Fair Trade Artisans

Our Fair Trade Artisans
	Our hand fans are fairly made by a weaving group in Northern Ghana. They believe when a woman can create an income, it puts food into the bowl of a child, and that it's also a means of promoting self-esteem for the women, children and the entire village.
	Our Zulu baskets are handmade in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Most of the people in this region are subsistence farmers living in their traditional Kraals, an area fenced in by piles of sticks that contain traditional huts. The age-old tradition of basket weaving is usually passed down from grandmother to granddaughter. This helps to preserve Zulu culture as the grandmothers have the opportunity to recite oral history and stories to the younger generations as they all weave together.
	These partner artisans in Guatelama have suffered discrimination, violence, and extreme poverty. Through an innovative approach that combines business partnerships with educational programs, efforts address the causes of cyclical poverty rather than the effects. Buying Fair Trade provides the artisans education, tools, and access to international markets so they can build their own businesses and invest in their own communities.
	Artisans Association of Cambodia (AAC) is dedicated to helping Cambodians affected by sexual exploitation, poverty, polio, and injuries from land mines. Because of these various physical, mental and socioeconomic impediments, these disadvantaged Cambodians have trouble achieving any economic mobility. More than 4,000 people in urban and rural communities find solutions with the help of AAC's work. Two-thirds of AAC member organization employees are women, who also manage over half of these same organizations.
	Beautiful textiles handmade by women-owned businesses in Ethiopia. These women have been able to expand the market for their hand-woven textiles and are paid fair wages all due to being part of the Fair Trade movement. The women and organizations are continually working to promote equitable trading practices and to support women's economic independence.
	Unique is a small fair trade collective of approximately 25 artisans from the urban areas of the colorful land of Rajasthan. Both men and women work together in this organization. Fine stitching is the specialty of these artisans, many who are tailors by profession. The products are made from locally sourced cotton fabrics. The organization aims to guide them and help them achieve a better future. They are given training on stitching, the specific art that allows them to work with the group for a long time.
	Handmade belts & jewelry by Fair Trade artisans in South America. The purchase of this product helps bring sustainable change to impoverished communities in South America. The artisans are offered the opportunity to participate in the global market while inspiring customers with access to the elusive world of the rural Andes.
	Each Sari Blanket sold benefits the men and women in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. We help create a better livelihood for both them and the families who rely on them. These people have been given the chance to rise above their circumstances and take back their humanity.
	The Enterprising Kitchen empowers low-income women to create a brighter future by helping them build a foundation for permanent employment. Women of The Enterprsing Kitchen receive six-months of paid transitional employment. They learn critical life and job skills and receive the personalized training and support services they need to be self-sufficient.
	The women in Bolivia who create our colorful yoyo dolls have exceptional skills, and have very few options for other work. They are often the sole support for their families. Thanks to their fair trade endeavor, these women have been able to earn a consistent living wage. They are paid a living wage, have a safe working environment and are not subject to workplace pollutants or toxins. They usually work at home with their children playing nearby.
	The women who embroider our luggage tags and belts have exceptional skills, and have very few options for other work. They are often victims of domestic violence, but despite their situations, they have organized into cooperatives and are able to produce work of astonishing beauty.
	Wasim was born and raised in Sanganer village, in west Rajasthan, India. His family has been in the paper making industry for over 80 years, and he inherited the art from his elders. Made from recycled cotton rags, the raw paper is then converted into beautiful products such as journals, albums and other types of social stationery without the aid of heavy machinery. Wasim’s workmanship is excellent and he earns a lot of respect in the community for his art. He mentions that it is hard work, but he enjoys the satisfaction of creating something so beautiful and the opportunity to express himself creatively. He hopes that this art stays alive in times to come.
	Ramlal Khatri is a very talented artisan who has won prestigious national awards for his wood-block printing, a traditional art where hand-carved wood blocks are used to create patterns on fabric. He follows an environmentally-friendly process and uses 100% natural dyes.
	The Barmer region of the state of Rajasthan, India, is the home of very talented artisans specializing in wood block printing and other traditional arts. These artisans live in scattered desert villages, their biggest challenge being poverty and the underdevelopment of their isolated communities. To address these problems, an organization that runs the “Barefoot College” of India decided to organize the artisans into cooperatives and help them market the centuries-old art of block printing. By supporting this organization, you are ensuring that the artisans have sustainable employment free of exploitation. Already these artisans are benefiting from projects that have improved their basic needs for water, electricity, housing, health, education and income.
	Kailash bahan and Ganeshi bai are part of a 272 member all-women cooperative in western Rajasthan. They have learned the art of hand appliqué from fellow village women and can now teach this art to many other women. The artisans are distributed over the region in various desert villages. Women from distant villages come once a week to the cooperative office, submit their products and collect more raw materials to work on in their homes. Profits from this art help the overall development of the group; this region now has medical centers providing basic health services, solar electricity, evening schools for kids and vocational colleges for women.
	The Shea Butter for Chivas handmade skincare products comes from a Fair Trade certified women’s cooperative in Togo, Africa.
	Many of our Fair Trade African products have made their way here today thanks to the hard work of Leslie Mittelberg building a network of artisans across Africa. Each artisan is able to work from the comfort of their own home and community. The fair payment they receive will not be reduced by traveling expenses, childcare costs or haggled prices. The artisans use their earnings to put food on the table and pay educational expenses for their children.
	These artisans are in villages or in a Balizen in-house, fair trade workshop with the smallest carbon footprint they can manage. They utilize, sustain, support and promote traditional, indigenous village handicrafts, so they can be enjoyed by this and future generations. The workers and outside suppliers are trained to improve efficiency and sustainability as well as practice the 5 R's – Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Refuse & Repair. Everyone employed including the subcontractors gets a fair living wage and has good working conditions.
	Sumaq Qara supports internally displaced women by finding markets for their intricately embroidered handmade bags and belts. It plays a vital role in the lives of women in Ayacucho, Peru. By training artisans to produce quality handcrafts, the organization offers the community a foothold in the global marketplace, helping to create greater income-generating opportunities for local women. In the process of competing for global market share, Peruvian women come together to discuss common problems and solutions, learn from one another, and celebrate milestones within the group.
	The organization, Manuela Ramos, supports indigenous women by providing human rights training. They work with women in the poorest areas of Peru, and market the creative alpaca wool products they create by hand.
	Community Friendly Movement's (CFM) is a New Delhi organization that creates opportunity for Fair Trade Artisan communities throughout the country. They work directly with the artisans and help sell their hand-crafted goods, offering them sustainable skills to be carried forward.
	Bolivian women look to Alma de los Andes for help promoting their hand crafted goods. The sale of their products improve the lives of themselves and their families.
	Friends-International serves 1,800 children and their families, working with parents of former street children and other high-risk youth. They use their skills to create bags and jewelry using recycled materials. The organization serves the Tonie Bassac area of Phnom Penh. They provide health care, counseling, vocational training and primary education.
	The Maasai group, a semi-nomadic group that lives along the Great Rift Valley in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. With their Fair Trade work they are able to support themselves and their families with their exquisite beading.
	Handcrafted in the highlands of Guatemala. The artisans are provided employment opportunities to work in their own fair trade workshop. In an effort to support traditional life, women are offered the opportunity to work at home, making them available for their children, and other domestic duties, while earning financial independence. The workplace represents mutual appreciation, dedication, and respect, and the beautiful products that result, reflect that.
	Abdul and his wife Fatima belong to an artisan cooperative in the northwestern region of India. Because of severe drought, this region is not farmable. Artisans must use crafts, such as bell-making, to earn an income and support the local economy of the region. This is an ancient, traditional art passed over generations where both men and women are equally involved. Now, over 1000 artisans in villages across this region are repositioning this traditional craft for sustainable livelihood.
	Beautiful textiles handmade by women-owned businesses in Ethiopia. These women have been able to expand the market for their hand-woven textiles and are paid fair wages all due to being part of the Fair Trade movement. The women and organizations are continually working to promote equitable trading practices and to support women's economic independence.
	HSSS is a non-profit organization that works for the uplifting and development of underprivileged artisans. It is composed mainly of male artisans, both Hindu and Muslim, who suffer educational, training and health related issues. The hardships that these people go through include physical handicaps, illiteracy, extreme poverty, entrapment in lower castes, lack of knowledge about trade and markets, among others. The artisans don’t have knowledge of marketing skills and have many barriers to access international trade. However, they are very skilled in making wooden products and are committed to quality, so production is not a problem for them. Therefore, Fair Trade mostly helps them find a market and promote their products. HSSS respects environmental values and for that they arrange to only use wood from the forest quota given by the government of India (which sells the wood of dead trees). When it comes to the advancement of the people, the organization is taking several steps for the betterment of the artisans. They have created self help groups for the artisans and also organize several exhibitions for promoting their art to increase their market opportunities.