microbusinesses.


 

Fundacion Silataj

  
Fundacion Silataj works with 26 aboriginal communities from the Argentina provinces of Salta, Formosa, Jujuy and Catamarca. The remaining population of the Wichi ethnic group is sparsely distributed in communities in these provinces.
Women weave chaguar fiber dyed with roots, fruits or leaves. Men carve palo santo wood, utilizing dried branches or fallen trees that they collect in the forest. Most Wichi communities still subsist by fishing, hunting, and gathering.

Justify That

Justify That clothing is clothing that makes a statement. The statement is more than just a screen print, it's a philosophy. Each shirt shares the values of the message. Justify That is a brand name of Global Crafts our partner organization.
All Justify That clothing is 100% organic cotton, printed with waterbased inks. 100% true to the philosophy.The Tee's come with an indepth information tag. Thank you for caring!

Marilyn Anderson

Marilyn Anderson produces art and publications and co-directs the Pro Arte Maya educational project for Maya children in Guatemala. Through the Pro Arte Maya project, Maya/Spanish coloring books and educational materials are distributed in Guatemala. The goal is to affirm and celebrate the cultural importance of their arts and crafts and to increase consciousness and knowledge among those reached by the work. Marilyn is a member of the Fair Trade Federation. Through her art and publications she seeks to educate the public about the cultural dimension of fair traded arts and crafts sold in the North America and elsewhere.

Maya Traditions

Maya Traditions is a fair-trade producer based in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.  For more than ten years Maya Traditions has worked with indigenous weavers in the highlands of Guatemala. Its mission is to support weaving groups and small family businesses through providing consistent income, as well as health and education projects.  Maya Traditions [romotes women who do backstsrap weaving - an ancient traditional art that women can do from their homes while caring for their families - as well as crochet artisans, footloom weavers and other small family businesses.for a typical Maya woman, weaving is a ritua; part of her daily life.  After doing family chores before dawn, she unrolls and connect her loom, and weaves 3 or 4 hours until she prepares lunch for her family, then weaves another 3 or more hours until sunset.  To weave a traditional huipil blouse may involve two or three months of this daily ritual.
Linguistically differentiated by as many as twenty languages, the Mayans share a common bond through their weaving heritage.  Many aspects of Maya Culture are communicated by costume or "traje".  It is a true art form where a womeean shows her artistry and level of commitment to cultural identifty.  At the heart of Maya Traditions' efforts is the improvement of the quality of life.  Many people in the area are faced with poverty and lack basic services.  As a member of the Fair Trade Federation, Maya Traditions ensures the artisans are paid a fair price for their products, and has established programs to help artisans with health care and education for their children.

Moro Baruk

Moro Baruk is a large man in a small country. Born in Egypt, Moro studied design in Italy, emigrated to New York, and moved to Haiti in 1983. Seeing the need for sustainable employment in the town of Jacmel, Moro opened a workshop to create handicrafts. Employing 25 craftspeople, Moro’s workshop creates bold wood and papier maché pieces, that almost overshadow the gregariousness of the designer. Moro’s faith, which led him to Haiti in the first place, plays a strong role in his fair and ethical business practices.

MYO Accessories

MYO Accessories is a company aware of poverty, especially among indigenous groups in Mexico where the company is located. MYO was established to help empower craftspeople live better lives by employing mostly women to make their products, such as the candy wrapper purses.

In addition to offering these women employment, MYO give them the opportunity to take the materials to their homes so they can better care for their families while they work, helping to improve the quality of their lives as well as provide a sustainable income.
Using a similar technique that children use to make paper chains from gum wrappers, the artisans of MYO crafted sturdy bags from crinkly misprinted wrappers.  Amidst the bright colored squares, one can detect everything from peanuts, ingrediants list, to bar codes.

  Pueblos del Sur

 
Supporting microenterprises and associations of artisans from the marginalized sectors of Chile, the organization Pueblos del Sur, Villages of the South,  has a mission to improve the lives of those who work in these organizations by providing an infrastructure for marketing and exporting the crafts they make.  In addition, the organization helps artisans improve their business practices as well as continually develop new products while staying true to their traditions.  The access to international markets that Pueblos del Sur provides enables more than 250 artisans to make a sustainable living from selling craft items to more than 10 countries around the world.

Siwok

  
In Northern Argentina, an area that consists of small tribes and villages, there are poor Wichi Indian communities. In the past, the members of these communities survived through hunting, fishing, and gathering forest fruits. With the encroachment of sugar cane estates, deforestation, and the change in the economy, meeting basic needs and preserving the Wichi culture has become increasingly difficult. Siwok was formed to help the Wichi Indians us their natural talents and resources to adjust to the changes in their environment. Long known for their carving, the Wichi people now market their products through Siwok, which pays a fair price for the products and invests in the local community, through not only by providing a sustainable income but by encouraging education for the children and providing access to health care.



B & B Crafts

Ben Ncube started B & B Craft & Recycling as an individual artisan working in the new South African tradition of making crafts from recycled materials, such as tin cans and discarded wire from taxi stands and bus stations, incorporating beads in his designs. As the demand for the products he made grew, Ben, “the Can Man” started training apprentices in the art form  of weaving tin, paying them a fair price for the products they produced. The training and production provides a sustainable income for a growing number of young people in Cape Town.

The Bartel Arts Trust

The Bartel Arts Trust, or the BAT Shop, is an urban-based community art center that is a venue and facility for skills training, promotion and exposure of disadvantaged and emergent artists in South Africa. The focus of the center is local arts, culture, crafts and entertainment that reflects the Zulu, Indian and Western heritage of KwaZulu-Natal. The difference at BAT is the grassroots, the experimental, the cross-arts trends and the innovation that is promoted at the center.

Creative Alternatives

Creative Alternatives trains individual artisans in Western Kenya in the art of making crafts from readily available and environmentally sound materials. Water hyacinth—a weed that is clogging Lake Victoria—, tin sheets of misprinted bottle caps, recycled wire, tin cans, and discarded phone cards, all find new lives as the artisans of Creative Alternatives create greeting cards, ornaments, jewelry, and functional products, which they sell to provide a sustainable livelihood for their families. Operating under the auspices of Fair Trade, Creative Alternatives ensures the craftspeople with whom it works are paid a fair price for the products they produce.

Esther Kariuki

Esther Kariuki is an independent artisan who, in her area of Kenya, near Kitui, has organized and trained women in her village to use the dried fiber of the banana plant, which would normally be discarded. The banana fiber is first dried, and then a light varnish applied. Once this process is complete craftspeople cut the fiber into thin strips to make several different items, including boxes, Bao Bab trees and mobiles. The varnish on the banana fiber with its many tones of brown resembles textured tortoise shell.
Esther ensures the craftspeople are paid a fair wage for their goods, which has enabled many in her small village to earn a sustainable wage.

GuguCrafters

In 2002, as Zimbabwe refugees in South Africa, Gugulethu Mapuranga, her family and friends created the micro-enterprise of GuguCrafters. Realizing that the craft sector in South Africa could provide a much-needed sustainable income, the artisans honed their skills and designed unique jewelry items from tin cans and beads. While hoping they had found safe haven from the political turmoil and economic collapse in Zimbabwe, the group found itself in 2008 the victim of xenophobic attacks, with their small workshop looted. After two months, the group was able to purchase new tools and materials with fair trade customers advances and begin again making unusual jewelry pieces from their homes in Cape Town.

Jacaranda Workshop

Jacaranda Workshop is associated with the Jacaranda School For the Mentally Disabled in Nairobi, Kenya. The group primarily makes jewelry, a skill that they learned at the workshop. The jewelry is entirely handcrafted from brass and hand-made beads, most of which are ceramic and are glazed and fired at the workshop. The workshop provides employment for thirty mentally challenged adults.

Jedando Handicrafts

Working with more than 100 individual carvers in Machakos, Kenya, Jedando Modern Handicrafts markets products primarily made of wood and bone worldwide. Carving is a tradition in Kenya with the children learning the craft from their parents. Carved by hand using only rudimentary hand tools, olive wood bowls, salad serving sets, and animal-shaped napkin rings take shape from pieces of olive wood, mahogany, and mpingo, or “African Ebony.” An integral part of the organization’s function is to educate the craftspeople on the need for reforestation to enable the products to be available for years to come and offer a sustainable income for generations.
While wood carving provides the major income for many in the Machakos area, other craftspeople earn a living by further enhancing the products including painting the napkin rings and carving discarded animal bone for the handles of salad serving sets. Often the bone is “batiked” by placing wax on the white bone and dipping the bone a dark brown/black dye, resulting in patterns African mud cloth designs.

Kahero Farm

Kahero Farm is just about 10 miles north of the Equator in the Great Rift Valley. It was a forest many years ago where people cut down trees for firewood and charcoal.
The new owners of the farm saved the brown olive (olea africana) stumps of trees that were cut down decades earlier and taught the local herdsmen to carve bowls and spoons from the aged wood. No two bowls are alike. Every bowl is made according to the grain in the wood. The only power tool is a chain saw used to cut the stumps into workable pieces. After that, the carvers use machetes, chisels, and other homemade tools, some made from old harrow disks. The bowls are finished with broken glass bottles and sand paper and are then dipped in liquid paraffin, which protects the beauty of the wood.
There is no carving workshop on Kahero Farms. The workshop is where the herdsman sits chipping away while watching the sheep and cattle in the field. The herdsmen are paid a fair price for the pieces they create.

Murenga Arts & Crafts


In Zimbabwe, the simplest task is complex with hyperinflation and fuel rationing, yet craftspeople in Harare manage to produce colorful tin animals and insects out of recycled cans, steel wire and beads and Mbiras, also called finger pianos. This type of art is often referred to as slum art as the artisans work independently in their homes, which are often located in the slums.
To help bring these unique items to western markets, Murenga Arts and Crafts coordinates the work and ensures that Fair Trade practices are in place and payments are made so the artisans can experience a sustainable livelihood in the midst of an unpredictable economy.

  

Ilala Weavers

 
Ilala Weavers is situated at Hluhluwe within the province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The organizations was established some 30 years ago, with a clear vision and objective of revitalizing and enhancing the age-old Zulu tradition of handcrafts, which at the time were in danger of being lost forever.
Today, Ilala Weavers helps over 2000 Zulu people, both men and women, to attain self sufficiency, by working from their homes and therefore retaining their lifestyle and rich heritage of basket weaving and bead work, which has been passed down through the generations by Zulu crafters, whose modern counterparts today produce stunning works of art, sought after the world over.

Paul Muragu

Only in my jewelry can all of Africa get along, Paul Muragu says, smiling. Working in a shed the size of a telephone booth in the Nairobi Westlands, Paul invites the bead enthusiast in for a view of his wall of beads that range from Ethiopian silver, to seeds, to glass, to bone, to aluminum pendants made from old Kenyan cooking pots. He has beads from Mali, Niger, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, and many parts of Kenya, just to name a few. He makes many of the metal beads himself and buys glass beads from a womens cooperative in Nairobi that makes the beads from recycled glass. Paul loves to tell the secrets of the beads -- which promote fertility, which ward off the evil eye -- each beaded necklace is a microcosm of Africa.

Shanzu
    
Started as a Girl Guide project in Eastern Kenya in 1992, Shanzu Transitional Workshop enables young women with disabilities to gain skills that enable them to become productive and confident members of the community and society.
The girls arrive at Shanzu at the age of 17 to start a two year training program. During their stay they learn production skills and tailoring, as well as gain basic business experience and a vast array of other skills. Upon completion of the two-year training, each girl leaves with a tailoring qualification, a sewing machine and personal skills that better equip her for an independent life. Many of the graduates continue to work with Shanzu, producing products for export orders.
The girls and graduates are paid a share of the profits when their work is sold to tourists and passers-by and now internationally through fair trade organizations. All of the products carry the distinctive Shanzu patch, not hidden inside but proudly sewn where everyone can see it.

SMOLArt

SMOLArt is a group of artists who live in the rural village of Tabaka, Kenya, the heart of soapstone crafts. The name, a shortened version of Small, Medium, and Large Artists, refers to the size of the products the artisans make, not their stature. Established in 1990, SMOLArt is a member of IFAT, the International Fair Trade Association, and as such assures that the artisans are paid a fair price for their work. In addition, the organization support community development by contributing to projects that improve living conditions, education, and health of their members and the village at large.
Soapstone is mined from great pits in the area surrounding Kiisi, Kenya. The mined stone is then delivered to carvers who carve sculptures from the natural stone, the color of which ranges from cream, to pink, to brown, to yellow, to black, to a marbling of all of them. Once carved, the craftspeople smooth rough edges with sandpaper dipped in water and polish the piece to a high gloss or paint African motifs in brilliant colors with etched accents.
All of the products are completely handmade. The tools consist of household items from screwdrivers, hand drills, to switchblades. "Pangas," sword-like tools usually used for cutting down vegetation, are used to cleave the stone in the mines.
Soapstone, while very heavy, is very fragile. It is a form of talc, so standing water will affect the carvings. The paint used may also run if subjected to standing water. Light polish keeps it shiny. Chips can be smoothed with water and light grade sandpaper. With proper care, soapstone items will last generations.

TEMAK

The main mission of The Teenage Mothers and Girls Association of Kenya is to provide vocational skills to young women, many of whom are unwed mothers who have been ostracized by their family and community, empowering the young women to earn a living wage. Operating out of a new center called the City of Hope in Kisumu, Kenya, the young women choose from job training in tailoring, hairdressing, secretarial skills, craft making, and computers. As a community center, the organization provides an educational forum for HIV/AIDS awareness and other health issues, as well as a clinic, a nursery, and a school. Many of the young women participate in making crafts, earning income to support themselves and their families. Through its income-generating arm Afrika Pamoja, the organization has also become a craft center for the artisans and craftspeople in the town of Kisumu by providing local and international sales outlets that make available a sustainable income for many in the community.

UniquEco

Thousands of discarded flip-flops wash up on the African shoreline. This indestructible rubber creates an environmental disaster for the marine eco-system as it spoils the natural beauty of the beaches, is mistakenly swallowed by marine feeders, and prevents hatching turtles reaching the safety of the sea. Realizing that this flotsam brings a limitless resource to coastal communities in Kenya, UniquEco works with locals to collect and re-cycle discarded waste. The product range is diverse, from unique accessories and jewelry to one-off sculptures of amazing ingenuity, humour and beauty.
UniquEco provides a sustainable wage for unskilled beachcombers and bead-makers, to artisans and sculptors, allowing local people to maintain their way of life yet also provide for a better future for themselves and their families.

Uganda Crafts 2000 Ltd.

Uganda Crafts 2000 Ltd. s a Ugandan-owned Fair Trade Craft wholesaler that provides employment and training for the disadvantaged, particularly women, youth, the disabled and those living with HIV/AIDS. As a member of the WFTO, the World Fair Trade Organization, Uganda 2000 Ltd. ensures that the craftspeople are paid a sustainable wage for the work they do.

Zakale Jewelry

Working with Jedando Modern Handicrafts the young men and women of Zakale Jewelry produce handmade jewelry using the skills of wire work and electroplating. The project first started as a garbage collection project in the slums of Nairobi. Recycling remains very close to the heart of the project and much of the material used is reclaimed or recycled, including the cord found inside of tires, which is used to string beads.


Asha Handicrafts

Based in Mumbai, India, Asha Handicrafts, established in 1975, is a non-profit organization, working to promote Fair Trade and Fair Trade practices. Asha in Sanskrit means "Hope", and Asha has brought hope into what was largely a "hopeless" situation by providing a marketing outlet for the craft of talented artisans. From the beginning, the mission of Asha has been the development of the artisan through various development projects designed to meet the needs and standards of overseas markets. It is a society formed with the objective of preserving the crafts of India while marketing them abroad and providing training in craft development. Today, Asha assists directly, and indirectly, over 103 producer groups and 5,000 artisans in India throughout various cities.

Community Friendly Movement
            
CFM, Community Friendly Movement is a social enterprise based out of New Delhi, India whose mission is to create income for its primary stakeholders, artisan communities in rural India, by working directly with the community, reducing the number of levels in the chain, and increasing the sustainable income of the individual. In addition to international marketing support, CFM trains groups on the importance of quality, enabling producers to create high quality, internationally-marketable goods.

Conserve India
            
Born of a desire to reduce India's mountain of waste, improve energy efficiency, and help some of Delhi's poorest out of the city's slums, Conserve India achieves all this by turning plastic bags into high fashion.  Conserve started as a fledgling recyling project but quickly adapted to confront one of the biggest invironmental challenges in India - what to do with thousands of plastic bags that could not be composted or recycled locally.
After much experimenting, the Conserve team hit upon the idea of not recycling but UPCYCLING by washing, drying, and pressing the bags into sheets.  Handmade Recycled Plastic (HRP) was born and with the properties of leather, designs for handbags, wallets, shoes and belts quickly came flooding in. Conserve's mission is simple: USE HIGH FASHION TO SUPPORT BETTER LIVES FOR THE POOREST AND A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL.

Conserve India employs and trains hundreds of people from Delhi's most disadvantaged communities to clear their streets of the plague of plastic bag waste.  The product line has grown to include products made from old tires, discarded textiles. seatbelts, with some of them most astonishing products made from a mixture of materials.
In addition to paying a fair wage to its employees, Conserve supports schools and health clinics in the local community.

Craft Link
            
The ethnic hill tribe peoples of Vietnam Live in rural and difficult conditions. Craft Link is a not for profit fair trade organization that works to help these communities bring products to the global market.

Noah's Ark
            
In 1986, Noahs Ark was established to provide integrity, welfare and better living conditions for very poor artisans in the villages of Moradabad, India. In addition to fair wages and business support, the organization provides an opportunity to acquire life insurance, medical care and a facility for the education of their children. Noahs Ark is bringing opportunities to hundreds of the artisans in this community by selling products outside of India to organizations that believe in Fair Trade (paying a fair and living wage to workers while building into the community). There are 28 small artisan groups whose lives have been significantly impacted by improved living conditions and increased market opportunities for their craft. There is also a wonderful ripple affect in their communities as their improved wages get invested in other community businesses. A portion of the profits are allocated for building a school to provide free education for children who have been working in the fields of Moradabad. These children then will grow up with the skills to provide for themselves. Noahs Ark provides an opportunity for struggling families to make a living, to contribute to their communities, and to break the cycle of poverty.

PREDA
            
Peoples Recovery Empowerment and Development Assistance Foundation, or PREDA,is a small but pro-active, charitable, not-for-profit organization working on a national and international level for Human Rights, especially the rights of women and children. Located in the Philippines, PREDA provides community support through a wide breath of projects. In addition, PREDA facilitates the international marketing and sales of handcrafted items that range from recycled juice bag totes to brush animals made from the buri palm, as well as food items such as dried fruit and juices.

Shanti Seeds of Bali
            
In the small villages of Taman and Bongkasa, Shanti Seeds of Bali creates employment that provides enjoyment, satisfaction and income for the villagers. Using the “two-drop peyote” stitch, women and students turn sturdy rattan baskets into beaded works of art. In an era of industrial machinery, electronics and synthetics, the artisans proudly hand bead brilliant geometric and floral patterns on every visible inch of the rattan basket, including the bottom. The artisans believe it is their responsibility to keep this valuable craft alive and allow the next generation to inherit the skills to reproduce the beautiful works.


Starfish Project
            
There are exploited women in every city in the world.
In 2006 a small group of friends began to reach out to the ones who live in one Asian city. They began going into the the streets to visit the girls in the shops.  Week after week they continue spending time chatting with them, taking them out for coffee, throwing birthday parties, and even giving English lessons. They have seen their doubts diminish and friendship begin to grow in its place.

Over time, some of  the girls have come to trust them enough to leave their old life and come into their shelter. This shelter is not meant to be a permanent residence. The desire is to see the girls transformed through a loving community. The women in the shelter receive regular counseling where they begin to heal from their past hurts.The Starfish Project  provides for them work as alternative means of support, medical checks and consultation, as well as vocational classes to prepare them for the future.


ThaiCraft
            
Working with over 60 artisan groups of diverse backgrounds and cultures from all regions of Thailand, ThaiCraft generates a fair income for village artisans while keeping alive craft traditions. create thousands of fine hand-crafted products, including jewellery, clothing, fabrics, household items, basketry, decorations, stationery, musical instruments, learning games and more.
Some groups focus on, or include, people with special needs. Some others face social, political or environmental difficulties. The rest include village cooperatives, slum projects, and small community workshops. All partners know about and are expected to follow Fair Trade practices and keep to internationally recognized standards of working behavior and responsibility.

Threads of Yunnan
            
Launched in 1999, Threads of Yunnanis a project designed to raise the standard of living among the people of Yunnan Province through rural economic development. Women of the Han, Lisu, Miao and Yi Chinese minority groups make authentic embroideries and handicrafts unique to their districts. The company Danyun helps them to promote and market these items.
With this project, the women are able to use their skills and creativity to raise their self-esteem and to earn money. They are provided an opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty which grips the mountain villages. Danyun also provides training in nutrition, hygiene, money management and personal and family development.






Solola, Guatamala
Woven Crafts

The Adimat Cooperative

One of the few Guatemalan artisan groups still using natural dyes, the Adimat women's cooperative is known for its dedication to maintaining traditional weaving practices. This group of 25 women in the community of San Juan la Laguna produces popular goods such as scarves, yoga mat bags, hammocks, and placemats. Women collect the berries, bark and other materials they use to dye their products from the mountains overlooking Lake Atitlan, on the shores near their community.

The Adimat Cooperative has been recognized by various area organizations and government representatives for its support of local development initiatives. In particular, the group uses profits from its sales through Good Gifts Naturally to fund a scholarship program for orphans and other local children who would otherwise not be able to attend school. With the help of these scholarship recipients, the cooperative also organizes a monthly litter removal campaign in the community and along the shores of the lake.
Cooperative members: 25
Indirect beneficiaries (family members): 142

Panajachei, Guatemala
Jewelry

The Pana Jewelry Cooperative

The Pana Jewelry Cooperative provides employment to single mothers in the town of Panajachel. The cooperative offers home employment opportunity in a region where single mothers experience difficulty providing for their families while caring for their children. The cooperative is part of AUDA, an association of artisan groups promoting sustainable development in the Lake Atitlan region. Since its founding two years ago, the Pana cooperative has funded 5 year-long scholarships for local children who would otherwise not be able to attend school. Your purchase from Good Gifts Naturally, will also fund these scholarships.

Solola, Guatamala
Woven Crafts and Jewelry

The Ajquema Cooperative

Most women in the community of Zaput are widows from the violence of Guatemala's civil war. Economic hardship forced many mothers to leave their farming community and seek temporary work on coastal coffee and cotton plantations.

During the early 1990s, these women formed the Ajquema K'aslemal cooperative to create a support network of women artisans. Their artisan cooperative also allows mothers to provide for their children while still living in their native highlands community and maintaining Mayan weaving traditions. The Ajquema Cooperative has initiated various local development programs in their community including building a community center and running a basic medicinal plants health project.

Due to the economic and psychological stress this community has exprienced, most women in the Ajquema cooperative never attended school. Without the benefit of bilingual public school education, women in Zaput exclusively speak Cakchiquel, one of Guatemala's 24 indigenous languages. Through Good Gifts Naturally and Mercado Global's primary and middle school scholarships, mothers in the community have been able to send their children to school.
Cooperative members: 15
Indirect beneficiaries (family members): 80

Chuacruz, Solola, Guatemala
Woven Crafts and Jewelry

Wajxaquib Kan Cooperative

The majority of men in the community of Chuacruz were assassinated during Guatemala's civil war. In the mid-1980s, the surviving women formed the Wajxaquib Kan weaving cooperative to provide income and support as they rebuilt their lives and community. Members of Wajxaquib Kan cooperative first used profits from the sale of their artisan products to purchase land for growing vegetables. In partnership with local NGOs, the Wajxaquib Kan cooperative has also provided mental health services for survivors of the local massacre.

While most members of their Wajxaquib Kan Cooperative are unable to read or write, many of their daughters are now attending school through Good Gifts Naturally, and Mercado Global scholarships. Each year, cooperative members select scholarship recipients based on financial need, academic merit and community leadership potential. These girls would otherwise not be able to afford a primary or secondary school education.
Cooperative members: 20
Indirect beneficiaries (family members): 130

Nairobi, Kenya
Jewelry

The artisan group that makes Good Gifts Naturally's, Kenyan beaded jewelry is located in the Kasarani area of Nairobi, with some of the group members living in the Mathare slums. These are some of the largest and poorest slums in Africa, and are home to about half a million adults and children. Over 70% are hardworking mothers and their children whose fathers died or abandoned their family. The group has given many men and women a new chance at life. JanetJanet, pictured to the right, is one such woman. She hails from a very remote area of Nyanza Province near the border of Kenya and Uganda. Both of her parents passed away in 2003. She was forced to drop out of school and was then taken by a relative to Nairobi with an aim of helping her continue her education. Unfortunately those promises were not fulfilled and the relative decided to use her as a house maid. Janet was required to work from very early in the morning until very late in the evening and was "paid" only with food and shelter. She was often subjected to beatings or denied food if she failed to accomplish her given tasks.

When she visited the local church, her story was told by a member and people were asked to assist the girl in any way. The founder of the artisan group, Issac and his partner Florence, volunteered to assist her with temporary shelter. It was during this time that the group realized that she had a talent for sewing and using her hands, so she was introduced to bead work.

After just a few months, she became very knowledgeable and has become one of the workshop designers. She can now meet some of her basic needs, and although her education was not continued, she is ensuring a better fate for her siblings by sending them to school.

El Cerro, Nicaragua
Pine Needle Baskets

High upon a beautiful pine-covered ridge live the women of the women's cooperative of El Cerro, Nicaragua who make the pine needle baskets. They harvest the pine needles then begin the long process of weaving the baskets by hand. It can take a woman a full week to complete one basket. A Dutch organization formed the women's cooperative several years ago and it continues to grow and mature. Your purchase of this decorative pine needle basket from Good Gifts Naturally, helps continue this art form, and provides a positive incentive to good forest management.

Monca, Colombia
Coal Jewelry

Coal KidsThe land of the small mining community of Morca, a four hour bus ride south of Bogota, Columbia, has degraded from years of mining. This situation has left few economic alternatives for its inhabitants. The people of Morca primarily rely on the revenue generated from their coal mines. Young men and boys work in the mine shafts that have only rudimentary support infrastructures and unsafe conditions. Many boys and adult heads of households have died from collapses and inhaling the buildup of poisonous gases. In 1995, the Columbian government established a workshop to train boys how to carve figurines and jewelry from coal, hoping that revenues generated from craft production would provide an alternative to working in the mines. In the morning the boys attend classes then go to the workshop to learn to carve coal and to work on their projects. Unfortunately, the workshop has not yet reduced the need to work in the mines. Although the boys are skilled in producing beautiful crafts, there are too few markets. Without income, and needing to support their families, the boys feel obliged to leave the school and workshop and return to the mines. While this is the current story of Morca, it is not the final chapter. One World Projects has recently joined forces with students at the National Pedagogical University in Bogota to open new opportunities for Morca's crafts. We hope that with your support, Good Gifts Naturally, can also help provide more consistent work for the boys at the workshop, so that they can continue their education and not return to the mines.

Delhi, India
Wooden Pencilbox

ASHA

Our wonderful secret pencilbox was created by this group. Asha, which means "hope" in Sanskrit, was started in 1975 by a group of Christian businessmen. ASHA restructured in 1985 and today is successfully marketing handcrafts for 50 family workshops and individual artisans irrespective of creed, representing 1500 artisans from India. As a sign of its commitment to the artisans, ASHA welfare workers work closely with the families of the artisans, extending medical care and educational assistance by providing yearly scholarships to children attending primary school, supplying them with school fees, uniforms, and books. Other benefits include interest-free loans, face masks for artisans working with dust or powders, advances to purchase raw materials, and pure drinking water.

Chichiastenango, Guatemala
Kick Bag

Ruth and Nohemi

The kick bag in Good Gifts Naturally's, children's basket comes from this organization. Ruth and Nohemi, a program of the Methodist Church in Guatemala, was started in the 1980's to generate income for widows who had lost their husbands in the civil war. As Quichi-speaking Mayans, the people of Chichicastenango, a village of about 3,000 people in the central highlands, were targeted by the Guatemalan military. After the war, the widows organized themselves and began raising pigs, chickens, and sheep and sold their bright backstrap weavings. The program today also includes young men, many of them sons of these widows, who are helping themselves and their families by learning income-generting skills and receiving a basic education.

Kenya, Africa
Beaded Boxes

Ol Malo Designs

Ol Malo Designs is a company owned and run by Julia Francombe that provides employment and help for the Samburu people in Kenya, and develops their talents through art. Julia employs more than 100 Samburu women who do the incredible beadwork, a native skill. These Kenyan beaded boxes are sold locally in the Ol Malo Designs shop, and internationally through distribution partners, and Good Gifts Naturally.

This bead work provides the Samburus with employment and income and encourages them to promote their timeless talents. During the severe drought in 2000, Ol Malo fed over 200 families through the sales of these products. These families had lost all their livestock - and were literally starving - before Julia's arrival. To help address and prevent disasters like this, Julia created Ol Malo Trust which has grown into a pioneering community charity, building a bustling nursery school, protecting several water sources, and organizing mobile health clinics.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Baskets and Paperweights

Mai Handicrafts

Mai Handicrafts was started by two social workers who were concerned about improving the lives of street children and single mothers in Ho Chi Minh City and ethnic minorities in mountain hamlets. Assistance is offered in the areas of quality control, marketing, and export procedures. The 300 artisans (80% are women) associated with Mai Handicrafts are earning between UD$50 and $70 a month in a country where the average monthly income is US $20 -30. Good Gifts Naturally's, red gift baskets and goldfish paperweights were made by this group.

 

Kathmandu, Nepal
Silver Jewelry

Dambar International Silver in Kathmandu, Nepal has been in business since 1982 when Dambar and two apprentices worked in the basement of a building. Over time he increased his apprentices to six, when they worked in a living room. Today he has about 20 employees working in his own factory. Dambar believes in paying it forward. Early on he was given help by a Dutch sponsor to learn a trade and begin his own business despite the fact that he came from a lower caste. (Nepal has a caste system with many layers which often limits the options and opportunities for many of its people.) Dambar now helps to teach others the silversmith trade. He provides better than fair living wages for his employees, health care and educational opportunities, and safe working conditions. His factory is open each year for inspection by the World Shops. Additionally, he often travels to the smaller villages including the one he grew up in, to support the Beads for Life Nepal organization. Dambar brings the women beads to string and works to find a market for their finished pieces.