We are proud to sell products made by exceptional artists from over 80 countries. Telling the stories of some of our artisan producers makes our handmade gifts even more meaningful, because buying products made by rural women and families in impoverished countries is one of the best methods to reduce poverty, which in turn reduces disease and illiteracy rates.

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Africa: Ethiopia

Kefena Regeou and Gebeyehu Addisu

Where: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Kefena Regeou and Gebeyehu Addisu are jewelry designers in Ethiopia who work with both traditional and modern designs. Their pieces can be found in both higher-end stores along the main street of the capital Addis Ababa, and also in local handicraft bazaars such as the 'Artisan and Designers Bazaar.'

To broaden their knowledge of the ancient culture of Ethiopia, Kefena and Gebeyehu travel to northern Ethiopia and to the ancient eastern city of Harar, gathering centuries-old designs that they can then incorporate into their pieces.

Kefena Regeou and Gebeyehu Addisu also collaborate with designers in Dubai, allowing them the opportunity to experiment with new styles by mixing traditional Ethiopian designs with designs from the Middle East.

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Sara Abera

Artisan: Sara Abera and staff of shemane (weavers)

Where: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

"By giving the craftspeople the respect that they deserve, as well as the means to keep their ages-old traditions intact, there's a precious inheritance to future generations. The broader objective is to raise their standard of living."

Through her artisan workshops, Sara Abera preserves an endangered indigenous craft, empowers her workers, and offers a practical model for sustainable development in African industry. Weaving in rural Ethiopia has a very long tradition in which women spin the cotton and men do the weaving. All of her textiles are handmade in Ethiopia on traditional looms using a combination of meticulous knot counting and age-old ingenuity.

Starting as a teenager in Addis Ababa where she studied pattern cutting, she moved on to a few design courses in Greece. This set her on an unconventional career path for an educated woman from Ethiopia's interior. Refusing help from her family, she created the foundations for her company with a single sewing machine and 14 Birr (less than $5) in her pocket, opening her doors in 1989. Following her organizational objectives — "to introduce the rest of the world to the rich heritage of indigenous weaving products combined with modern textiles," she has helped promote the work of otherwise anonymous shemane (weavers). She, and her many international clients, believe that the craftsmanship involved in creating traditional Ethiopian outfits deserve an international acclaim similar to the traditional Kimono of Japan.

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Sabahar

Silk Textile Artisans in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

"For the future, with God's help, I want to continue my education from grade 9 and train in cocoon rearing so as to be a benefit to other single mothers like me."

Sabahar, named after the Queen of Sheba, focuses on providing positive employment opportunities for Ethiopian women who traditionally have difficulty finding a stable income. In a country where women have extremely low literacy rates and are quite disadvantaged within social, economic and political structures, Sabahar provides hope through the opportunity to provide for their households. Artisans use natural dyes produced from flowers, roots, berries, and bark. Sabahar artisans use traditional methods of weaving and spinning, and are committed to producing goods in a manner that is as environmentally sustainable as possible.

Artisan Yeshihareg Yemer Abtew explains, "I am a single mother with two girls (3 and 5 years old). Thanks to Sabahar, I am now able to dream for tomorrow. I, and my two girls used to beg on the streets. Now, with my steady monthly income, I can pay rent and buy food for my girls. I even plan to go to school. I used to share a room with another single mother but now I can afford to live on my own. For the future, with God's help, I want to continue my education from grade 9 and train in cocoon rearing so as to be a benefit to other single mothers like me."

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Africa: Ghana

Global Mamas / Women in Progress

Where: Ghana

Global Mamas is the name brand for goods produced through the efforts of Women in Progress, an international not-for-profit organization assisting women of Africa in attaining economic independence. All proceeds made by Global Mamas' sales go directly to the women producing the merchandise and to the business development programs carried out by Women in Progress.

Sales of Global Mamas' products provide dignity to African women who are now able to earn an honest living through the production of handmade batik and beaded products. By helping women to help themselves, Global Mamas is taking small steps towards helping end Africa's dependence on foreign aid and creating a sustainable society.

Artisan: Lydia Wright, Seamstress

Where: Ghana

Before joining Global Mamas, Lydia (pictured in orange, above) struggled to provide for her three young children while her husband lives and works in Nigeria. Her orders would peak during the holiday season, but she had very little work the rest of the year, and was forced to let go three of her apprentices.

Since becoming a "Global Mama" herself, Lydia has expanded her business and increased revenue by 150%, brought on additional employees, opened an account with Progressive Women's Credit Union to save for future expenses, purchased a sewing machine, and paid school admission fees for her daughter. Lydia is well on the road towards successful small business ownership.

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Trashy Bags

Location: Accra, Ghana

"Every bag that we sell is an opportunity to educate the public about their environment and their responsibility to keep it clean for the good of humanity and of the planet's ecosystems as a whole."

Due to a rising population and an infrastructure that is inadequate to handle the waste that's produced, the nation of Ghana is struggling with issues concerning solid waste management, and as a result, streets, drains, and landfills are overflowing with trash. As is the case with most places in the world, much of this trash could be recycled, but isn't due to a general lack of education, recycling resources, and individual responsibility. One man, armed with a devoted team of over 60 workers, has set out to change this. Stuart A. Gold, a British citizen living in Ghana, is the director of Trashy Bags, an innovative company devoted to creating beautiful products out of what most people would consider garbage.

The company encourages the people of Ghana to collect the millions of discarded plastic sachets and other reusable packaging and bring them to Trashy Bag's facilities, where they are paid a fee per batch of materials. This allows people who would otherwise be out of a job to earn money, acts as a form of supplemental income for others, and encourages the people of Ghana to clean up the streets. Once the plastic is received it is washed three times, disinfected, dried, sorted, and eventually sewn into bags by the 60-plus full-time employees of Trashy Bags. Each finished bag is then packaged with an educational leaflet informing the public of the dangers of littering, and encouraging them to reduce, reuse, and recycle. The effects of cleaning the streets of Ghana are vital and far reaching -- in a country where malaria is still prevalent in poorer households, cleaning up clogged and dirty drains (breeding grounds for mosquitoes) -- is literally a life-saving practice.

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Africa: Mali

Tamacali

Artisan: Tetou Gologo

Where: Bamako, Mali

"For the Malian Dogons, Tuareg and Togolese tribes, jewelry design is an ancient tradition."

Tetou Gologo, the founder of company Tamacali, creates her designs to accentuate the beauty of different skin tones with the natural colors of stones, pearls, and metals. Based in Mali's capital city of Bamako, Tamacali employs Malians from the Dogon, Tuareg and Togolese ethnic groups. These groups have a long history of artisanship, and are world famous for their sculptures, jewelry and masks. Tetou gains special inspiration from the traditional sculpture art of the Dogon people.

The artisans Tetou employs earn five times the Malian minimum wage. One artisan, Seyadou, uses his earnings to attend school, while another, Hamido, went from being a housekeeper to "chief craftsman." Tamacali also provides training, medical services, daily meals, and annual vacations. By relying on traditional skills and modern African designers, each piece of handmade Tamacali jewelry is unique, captivating and inspiring.

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Artisan Group Tuareg

Artisan group: Tuareg

Where: Mali

The Tuareg are a large group of nomadic peoples of the Sahara and Sahel region who share a common language and history. For over two millennia, their caravans have traversed the Sahara desert — an area as large as the continental United States — connecting the Mediterranean coastal region of North Africa to the great trade centers on the southern edge of the desert. The name Tuareg was applied to them by early explorers and historians, but they call themselves the Tamasheq (also the name for their language), or variants of the word Imouhar, which means "the free people."

A matrilineal culture with numbers estimated anywhere from 100,000 people to 3.5 million, matters such as inheritance, names, and title are passed down through the mother's side. This allows Tuareg women to hold autonomous positions in their society despite the cultural norms prevalent throughout much of their region, including Niger, Mali, Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Lybia.

Since they travel much of the year, the Tuareg don't carry many large possessions, instead concentrating the majority of their wealth into small items such as jewelry and leather crafts — made in much the same way that they have been for countless generations. This traditional Tuareg artisan has chosen to settle in one place, living in a series of tents without external walls and built around a central well. This has enabled him to keep the spirit of his people alive through art while providing the stability of access to western markets for his fine silver work.

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Farafina Tigne

Beaded Jewelry Artisan in Seyare, Mali

"Farafina Tigne" means "African reality" in the Bambara language of Mali. For Oumar Cisse, it is this name that defines his craft.

From humble beginnings making his necklaces in the marketplace while tending shop, Oumar Cisse has grown his business from a small workshop inside his home to a successful gift shop and museum that brings clients from all over the world. Farafina Tigne not only showcases Oumar's innovative beaded work, it is also the only museum in Africa that is devoted to the art of personal adornment. Housing displays of African royal beaded regalia and other exhibits of West African cultural artifacts, Oumar's venture provides economic opportunity while celebrating the art and culture of West Africa.

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Mali Chic

Where: Bamako, Mali

Mali Chic was founded by an American woman named Elaine Bellezza who trained employees in craft production and business practices for a number of years before she decided that it was time to leave Mali. Before departing, she decided to leave the company to her employees and rather than taking money for the shop, Elaine only asked her employees to promise to keep the shop going. Today, Mali Chic continues as a successful business that sells its wares internationally. Many of Mali Chic's artisans are trained on craft production in Bamako and given the opportunity to work in the workshop or from their own home. Employees are included in the decision making process during regular meetings where they discuss production, management and payment issues. Since Mali Chic began selling internationally, they've brought a lot of change and development to their community. Now that they have the means to employee more people, more money cycles back into the community, ensuring that children are well-fed, that they have the opportunity for an education, and that there is better health-care for all.

Artisan Moussa Coulibaly

Before finding work with Mali Chic, Moussa Coulibaly lived in a small village where he farmed with his father and mother. In an effort to find some sort of income after the rainy season had passed, Moussa would travel to the city of Bamako so the family could support themselves until the next fertile season. On one such journey, Moussa happened upon a great opportunity. While walking the streets of the city trying to sell his wooden baskets, Mali Chic's former owner drove by, stopped, and struck up a conversation with Moussa. Moussa was offered a job with Mali Chic and was trained in design and production of copper wire baskets. With Mali Chic, Moussa has found stability, opportunity, and a reliable income producing copper wire materials.

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Africa: Mozambique

Mbanda

Artisan: Mbanda

Where: Mozambique

Working with native sandalwood, Mozambique artisan Mbanda comes from a proud tradition of woodcarving stretching back generations. His distinctive designs have drawn the attention of major design magazines, creating enough of a market for his products that he now employs four other artisans in his workshop.

His method of utilizing natural textures combined with burnished surfaces sets his woodwork apart and makes his style difficult to duplicate. In addition to his many popular vases and bowls, Mbanda's most successful designs feature carved sandalwood figures with pointed faces and streaming hair.

Being able to make a good living creating art on the world stage has been an inspiration for the next generation of woodcarvers in Mozambique. When not in school, his own son is learning the craft at his father's side, and he is already showing promise as a crafter in his own right.

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Africa: Rwanda

Gahaya Links

Location: Villages throughout Rwanda

In the tiny, land-locked country of Rwanda, ravaged by the 1994 genocide that created hundreds of thousands of widows, hope might seem hard to come by. But this conflict-ravaged place is also the home to Gahaya Links, a company with a vision of peace between Hutus and Tutsis, of employment and income for female heads of household, and of a brighter future for all.

Gahaya Links was founded in 2003 by Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana, two sisters who have found that the way to weave straw into gold is through fair trade. Gahaya Links works with 54 cooperatives throughout Rwanda, employing thousands of weavers, most of whom are women. Each cooperative is run by a democratically-elected president, secretary, and treasurer -- literacy is the only requirement -- and each cooperative is structured so that Hutu and Tutsi weavers work side by side, promoting reconciliation as the country struggles to come back from its long nightmare.

"Our main achievement is seeing how the women we work with have changed from how they were [directly post-genocide] to how they are now." --Joy Ndungutse

Joy Ndungutse's designs are taught to master weavers from each cooperative, who travel to the headquarters in Kigali to learn new designs and techniques as they are decided upon. The master weavers then return to their cooperatives to teach the other weavers, thus fostering leadership and community as well as guaranteeing standardized quality.

Gahaya Links requires that each coop open a bank account in the name of each weaver, and deposit $1 into it for each basket she (or he) completes. The mandatory savings program has enabled the weavers to afford more-nutritious food, pay for their children's education, obtain medical care, and afford to wear shoes. None of these things were possible on their previous incomes.

Through their dedication to bringing a wider audience for the traditional crafts of Rwandans, Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana have created a flourishing business that is sowing the seeds for a lasting peace.

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Africa: South Africa

Project Gateway

Where: Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

Housed in the old Pietermaritzburg prison in the Kwazulu Natal region of South Africa, Project Gateway is providing hope and economic opportunity where it didn't previously exist. In recognition of the fact that the development of the small business sector is vital to the growth of the South African economy, and to the process of releasing South African people from dependency and the cycle of poverty, Project Gateway also offers mentorship, support and training to producers whose products are not yet ready for the market. Local people who have previously earned little or no income are offered the opportunity to develop and sell their products through wholesale and retail facilities. The project's ultimate goal is to raise well-equipped entrepreneurs to run their own sustainable, profit making businesses. The impact of helping one producer in the community earn an income indirectly impacts ten adults and children around them.

Project Gateway's aid touches many, including women crafters in Soweto (an acronym for Southwest Townships). Globally notorious for being poor and dangerous, Soweto still struggles to create economic opportunities for their most needy residents even a decade after apartheid ended. Project Gateway has helped one group of women in Soweto find a market for their beautiful organza blossom brooches. Investment and opportunity can change lives in Soweto, and Project Gateway's beautiful blossom brooches remind us that flowers can bloom anywhere they are nurtured.

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Africa: Tanzania

Gertrude Kitia

Where: Tanzania, Africa

From the village of Usa River in north-central Tanzania, Gertrude Protas Kitia uses the ancient art of Masai beadwork in both traditional and contemporary designs and techniques. Gertrude has created these handicrafts as long as she can remember, and teaches them to local women of her rapidly growing village, which is in great need of economic development. With a strong determination to help struggling women survive and a passion for Masai arts, Gertrude eventually formed a women's cooperative with the aim of helping women in her community who needed employment.

Despite the challenges of its remote location, limited transportation and non-existent government aid, the cooperative has managed to thrive because of Gertrude's tenacity. She not only provides women with trade skills and technique, she also promises fair wages and working conditions for the women, a situation which is fairly uncommon in Tanzania. The cooperative is also environmentally-focused and uses recycled and natural resources in all of their designs. Gertrude's cooperative not only provides a better living for women through sales of their designs, it has also successfully preserved traditional beading techniques and patterns of the Masai people.

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Africa: Uganda

One Mango Tree

Location: Gulu, Uganda

"No matter how difficult things get, the mango stays green...And in times of drought, we can eat its fruit to survive."

Northern Uganda is a region devastated by more than twenty years of armed conflict. Despite the fact that most of the conflict has subsided and many people are returning to their villages and otherwise peaceful lives, the ongoing violence destroyed many of the opportunities for earning a livelihood, especially for women. One Mango Tree was founded by and remains under the direction of a young American woman named Halle Butvin, who fell in love with Uganda's culture while on a student trip organized by the Global Youth Partnership for Africa. She recognized the talents of the many tailors of Gulu's central market, and thus One Mango Tree was formed as a partner to sell their products in a global marketplace.

Many of the women employed not only care for their own families, but also for children orphaned during the war. In addition to providing a vocation to these women, One Mango Tree provides school fees stipends to help alleviate the cost burden of sending so many orphaned children to school, as well as bicycles to ease the commute to work in the market.

One Mango Tree works with Ugandan and American designers to create their products, mixing the bright African wax printed fabrics purchased in local markets with functional design. Using foot-treadle sewing machines, the women make both traditional and modern style clothing.

Artisan Auma Lucy

Auma Lucy is One Mango Tree's head tailor and trainer, providing support and a vocation for the women she employs. Lucy is a single mother herself, caring for eleven orphans in addition to her own two children. Known throughout the community for her kindness and tailoring talents, Lucy became a magnet for young people, in the hopes that she could impart some of her knowledge and skills so they too could make a living. Having struggled herself as a young single mother, Lucy would accept as many women as would fit in her market stall. With the help of One Mango Tree, Lucy's tailors are now paid fair wages, helping them to improve their lives.

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Asia: Bangladesh

Nakshi Kantha is a traditional textile craft in Bangladesh featuring elaborate stitching in a spectrum of different styles. The word "kantha" originally suggests a light quilt for mild winters and cool monsoon nights. Though the concept exists in almost all parts of the world, the form of quilting that prevails in Bengal is unique, and not only serves as a functional article but also represents the cultural identity and folk art of this land. Passed from one generation of rural women to the next, Nakshi Kantha embroidery incorporates natural motifs and abstract themes into a unique expression of the artisan's creativity.

Nakshi Kantha

Traditionally, kanthas have a variety of uses for domestic, ritual, and ceremonial purposes. Kantha articles include spreads and coverlets, cloth for covering dishes and wrapping toilet articles, jainamaz (Muslim prayer mats), gilaf (cover for the Quran), spreads for pujas or for seating special guests or a bridegroom, palki topor (spread for the palanquin), pillow covers, and dining mats, among others.

Apart from large kanthas made to fill large public spaces, today's kanthas are also being designed specifically to meet contemporary needs such as bedcovers and quilt covers, wall-hangings, cushion-covers, place mats, and napkins. Kantha embroidery is also used on saris, dresses, and kurtas.

The revival of Nakshi Kantha has not only generated an interest and appreciation for this indigenous folk art of Bengal, but also helps to provide a livelihood for thousands of rural women who would otherwise not be gainfully employed.

Artisan Nazma Khatun

Artisan: Nazma Khatun

Where: Ayesha Abed Foundation - Jessore

Photo date: 4th May 2007

"I can earn my living so long as this Nakshi Kantha culture exists."

Nazma Khatun, age 25, has been selling her embroidery at through Ayesha Abed Foundation in Jessore since the year 2000. She lives in Chacra Check Post, Jessore, with her husband and a 4 year-old son. Nazma married at 14 years old. Her husband is a rickshaw puller who earns around 3,000 Bangaldeshi taka a month, which is not enough to maintain a three-member family. Nazma's embroidery income is vital to keeping the family running.

Nazma learnt kantha stitching from her mother at the age of 7. Her mother is now 45, and still involved in embroidery. Nazma recounts how over the years, her increased experience in embroidery has proved more and more valuable. She looks forward to learning more with time and raising her earning potential.

Artisan Rubya Begum

Artisan: Rubya Begum

Where: Jhikorgacha, Ayesha Abed Foundation-Jessore

Photo date: 4th May 2007

"Nakshi Kantha enables me to finance my children's education."

Rubya Begum, age 38, lives in the small village of Jhikorgacha in the Jessore district. She married at a very early age, truncating her schooling. She and her husband farm a small plot of land, and have three children: a 20 year-old daughter, an 18 year-old son, and a 13 year-old daughter.

Throughout her childhood , Rubya learned embroidery from her mother. For the last 17 years she has worked as an embroidery artisan. Her clients rave: "She is very expert and keen in nakshi kantha embroidery and makes the products colorful and attractive."

Rubya earns around 1,800-2,000 Bangladeshi taka a month, which she spends on schooling for her children. She enjoys her work very much, stitching the day's love, sorrows and emotions into each piece.

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Motif

Location: Bangladesh

For women that have been marginalized by society, Motif is a safe place they can call home while earning a living to provide for their families. Most of the women employed have experienced some form of discrimination or other scarring incident that has given them a social stigma, making it hard to find decent employment. Some of the women are former prostitutes, others have been affected by leprosy or other diseases, others still have been divorced or abandoned. At Motif the women find a safe place where they can earn a living, as well as share with the other women in a family-type atmosphere.

Motif prides itself on making unique lifestyle fabrics and accessories, and considers the quality and production of their designs, their good prices, timely deliveries, and strong relationships with customers stronger selling points than the fact that all their goods are fair trade -- something they think should be the norm rather than an exception.

Artisan Shireen

Several years ago Shireen's husband left her for another woman -- leaving her with no choice other than to move herself and her two children into her sister's already crowded home. Relationships were strained with this stressful living situation, and made worse by the fact that Shireen's nephews were very strict and did not allow her daugthers to freely leave the house or pursue an education.

Luckily, Shireen learned from friends about Motif, and went to see if her skills would be useful to the company. They are -- and she has since become a major source of financial support for her family. She moved herself and daughters out of her sister's home, was able to give her sister a number of loans to support herself, and her daughters are now pursuing their educations. As a senior seamstress at Motif, she is great at training and encouraging the younger and newer women.

Artisan Nasma

Nasma became acquainted with Motif in 2003, when she was one of the manual laborers who was helping to complete the building. She had been fired from her job as a garnment worker when she became pregnant, and laboring was the only job she could find that would let her keep her newborn son, Raju, with her on the job. As the staff came and went from the building they got to know her, and suggested she join the team.

She has been very successful -- within three months she was able to save enough money to help her husband, who is disabled due to leprosy, buy a rickshaw to cycle to help support the family, and within a year they had saved enough money that he was able to find work that was easier for him to perform. She also helped out her mother, who was then able to stop doing manual labor and take care of Raju full-time. And finally, in 2008, Nasma's son began attending school, becoming the first child in their family to become educated.

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Prokritee

Location: Bangladesh

"A women earning helps the entire family because the women invest their earnings in family. Then the family's betterment brings good impact on the entire community because of money circulation at different levels or circles."

Prokritee (meaning "nature" in Bangla) is an agency that is dedicated to empowering disadvantaged women who have little or no other opportunities. Most of the women employed by Prokritee are the heads of their households because they have been widowed, divorced, or separated, they have little or no income, are landless with few or no assets, and are primarily rural. Prokritee is a service-based agency that provides artisan organizations with management, product design and development, and marketing assistance. By providing jobs and skills for the women they are able to improve the women's standard of living and help them send their children to school. The women are paid a fair wage, offered training on quality awareness, health, savings, and gender equality, and are provided with a medical allowance and assistance, maternity leave, incomes bonuses and loan options.

Artisan Minoti Mondal

A cheerful woman who enjoys her work, Minoti has been working for Bagdha, one of Prokritee's artisan groups, for twenty years now. Before Minoti was twenty years old she married a poor farmer. Life was a struggle and after having two sons and two daughters, her husband's income was just not enough. She started looking for work and found a handicraft project that was hiring poor and widowed women. She now works primarily with wood, carving wooden toys. The income she has earned has helped her family immensely. Her four children have been able to finish secondary school, and her 23 year old son has gone on to become a businessman. She is happy she was able to help her children further their education, and hopes to work for Bagdha for as long as she can.

Artisan Usha Rani

Today Usha is a very skilled weaver for Hajiganj Handicrafts, one of Prokritee's artisan groups, but it wasn't always that way. When Hajigani first started, Usha and the other women hired didn't know anything about weaving, and had to be trained. The training lasted a couple of months, and by the months end the women were able to weave baskets of all different shapes and sizes. Because Usha is highly skilled, she has been promoted to supervisor. She supervises the other producers to makes sure they are weaving quality baskets, and creates samples for customers.

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Asia: India

Conserve India

Where: New Delhi, India

Over a decade ago, Anita and Shalabh Ahuja left their comfortable life and careers to launch an environmentally savvy idea that helps reduce trash in the city while helping poor women find opportunity. With their life savings and extreme dedication, the couple launched an amazing concept that started as a 'green' project but quickly developed into much more. Conserve India creates purses and other products from recycled plastic bags gathered from trash heaps and is a source of hope for low-caste women who are desperate and homeless, giving them the opportunity to grow through education and employment opportunity. Conserve now employs and empowers over 300 low-caste women who were without employment opportunities before the non-profit group was established.

Conserve has developed an impressive system of production for their products. Women gather shopping bags from the dumps of New Delhi and bring them back to the shop where the plastic is thoroughly cleaned, dried, and then fused together by a process developed by Shalabh. The fusion process creates a durable fabric that is sewn into an array of accessories ranging from bags to day planners.

The women of Conserve have refused to leave their lives to fate. In India's extreme poverty, many are forced to sift through the rubble to find shelter or food to survive. Conserve has created some hope amongst that urban waste; because of Conserve, many of these women now have a greater potential for a better living, an education and a new life.

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Tasar Silk

Silk Artisans in India

"I have learned to earn and stand on my own feet. What more could I wish for?"

In the poverty-ridden rural areas of the Jharkhand in eastern India, most families try to make ends meet by cultivating food on their land, though they are usually only able to produce enough for three to four months of the year. The production of tasar silk has provided the region with a form of year-round income that is driven by the increasing demand for silk throughout India.

The women yarn makers of Jharkhand are trained in two aspects -- technique and entrepreneurship, so that as they learn the skill of weaving they are also learning important aspects of business and finance. The opportunities for women in Jharkand are slim, and women often have no choice but to migrate to nearby cities to work as day laborers. The production of tasar silk has made a solid economic impact and provided a great source of social empowerment for women.

Artisan Kunti Devi

For Kunti Devi of Gandhrakpur village in the Dumka district of Jharkhand, reeling yarn from tasar cocoons has brought about a much better quality of life for her and her family. She no longer has to worry about feeding her children. She is now able to send her 15-year old daughter and 12-year old son to school and also provide them with private tuition. But far more importantly to her, Kunti Devi believes that reeling has brought new meaning and dignity to her life since she became a regular earning member contributing to the welfare of her family, all without leaving her home and village. She says, "I have learned to earn and stand on my own feet. What more could I wish for?"

Artisan Salkhi Devi

A hard life of labor has made Salkhi Devi look much older that her 40 years. She lives in the remote village of Junglepura Letwa in the Banka district of Bihar, where the basics of modern life like paved roads and electricity, or even adequate food, clothing and shelter, are still distant dreams.

However, none of this has stopped Salkhi Devi from successfully overcoming poverty. She is a star producer of tasar yarn, earning more a steady income throughout the year from the occupation. For a woman who had never seen the world outside her village until she was 37, Salkhi Devi is today a frequent traveler, visiting many villages to transform lives by training women to reel yarn.

Just a few years ago, when this mother of three sons and three daughters struggled to feed her children, her current lifestyle seemed unattainable. The land her husband, Kailu Tanti, cultivated was barely sufficient to feed the family for just a few months in a year. They were debt-ridden and saw no way out of a life of poverty and misery. Salkhi Devi found opportunity when a reeling center was built in a neighboring village and she began to reel her way out of poverty. Today, she is a proud working woman whose earnings contribute significantly and regularly to family needs. "If it were not for reeling yarn, I would still be struggling to make ends meet and would have never dreamed of a better future for my children," says Salkhi.

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Tibetan Nuns Project

Artisan group: Dolma Ling Nunnery

Dharmasala, India is home to the Tibetan government in exile, as well as the Dolma Ling Nunnery -- a refuge for Tibetan Buddhist nuns living in exile. Run by the sister-in-law of the Dali Lama as part of the Tibetan Nuns Project, it provides humanitarian support and education for hundreds of nuns living in exile from their homeland. There, the nuns produce beaded necklaces and prayer flags in a time-honored manner, blessing the items before sending them out into the world.

Founded in 1987 to provide humanitarian aid and an education to refugee Buddhist nuns, the project began as a response to 66 nuns who found themselves ill and exhausted with nowhere to go after a two year pilgrimage over the Himalayas from eastern Tibet. Emergency assistance was provided to meet their basic needs, but more was needed, and the Tibetan Nuns Project began actively seeking a more long-term solution for the problems of secure housing, medical care, and education. A sponsorship program was created which reached out to individuals and organizations around the world, supplementing the income-generating projects that the nuns themselves have instituted.

Now joined by five other nunneries as part of the Tibetan Nuns Project, the refugee nuns at Dolma Ling are able to work on mission with a sense of security and hope. This includes improving standards of living, a self-sufficient future through education and training, training for leadership and service roles within the community, improving the level and status of ordained Buddhist women in their culture, assisting recently arrived refugee nuns from Tibet, and the continued establishment of further facilities for nuns in need.

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Appliqué Textile Artisans

Where: Rajasthan, India

Kailash Bahan, age 42 (shown in the yellow sari) and Ganeshi Bai, age 38 (in the pink sari, far right) are part of an all-women cooperative in western Rajasthan, India. Having learned the art of hand appliqué from fellow village women, they are now passing on the art to the next generation.

The cooperative currently has 272 women practicing hand appliqué, living in small villages through the region. Once a week they travel to the cooperative's headquarters to collect more materials, submit their work, and receive payment. Earnings from their handicrafts help not only their own families, but the entire community. As a result of the increased flow of income to the region, there are now medical centers providing basic health facilities, electricity produced from solar energy, evening schools for kids, and vocational colleges for women.

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Wasim

Where: Rajasthan, India

Wasim, age 45, 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 learned the art from older members of the family. His papers are made from recycled cotton rags and he converts raw paper into beautiful products like journals, albums and other forms of social stationery without using any heavy machines.

Wasim's workmanship is excellent, earning him respect within the community. He mentions that although it is hard work, he enjoys the satisfaction of creating something, and the immense opportunities he gets to use his creativity. He hopes that this art stays alive in times to come.

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Abdul

Where: Rajasthan, India

Abdul, age 32, is from the drought-stricken northwestern region of India. He learned the art of bell making from his relatives, including his father, who was renowned regional artist. Abdul enjoys making bells and creating music from lifeless metal.

Abdul's wife Fatima is equally involved in his profession, and is responsible for coating the bell with the alloy mix that gives each bell its finish. Together, they help keep alive a craft historically held by people from lower castes -- a craft that was close to dying out for many years.

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Baladarshan

Artisan: Women of the Chennai Slums

Where: Chennai, India

"The women are among the poorest in the cities, especially as the cost of living is rapidly increasing in Indian cities."

Baladarshan focuses on providing economic opportunities and social services for women in the slums of India. The company owns and runs SPEED Trust (Slum People Education and Economic Development), a non-profit organization supported by the sales of Baladarshan fair-trade products. SPEED Trust provides education, medical care and micro-credit loans to women in the slums of Chennai, India - the poorest of the poor. Originally the company started by simply organizing activities, which improved the livelihoods of those in the lower end of the Indian caste system. Today, the company has extended its vision and employs individual female artisans. These women are considered to be "Untouchables" (Dalits) within the Indian caste structure. Some are physically challenged or blind and not able to find work. Through the support of SPEED Trust and Baldarshan, these women are able to work from home, enabling them to receive fair wages while looking after their children.

About 50% of the Baladarshan women use basket weaving as their primary source of income, either in a single parent household (some women are widowed or deserted) or in addition to their husbands' work. As the cost of living rapidly increases in India, even women who own small business are complementing their income by making Baldarshan products. SPEED Trust provides the raw materials of collected recycled plastic and other colorful materials at no additional cost to the women and pays them per basket. In addition, eco-friendly polypropylene (recycled plastic) is used in the basket weaving, which helps reduce the environmental impact of the baskets.

By improving the lives of the artisans and families and accounting for the environmental impact of the baskets' production, Baladarshan and SPEED Trust make a positive impact on their communities as whole.

Artisan Thenmozhi

Thenmozhi is a young woman who has endured incredible hardship, but has found hope and opportunity with SPEED Trust. At the age of 16, Thenmozhi was run over by a train on her way to school, rendering her physically disabled and unable to move from her bed. Due to the accident, Thenmozhi had to give up her studies and was no longer able to help her family financially. Living in the slums of Chennai with her mother and sister, Thenmozhi felt she was becoming a burden to her family. Soon enough, Thenmozhi found an opportunity with SPEED Trust, and for the past five years, she has been making baskets from recycled materials. She is now able to support her whole family, allowing her younger sister to finish her education. With the aid of regular orders from SPEED Trust, Thenmozhi has not only made a better life for herself, but has improved the lives of her family members as well.

Artisan Ravethy

Though nearly blind, Ravethy is one SPEED Trust's most skilled basketweavers, frequently experimenting with new basket designs. Ravethy lives in the Gandhi Nagar slum with her three children and her husband, whose income as a rickshaw puller is not enough to support the family. With the income from her weaving, Ravethy has given educational opportunity to her children. Her eldest daughter, Kavitha, is attending nursing school and her eldest son is studying engineering.

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Tara Projects

Location: Delhi, India

"We can live the life we want, without cultural restraints. We feel empowered, like there's nothing we can't do. The factors keeping us oppressed are gone thanks to Tara."

Tara Projects is a fair trade organization based in New Delhi, India. The project seeks to help craftspeople gain awareness, rights and human dignity in order to combat poverty. Tara provides women and men with economic security through regular work at living wages, craft training and marketing services.

Founded in the early seventies with the goal of providing avenues of economic growth to economically disadvantaged artisans in Delhi, Tara has become a pillar of the fair trade community in India. Since its inception, Tara Projects has been committed to fighting exploitation, poverty, and illiteracy of artisans who are subjected to the social injustices of unfair trade practices. Besides training artisans in design, production and marketing of handicrafts, Tara also funds and maintains several adult literacy and vocational training centers, and has spearheaded numerous campaigns for ecological, environmental and female educational issues, and against child and bonded labor, illiteracy, and unfair trade practices.

Artisan Sushma

Sushma lives in New Delhi, India with her husband and two sons. Five years ago, a family illness forced her to leave school. Sushma found Tara Projects and began working there, immediately receiving a fair wage and steady employment. Sushma works 5-6 hours a day and supplements her husband's income to sustain their family. She pays for her children's school fees, food and clothing. Sushma says, "I am happy that I do not have to earn this money by spending many hours laboring in a factory. We do not have to borrow money from the money lender. I am thankful that Tara Projects gives us work."

Artisan Rachna

Rachna had to leave school just before the 12th grade because her parents were in an accident. As the eldest child, she had to work in a factory to support her younger siblings. Fortunately her father is now able to work again. Her husband does not have a permanent job and doesn't earn enough to support them and their two young children. Rachna heard about Tara Projects and that they were supportive of women. She went through their training program and has now worked with them for 7 years. She is happy she has her own income to add to her husband's. "Life has certainly become better, it is dignified work. With the money I earn I am able to help my children with their studies and other important needs. I am also saving money every month. Fair trade helps those who need it. I am happy that Tara Projects gives us work and supports us."

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Kalamkari Artisans

Location: Srikalahasthi, India

In the bustling temple town of Srikalahasthi, India, artisans are rejuvenating the tradition of Kalamkari art while building economic stability and opportunity in their own lives. The Development of Weavers and Rural Artisans in Kalamkari Art (DWARAKA) works with up to 300 artisans, training them in Kalamkari art and providing courses in English language, computers, design, marketing and finance.

Named for the kalam, the pen with which these patterns are created, the unique art form of Kalamkari is part of a 400 year old artistic heritage originally created both for decoration and religious ornamentation. Eco-friendly by its very nature, the lengthy process incorporates specialized dyeing, hand-painting, and block printing with vegetable dyes. Extra attention is required at every stage of the process, ensuring an expression of artistic technique unique to the region of India where it was developed -- perhaps unlike any other being practiced today.

DWARAKA's main objective has always been to empower its artisans. Since their inception, they've helped artisans build self-reliance and self-identity, breaking through caste and gender oppression and exploitation.

Artisan Ganga

At the young age of 15, Ganga found herself burdened with the responsibility of protecting and providing for her family financially. Standing tall in the face of adversity, Ganga found employment with DWARAKA and began to learn, and excel, in painting Kalamkari. With the wages she now earns regularly, Ganga has been able to help her family rebuild their home and rise out of poverty. She is even able to support her sister so that she can go to college.

Artisan Kanchana

Kanchana is the youngest member of a family of weavers. Though weaving had been a long-standing tradition and the means of livelihood for the family, they could no longer earn enough to support themselves and found themselves in a large amount of debt. Kanchana, a gifted natural artist, approached DWARAKA to see if she could learn Kalamkari. Since then, Kanchana has become a confident and accomplished Kalamkari artist with a natural flair for design and colors, and has produced some of DWARAKA's best works. With her steady income, she has cleared her family's debts. In 2008, she was honored with the prestigious Smt Kamala Chattopadhyaya award for her skills as an artisan.

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Ochre Ceramics and Pottery

Location: Vadod, Gujarat, India

Ochre Ceramics and Pottery is a small pottery company located in the rural village of Vadod in Gujarat, India. Created to use local craft skills and materials to design products that would appeal to a wider market, everything is made of fired lead-free stoneware, and all processing and packaging is done by locals. The company produces about 300 pieces a month, including toys, jewelry, bells, magnets, home accessories, and murals. Ochre contributes to local developmental initiatives for rural artisans and works to set up school studios.

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Toucan Krafte

Location: New Delhi, India

Toucan Krafte is an artisan group made up of economically disadvantaged women from villages just outside of New Delhi, India. Besides providing the women with a much-needed steady income, Toucan also provides schooling for artisan's children, health care, and ongoing education and support. Many women are the sole income provider for their family, while others use the fair wage they receive to ensure their children can attend school and have the required books and supplies. Toucan focuses on educating women in order to break the cycle of poverty and dependence, and channels their profits into a trust that provides scholarships for girls' higher education.

Artisan Geeta

Geeta, the eldest of seven children, left school early in order to support her family and found opportunity with Toucan Krafte. Although Geeta had no experience with jewelry, she completed the training program and soon began to excel in beaded jewelry and crafts. The fair wage she earns has enabled her to help support her family and to send her younger siblings to school. Geeta now teaches craft skills to other women in her community, further expanding hope and opportunity in her community.

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Sustainable Threads

Artisans: Women of the Bodo and Koch Rajbongsji communities

Location: Bodoland territory in India's northeastern Assam Province

The weaving organization called Aagor Daagra Afad is located in the Bodoland territory of Assam in Northeast India. The major part of the weaving is carried out by women of the indigenous Bodo tribe, and some of the plain cloth is woven by members of the Koch Rajbongsji community living in the same area. The weavers live in the flood plains of Assam, close to the mountains of Bhutan. The rivers running from those mountains down to the plains often change course, swelled by heavy monsoon rains.

Weaving in their homes allows the organization's members to earn money for their families while also attending to their children and families. The Aagor program is a community project -- every stage of production supports a sustainable way of life for the artisans. By selling their goods, the weavers can pay for health care and education for their children, and stay out of the dangerous trap of borrowing money at usurious interest rates -- around 10% interest per month.

The association's textile products are woven on natural, low-cost bamboo looms, and made using eco-friendly dyes and Eri silk. Eri silk, also called "Ahimsa" ("without violence" or "cruelty-free" in Sanskrit) silk, is a wild silk made from cocoons discarded by the silkworm moth rather than from cocoons acquired by boiling the silkworm alive.

"Money in the women's hands has also helped them gain more prestige within their families. Besides changes in the personal realm, this work strengthens the women's agency in the community. Women are able to come together to solve problems that affect them as a collective."

Artisan: Nandini Mochahary

Nandini Mochahary's family lost its land twice to the eroding river. Penniless, she found employment as a nanny and maid in other families' homes. During a trip home in 2002, she learned of the possibility of becoming involved in the nascent weavers' association. Nandini stayed, became part of the weavers' assembly, and soon was elected to the position of Secretary.

Nandini now manages the production and independently handles sales in other cities of India. She now earns a salary that is almost ten times what her employers used to send her parents when she was working as a maidservant. Her salary has helped her family build a tin-roofed house, and paid for education for her younger brother and sister.

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Asia: Indonesia

Sourcing Indonesia

Location: Bali, Indonesia

Sourcing Indonesia works collaboratively with skilled artisans from remote villages who have no access to international markets, enabling a viable international market where their goods can be sold at competitive prices. Incorporating ethical practices such as sustainable-materials use and a no-child/forced labor policy allows the company to reach a diverse population of artisans -- while also helping small villages preserve traditional crafts and cultural identity.

Artisan Nengah Sudarsana

After working in a tourist shop and learning various ropes of the handicrafts trade, Nengah started his own business at the age of 18. Using his passion for nature and wildlife as inspiration, Nengah began creating treasures that appealed to both tourists and foreign markets. Now successful enough to employ several other artisans, Nengah and his team produce animal and wildlife-centered handicrafts, with future plans for a nature-inspired line of silver jewelry.

Artisan Eddy Santana

Born in Java, Indonesia, professionally-trained designer Eddy Santana moved to Bali in 1995 to pursue the many artistic opportunities available on the island. He soon found employment with a jewelry design company, where he was able to both hone his skills as a designer and add his own flair to designs. His creative pursuits led him to start a gallery and jewelry studio with a friend in Ubud, a company he has co-owned and co-operated for the last seven years. In addition to being a talented designer, Eddy is an avid electric guitar player, and can often be found practicing or performing with his band at venues throughout Bali.

Artisan Komang Sulaksana

In 1999, Komang Sulaksana and his wife took the money they had saved from working at various handicraft businesses over the years and started their own family business in Kandari. Komang's works include beautifully designed notebooks and albums made of recycled paper decorated with dried leaves, fruit, and twigs from the Sulaksanas’ own garden. Although their business is small, they have been able to save enough to build a modest house with attached workshop and a family temple. They currently employ seven people and contract with six others.

Artisan Artisan Wayan Panca

Born in Bali, Wayan Panca, began his career as a wood sculptor in 1987. He submitted early sculptures to local art shops, and in 1989 had his big professional break when an American buyer began ordering his products. Encouraged after securing these orders, Wayan began his own business, that continues to grow to this day, and stays busy collaborating with agents and trading companies, and expanding internationally.

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Asia: Nepal

Everest Fashion

Where: Kathmandu, Nepal

Everest Fashion was established in 1996 as an economical development project with the aim of providing job opportunities for local female handicraft producers in Kathmandu, Nepal. Everest employs only women, and the steady wages they earn from their work helps them feed and clothe their families and send their children to school.

Nepal has few roads and is mostly connected by narrow trade routes and crisscrossing footpaths. Where the roads end, goods are carried on the backs of mules, dzos, yaks, or men and women. The difficulties of travel make it nearly impossible for individual artisans to make a living marketing and selling their wares outside of their local area. Everest helps their artisans reach national and international markets that were previously unavailable and provides customers with an ever-changing array of beautiful and unique handicrafts.

Everest is committed to using natural fibers as much as possible in their goods. Most products are made from renewable sources such as hemp, cotton, allo (a Himalayan nettle), wool and silk, and all products are made from local resources. In this way, they utilize the abundant local raw materials while providing job opportunities for hundreds of villagers.

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Nepali Jewelry and Handicraft Artisans

Location: Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Subhas Gurju, shown in the orange shirt, is part of an artisan cooperative in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. Born in the historic city of Lalitpur, which means 'city of fine arts,' Subhas is part of a community of craftspeople who have learned family craft traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Subhas learned the art of jewelry making from his father, who learned it from Subhas's grandfather. Subhas is a skilled jewelry artisan, but like many other artisans, was limited to selling his wares in the local market. With the help of the cooperative, Subhas has gained international exposure and has greatly increased his income, allowing him to support his family and his parents.

The cooperative helps artisans living in small villages throughout the region market their products on a much larger scale. Most artisans are Newar, the indigenous people of Nepal, and are known for their beautiful workmanship and fine arts. All products are made by hand without the use of modern machines or technology, reflecting the quality craftsmanship of a bygone era. Earnings from their handicrafts help not only their own families, but the entire community.

Since Nepal is a multilingual country with over 70 languages, it is rare for children to receive schooling in their native language. Due to the language barrier, many children were avoiding school or dropping out early because they didn't understand the language used. To remedy the problem, this artisan cooperative developed a school that educates children in their mother tongue, giving the children a better chance of understanding the teachings, and hopefully, a more comprehensive education. The Modern New English School also places an emphasis on learning English and hopes to raise literacy rates in Nepal. They've established similar schools in small villages around the country, paving a brighter future for many children.

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Mahaguthi, Craft With A Conscience

Where: Kathmandu, Nepal

Since 1984, Mahaguthi, Craft With A Conscience has been working to bring economic empowerment to small producers and artisans through the practice of fair trade. The producers create a variety of handcrafted products and export them around the globe. Forty percent of the proceeds from these ventures fund "Tulshi Mehar Mahila Ashram," a rehabilitation and covational center that offers destitute women a home, a free educational two-year program that provides lessons in weaving, sewing, knitting and literacy, and education for the women's children. The rest of Mahaguthi's income is used to generate various projects for the economic empowerment of Nepal's people, especially women.

All of Mahaguthi, Craft With A Conscience's in-house artisans are women, as are almost 85% of the artisans and producers the organization partners with. These women often come to Mahaguthi because their employement choices elsewhere are limited due to poor education and a lack of vocational training. Mahaguthi provides their workers with business, quality management, and occupational safety training, and works together with Fair Trade Group Nepal to promote fair trade buying.

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Asia: Sri Lanka

Gospel House

Where: Madampe, Sri Lanka

Gospel House Handicrafts was started in 1976 by John Karunaratne to provide vocational training for boys from the poor areas in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. In the beginning, John trained the boys to make wooden toys, using two home-made lathes he set up in his own home. As the company grew, funding was secured to buy land and build a workshop in the village of Madampe. Gospel House now employs artisans in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Over its history of over 30 years, Gospel House has trained over 1,500 young men and women. Many have gone on to full employment with Gospel House, elsewhere in Sri Lanka, or overseas. No child labor is used. Gospel House's minimal wage for trainees is 30% higher than Sri Lanka's minimum hourly wage. The employment it offers has helped 234 artisans, and their families, weather Sri Lanka's current economic crisis and rampant inflation caused by the festering decades-old civil war.

Gospel House is very concerned about its environmental impact. The wood used is from the tree Albesia falcataria, which is one of the world's fastest-growing trees. After the trees' useful life as windbreakers around the tea plantations in central Sri Lanka, their wood is recycled into environmentally friendly crafts.

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Asia: Thailand

Chimmuwa Artisans Group

Artisan: Naw Naw

Naw Naw's story is one of triumph over adversity. A Thai Karen, she grew up in Tae Song Yang village near the Thai-Burma border. Both of her parents died when she was only twelve, but not before she learned weaving from her mother. She earned a living, first as a teacher for children in her community and then as a housekeeper in Chiang Mai, until moving to live with her aunt in Mae Sot. In that time, she learned sewing two days a week, and in attended school in the evenings. It was during a job cleaning the office for the Taipei Overseas Peace Service that her textile skills came to the attention of Sylvia, the TOPS manager. One month later -- after a training session in Chiang Rai where she learned the finer points of bag design -- she and Sylvia began what would become the Chimmuwa artisans group.

With an eye towards preserving traditional textiles while benefiting the women of the Karen community, the group took their name from the Karen word for a long, white dress worn by unmarried girls. The dress is meant to symbolize their purity, and was to embody the spirit of their endeavor. At the beginning, Naw Naw was the only artisan, making bags, purses, aprons, and kitchen items from fabrics Sylvia brought back from Thai villages along the Thai-Burma border. Through the Borderline Women's Collective, they were able to reach a broader, fair-trade market, and as sales increased, Naw Naw was able to turn those sales around into capital investments for Chimmuwa. This meant new sewing machines and the ability to train and employ more Karen women, and in turn, expand their line of products.

Naw Naw continues to expand her skill set, learning the finer points of the business as well as constantly looking for new product design ideas. She takes pride in her textile products -- especially with the international demand she has developed -- as she sees this as a way of sharing her culture with the world. In 2007, she started offering weaving courses to her customers, sharing a rich tradition of back-strap weaving. She says, "When I was weaving in our village with my mother, I never would have imagined that twenty years later I would be here teaching others our traditional handicraft and spending my days doing what I love."

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Women of the Karen People

Where: Along the Thai-Burma and Indo-Thai borders

After years of suffering at the hands of the Burmese government, many of the ethnic Karen people were forced to flee their country and now live in exile in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma and Indo-Burma borders. The number of Karen people in western Thailand is estimated at 400,000.

Women's Education for Advancement and Empowerment (WEAVE) is a non-profit organization established in 1990. With project centers in the ethnic Karen and Karenni refugee camps along the Thai-Burma and Indo-Burma borders, WEAVE works to improve the lives of marginalized indigenous women and children by improving education, health, and self-reliance.

WEAVE is a member of the US Fair Trade Federation, and seeks to provide a safe, sustainable, and culturally sensitive way of for refugees on the Thai-Burma border to earn an income through handicrafts. Women in refugee camps have few ways of generating income, and they deserve a fair opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their families.

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Thai Textile Artisans

Location: Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

In a remote northern Thai village in Chiang Mai province, whimsical pieced textiles are bringing opportunity to rural women and retired school teachers. Nearly the entire process - growing, harvesting, spinning, dyeing, designing and weaving - is done in the confines of this small village, creating economic opportunity that wasn't there before. Using home-grown cotton and natural dyes, the artisans spin and hand-weave the fibers into lovely colorful fabric. By using skills that have been passed down from generation to generation for over 300 years, the production of these items ensures that the tradition of spinning, dyeing, and weaving will continue to thrive for years to come.

Once the fabric has been created, quite literally from the ground up, it is hand-pieced by retired teachers in and around the city of Chiang Mai. In Thailand, there is no social security system, so retired teachers often have no source of income and must rely on their children to take care of them. By producing these products, these retired art teachers from the Chiang Mai Public School system are able to remain financially self-sufficient and are living proof to younger generations that art is sustainable and productive.

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Thai Tribal Crafts

Location: Thailand

Since 1973, Thai Tribal Crafts has been working with Northern Thailand's tribal population to assist in marketing their traditional handicrafts. The group works with artisans in 58 villages throughout the isolated mountain regions along the Thai-Burma-Laos border, including the Akha, Karen, Hmong, Lahu, Lisu, Lawa, and Mien tribes.

Traditionally, area tribal people had supported themselves and their families through agriculture, specifically slash and burn agriculture. This meant moving every few years in search of new fields once the old fields were no longer fertile. Finding such fresh land became increasingly difficult as land became less available due to development and a government ban on felling of trees and clearing of hillside land. Pressured to look for new ways to create a livelihood without sacrificing culture, various tribal members began creating traditional crafts in order to market locally and beyond. To this day it is helping to restore and revive traditions that might otherwise have been forgotten. Their high-quality handmade products help raise the tribe's standard of living, buy food, send their children to school, afford medical care, re-invest in agriculture, purchase land, and more.

Artisan: Kalaya

Until 2000, Kalaya lived in the Hmong village of Huay Luak with her husband and children. One day, a stranger asked for her husband's help, requesting that he take a bag into the village for him in his car. Helping neighbors is not unusual in the village, and her husband agreed. En route, his car was stopped and searched during a routine security check, revealing that the bag contained drugs. Her husband was arrested, leaving Kalaya to take care of their three children and bills resulting from trying to clear her husband's name. Over the next several years she sold everything they owned to help fund her husband's defense, but to no avail -- her husband was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Hoping for a fresh start, in 2003 Kalaya and her children moved to Lamphun City where poverty forced them to live on the streets. Kalaya was able to earn small amounts of money by selling flowers, but not enough to make ends meet. This emotionally and financially tough time continued until the director of Thai Tribal Crafts met her while in Lamphun City on business, and discovered her gift for creating beautiful handmade products. He convinced her to move back to Huay Luak and become a producer for the company. She has since found success as a team leader of the Huay Luak Hmong Producer Group, allowing her to better support her family.

"I will continue my weaving because it is a part of my life."

Artisan: Lume

Mrs. Lume, a Lahu tribe member, only completed a formal education up to 3rd grade, but continued her education outside the classroom, learning traditional embroidery, patchwork, and weaving skills. She is married to a pastor, but the church he works for cannot afford to pay him a regular salary, so Mrs. Lume's earnings from selling her crafts makes up about 70% of the total family income. She is currently serving as a representative for 30 producers from her village. Selling her crafts has allowed her to fund both of her children's educations; her son has just graduated from a university with a degree in Physical Education, and her daughter graduated from a junior vocational college.

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Asia: Tibet

Tibet Artisan Initiative

Where: Lhasa, Tibet

The Tibet Artisan Initiative was started as a poverty alleviation project, and now provides a market channel to hundreds of Tibetan artisans -- many living in rural areas without access to outside customers. TAI works closely with artisans to reintroduce handicraft traditions, improve raw materials sourcing, improve overall quality, and introduce innovative product designs based on traditional motifs.

The Tibet Artisan Initiative works in conjunction with the Dropenling Handicraft Development Center -- an organization dedicated to improving the lives of local artisans throughout the region by selling only unique, high-quality handicrafts made in Tibet, by Tibetans. Dropenling is a Tibetan word meaning "giving back for the betterment of all mankind." Their creations are unique to them and are treasures destined to become keepsakes.

Artisan Pasang Tsering

Born in 1949, and unable to walk or attend school due an illness at the age of 7, Pasang began to learn tailoring from his father at the age of 13. His skills developed quickly and at age 24, he began teaching new students at a local sewing workshop. After teaching for 10 years, Pasang saved enough money to rent a small house and set up his own sewing workshop. He set about hiring and training unemployed youth and women from poor families in his community. Some of Pasang's students have moved on to start their own successful businesses and one has become a sewing teacher in his own village. Including himself, there are currently 19 artisans in his workshop. Pasang is committed to helping unemployed youth in his community and passing on the skills he has developed over the last 40 years.

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Asia: Vietnam

Tiger Lily

Location: Vietnam

Located in the Phu Nghia sector of Vietnam's Ha Tav province, Tiger Lily is a company with a difference.

In an area with burgeoning air and water pollution, Tiger Lily values reducing, reusing, and recycling, and preserves trees and ponds inside its grounds. Instead of being thrown into landfills, old magazines and newspapers are re-purposed into beautiful and functional pieces of home decor.

"As this kind of product becomes popular in Western countries, it means that more chances of jobs and improving their lives."

Tiger Lily's designs fuse traditional Vietnamese design elements, such as bamboo, rattan, and lacquer, with a Western sense of aesthetics. The artisans' high levels of skill and patience is evident in every piece.

As a small, community-oriented company, Tiger Lily hopes for a bright future bringing new life to old materials, and fair trade wages to skillful artisans.

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Au Lac Designs

Embroidery and Textile Artisans in Vietnam

Founded by a former Maryknoll volunteer over a decade ago, Au Lac brings jobs to poor women living in Hanoi and the surrounding rural areas. The local women are especially gifted in the traditional art of embroidery, and stitch beautifully detailed silk accessories and clothing. In fact, in May 2007, one of their beautiful shell bags was featured in the popular 'O' Magazine! Training and assistance are available to the women who work with Au Lac, giving them the opportunity to build their understanding of international markets and demands, design, quality control, and production management.

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Craft Beauty

Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

In Hanoi, Vietnam, where most people are raised to be farmers, there aren't a lot of vocational opportunities outside of agriculture. One stroke of bad luck can wipe out a year's worth of hard work -- drought or flood can destroy the year's crops, and the year's income. A lot of farmland is being purchased by developers of apartment buildings, leaving many farmers with no land, no vocational skills, and no source of income.

Craft Beauty is a fair trade craft organization that provides skills and a steady source of income to disadvantaged women who wouldn't otherwise have any options, including farming women, and women with disabilities. In Vietnam only about 15% of disabled persons receive training in vocational skills, and many end up unemployed and very poor. Craft Beauty offers these women (between the ages of 18 and 40 years old) a chance to learn about silk weaving, tailoring, embroidery, fashion, and quality control, and pays almost double the Vietnamese national livable wage. In addition to giving them a source of income, a skill set, and a safe workplace, these positions help the women retain their dignity, self worth, and confidence.

Artisan Diu

Diu was a leading student at her high school, ranking at the top of her class. Unfortunately, she was unable to finish her schooling because her family was so poor they couldn't afford to keep sending her. So Diu, who lived in a remote province of Hanoi, got a low-paying job in the city washing dishes for a street inn. Unable to make ends meet with her meager income, Diu was desperate to find a job that would allow her a more comfortable life. With a recommendation of a relative, Diu was able to get a job with Craft Beauty, where she diligently worked her way up from packing, to quality control, and eventually to a management position. With the help of Craft Beauty, Diu was also able to continue her studies and take computer training courses, and she now makes enough money to support herself and her family.

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Europe: Germany

Reinhard Herzog

Artisan: Reinhard Herzog

Where: Germany

Reinhard Herzog learned his craft by studying at the Wertheim Academy of Glass in Germany. Though Reinhard works at both the oven and the torch, he is best known for his montage technique, the highest level of lamp work. In this complex technique, different colored glass pieces are melted together to form intricate designs. His masterpieces are exhibited in galleries and shops in Europe and America. As a master glass artist, Reinhard has demonstrated his glass making ability at festivals and exhibitions all around the world as a representative of the German Crafts Council.

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Europe: Ukraine

Loewestamm Wooden Jewellery

Where: Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine

"I prefer to work in wood because it is a living material."

~ Vladimir Levestam

A family firm, Loewestamm was founded in 1989 by designer Vladimir Levestam to manufacture stylish accessories handcrafted from natural wood. Loewestamm offers conceptual collections composed of necklaces, bracelets, bangles, earrings, pendants, and belts made of native trees from the Black Sea Coast. The principal raw materials are grey mountain oak, ash, and pistachio wood, harvested during the professional thinning of the National Reserve. The finished products are covered with a wax-based polish. Some pieces incorporate natural Baltic amber.

Loewestamm is famous in Europe for its innovative handcrafted jewelry designs. We are one of the few non-European outlets for these pieces.

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Central Asia: Afghanistan

Zardozi

Textile Artisans in Afghanistan

Emerging from the DACAAR Sewing Circle, a group with over a quarter century's experience working with the women in Afghan refugee camps, Zardozi endeavors to protect the unique and cultural embroidery skills which might otherwise be lost amid the tide of conflict and displacement. An independent, registered non-profit NGO since 2005, the Zardozi enterprise works with Afghan communities across borders to assist both refugees in Pakistan and those still at home in provinces throughout Afghanistan. Unlike the region's well-known carpet weaving industry, the majority of profits from the embroidery and sewing work are kept by the artisans themselves, enabling them to improve their lives directly through education for children, medicine, and security for the future.

Artisan Mutabeqa

Mutabeqa was brought to Afghanistan from a small village in Kunar Province when she was only a year old. Soon afterwards, her father died, and her older brothers married and took their wives to live separately. Mutabeqa was left alone with her mother. She is now 27 and unmarried; because of the abandonment of her mother by her brothers it is unlikely that she will ever be married.

Although she never had the chance to go to school, her skill in embroidery and her undoubted leadership qualities were recognized early on by the Zardozi staff. For the past decade, she has been the link between the approximately 500 female embroiderers in Bagicha refugee camp and the Zardozi office. She collects the women's work, checks it for quality, receives the money, and pays the embroiderers. Although her brothers regard her work as a family disgrace, they have never offered to support her and her mother, so she continues to work despite their complaints. Within the camp, every family knows Mutabeqa, and through her work, she has earned much respect -- an unusual situation for an unmarried woman in this culture.

Artisan Razima

Razima is a slight, worn-looking lady. She has been in the Bagicha refugee camp in Pakistan for the past 22 years, ever since she fled the mountains of her native Kunar Province with her family when she was 15 years old.

Razima has 10 children, ranging in age from 8 to 18. Twelve years ago Razima's husband, who was employed as a guard in a school, fell and broke his arm. Due to poor medical treatment, the arm never healed properly, and he has been unemployed ever since, leaving the family without a breadwinner. The situation was desperate. Fortunately, Razima's sister had learned the craft of embroidery through Zardozi (or DACAAR, as it was known then), and she trained Razima, who in turn trained her daughters as they became old enough. Their skill in embroidery has enabled the family to survive, and now there is even money left over to send the younger children to school.

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Artisan Nasima

Where: Kabul, Afghanistan

"The women gain respect and more freedom through the work they do."

In Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, Nasima's small silk dying and weaving business provides fair wages, employment, and training to more than 40 women (and a handful of men). Hand-dying, weaving, sewing, and embroidering beautiful silk scarves and other textiles, Nasima's artisans are able to secure a constant stream of income, learn new skills, and gain respect and freedom.

Nasima explains, "Through providing vocational training, teaching new skills and providing orders to the people I work with I advocate gender issues, promote peace and advocate against violence. Many of the women I work with suffer spousal abuse, but many of their husbands have improved a lot since the women have work and provide an income to the house. The women gain respect and more freedom through the work they do. I want consumers to know that our products are 100% Afghan silk, my aim is to support Afghan families, and I seek to provide Afghan women the possibility to improve their lives."

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The Women of Hope Project

Where: Kabul, Afghanistan

The Women of Hope Project is an organization that seeks to restore hope and dignity to women who have been oppressed and denied personal freedom, health, opportunity, and respect. In a country where women are often forbidden from getting an education or seeking work outside of their homes, the project empowers women by providing training in embroidery skills, literacy classes and small business development and management courses. Many of these women are widowed or have husbands who are now physically disabled as a result of the war and can no longer provide for the family. By providing work that the artisans can do from home, Women of Hope enables these women to provide an income for their family when it was previously impossible. Women can now pay for their children to attend school and get the education that was never available to them.

Women of Hope works directly with about 120 women, but countless lives benefit from the project. Each woman that participates in Women of Hope goes on to train at least six other women and most have developed neighborhood groups where they teach others to produce goods. Previously, their social lives were limited to interaction with those living within their family compounds, but now they have a special social network where they can share their joys and frustrations in a safe and loving environment.

Artisan Nazanee

At 45 years old, Nazanee is the mother of eight children. During the war, she and her family fled to Iran as refugees, though she describes her life in Iran as "unlucky." On their journey to Iran, they were abused, and once in Iran, the abuse continued and they were denied work permits. She and her family had to find odd jobs and beg for support from their family. Her husband was captured by enemy forces and tortured, and as a result, suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and was too afraid to leave the house.

A friend noticed Nazanee's desperate situation and brought her to the Women of Hope Project's Embroidery Center to see if they could help her. Nazanee brought items from her wedding dowry to sell, and Women of Hope was impressed with her artistry. Soon, Nazanee began working with the Women of Hope Project. Now, she beams when she talks about how God has blessed her family, how her children are going to school and her husband is starting to take short walks outside near their home.

Artisan Satara

Life has always been difficult for Satara; from the time she was born, war has been raging all around her. When she was a young girl, her father, brother and a younger sister were killed in a bombing raid of their neighborhood in Kabul. Her mother has never fully recovered emotionally from the tragic loss and has not been able to work since then. Though Satara was just a girl at the time, she had to find a way to support her family. The Taliban was still in power and women were not allowed to work and were strictly forbidden from walking on the street without a male relative. Since all of her male relatives had been killed, she had few options but to beg door to door for the mercy of her neighbors (who were also suffering from extreme poverty) to give her their leftover bread and small change to buy food for her family. Living with her sister and mother in one room of a small mud-brick house, Satara managed to scrape by.

Eventually she came to the embroidery center with the hope of selling some pieces to buy food for her family. The quality of her work was exquisite but was sewn on old scraps of clothing since she had never had any money to spend on good pieces of fabric. Recognizing her potential, Women of Hope invited Satara to join the project and gave her a starting supply of fabric, silk thread and needles. Satara wept at the prospect of finally being able to practice her skills with such fine materials. Today, Satara is one of the finest producers at Women of Hope, and earns enough money to pay her mother's medical bills, send her sister to school, pay the rent and supply the family with clothing and food. Now, when Satara tells her story, she cries tears of joy that she has been able to overcome such overwhelming heartache, poverty and suffering. She sees a bright future ahead of her.

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Khaber-e-khosh

Location: Kabul, Afghanistan

"Now I am very happy, my life has changed so much, I have a much more comfortable life."

In the turbulent capital of a war-torn country, Baknazira Niazi has created a bright future for herself and dozens of other women. Under the Taliban regime, Baknazira's husband had difficulty finding work to support the family so Baknazira began making and embroidering dresses at home, and taking them to sell to local shops. When the Taliban lifted in 2001, this persevering mother of four sought training in business, marketing, and design and opened her own small shop to sell her wares.

Today, Khaber-e-khosh is a thriving shop, and Baknazira works with 46 other artisans, providing them with training and economic stability. Khaber-e-khosh offers courses in design, business, mathematics and other school subjects. The artisans earn a steady income from the goods they produce, and are able to support their families and send their children to school. Baknazira explains, "Now I am very happy, my life has changed so much, I have a much more comfortable life. My only desire is that I can continue to do this work and continue growing."

Artisan Brishna

Brishna lives in the city of Jalalabad with her parents, her four sisters and three brothers. Raised under the rule of the Taliban, Brishna never had the opportunity to finish her education, though it was her greatest wish. After meeting Brishna and learning of her desire to finish her education, Baknazira suggested she join Khaber-e-khosh so that she could take part in their educational courses.

Brishna now takes courses through Khaber-e-khosh and is also one of their most skilled embroiderers, earning a steady income that she uses to help support her large family while she continues her education.

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The Madina Association

Where: Kabul, Afghanistan

In Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, the Madina Association provides income, employment, and training to more than 30 women and five men. Hand-crafting beautiful jewelry from local gemstones, Madina's artisans can rely on steady wages in order to provide for their families and they receive vocational training and have the opportunity to take courses in health, literacy and women's rights.

Artisan Estoria

Estoria, aged 35, lives in Kabul with her six children and her husband, who is employed as a mason. She has been making jewelry with the Madina Association for two years, benefiting from numerous workshops in women's rights and health. Estoria was left partially paralyzed from a car accident but has found a steady income and important support system with Madina. She says that "she enjoys the community of women she works with" as well as helping provide for her household. Of her six children, two also work with her at Madina, and all of them are able to attend school.

Artisan Nuria

Raised in a time of war and oppression by the Taliban, Nuria was never able to pursue an education. When the Taliban fell in late 2001, this barrier was lifted, and Nuria began to make up for lost time. Through the Madina Association, Nuria has been able to take school courses and has received important vocational training. At the age of 25, she is now a 10th grade student.

When Nuria was 19, a bomb exploded near her home, causing a shrapnel injury that left her handicapped. Nuria lives with her parents in Kabul, and now has a steady income through the Madina Association. She says that "she feels blessed to be a part of this association."

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Nuristani Woodworking Artisans

Location: Afghanistan

"I become happy when every student learns something new ... I am here to teach this craft so it does not disappear. This is the most important thing for the future of Afghanistan."

The dramatic peaks and valleys of northeastern Afghanistan are home to the province of Nuristan, whose mountains and rich forests have nurtured a long tradition of intricate and beautiful woodcarving. The Nuristani woodworking tradition employs the simplest of materials: high quality walnut and Himalayan cedar wood, basic tools, the experienced hands of master craftsmen, and the folk memory of hundreds of traditional designs which are endlessly reconfigured and re-interpreted. Each piece is a unique symbiosis of material, master and motif. No screws and nails are ever used, even when a piece contains dozens of separate elements. A tradition that has been passed on from generation to generation, Nuristani woodworking suffered and nearly died out during Afghanistan's decades of war. But thanks to masters like Abdul Adi who train new carvers, this longstanding tradition has found new life in Kabul and Nuristan.

Artisan Abdul Adi

75 year-old Ustad (Master) Abdul Adi comes from a long line of woodcarvers, and finds great joy in teaching Nuristani classical carving to others. As a boy, he worked in his father's shop on Koche Najarah, the woodcarvers' street, learning skills that had been passed from father to son for generations.

The father of eight, Ustad Adi has lost two sons, his wife, and one daughter to war and disease. Today, he lives with his son and five grandchildren, some of whom he is teaching to carve. Ustad Adi also teaches other students through a local woodcarving cooperative, and hopes that they will someday be Ustads themselves. "I become happy when every student learns something new," he says. "As you see, I am getting old, I am here to teach this craft so it does not disappear. This is the most important thing for the future of Afghanistan."

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Afghan Women Carpets and Cattle Keeper Network

Location: Afghanistan

"Now I'm happy that I have my own income and I can feed my children... now I can send my children to school."

After Najiba Hussaini's husband was arrested by the Taliban, she became the sole bread winner for her family of seven. In an effort to support her family, she established the Afghan Women Carpets and Cattle Keeper Network (AWCN), an artisan collective that produces handmade jewelry and weaves traditional Afghan carpets. AWCN now works with over forty artisans, and offers classes in women's and children's rights, health awareness, ending violence against women, and business skills. The organization allows both men and women a place to earn a living to support their families, and in turn, better their lives.

Artisan Maryam

Maryam, a widowed mother of four who lives in Bamyan, Afghanistan, has found income and opportunity with AWCN. She says, "When I have return from Iran to my home country I had nothing to feed my children. When I have start working with AWCN I have learned to make jewelry, now I'm happy that I have my own income and I can feed my children because I'm the only bread winner of my family ... now I can send my children to school as well."

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Turkmen Women's Active Rights Association

Location: Northern Afghanistan

The Turkmen Women's Active Rights Association was established in 2005 with the aim of helping women living in remote parts of Afghanistan. TWARA works primarily with women living along the banks of the Amo River in northern Afghanistan, where many have no access to electricity, clean water, roads, schools or health care. Historically, women in this area have very low literacy rates and face overwhelming financial and economic problems.

With the establishment of the Turkmen Women's Handicraft Center, TWARA has been able to provide handicraft training to many women, as well as a market channel for their beautiful handmade products. They provide training in embroidery, carpet weaving, and stone polishing as well as guidance in marketing their goods. In addition to providing training in things like women's rights and health awareness, TWARA also provides English-language and computer workshops. TWARA is currently working in conjunction with the Ministry of Education to introduce handicraft schools in numerous provinces in Northern Afghanistan, further extending their reach to hundreds more women.

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Middle East: Israel

Roman Glass Company

Location: Kibbutz Revadim, Israel

"The Roman Glass company intricately designs and mounts the ancient beauty of Roman glass into stunning designs which inspire memories of the Old World."

The Roman Glass Company is an exciting bridge between the Old and the New Worlds. Located on Kibbutz Revadim, south of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in Israel, it exists in a traditional Kibbutz community functioning with a modern capitalist approach. A kibbutz is traditionally a collective community where the kibbutzniks (those living in the kibbutz) work together building their agricultural industry. Today, many communities have moved towards other areas of the economy such as high-tech enterprises and small businesses.

Using fragments of genuine, ancient Roman-era glass, the designers create modern settings to enhance their beauty, thus truly bringing history to life.

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South America: Ecuador

Shuar Artisans

Artisan: Shuar

Where: Ecuador

The indigenous Shuar people of southern Ecuador have a rich history of craftsmanship using the natural resources of the rainforest to create unique and beautiful art that is both decorative and functional. Using sustainably collected seeds from the rainforest floor, the Shuar people create beautiful jewelry while working to pass on long held ancestral traditions of their rainforest life to their youth. The sale of such jewelry helps generate income for many Shuar families while preserving their culture.

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South America: Peru

Aid to Artisans - Chinchero

Where: Chinchero, Peru

Legend states that the village of Chinchero -- high in the Andes Mountain range and overlooking the Sacred Valley of the ancient Inca civilization -- is the birthplace of the rainbow. This traditional Andean Indian village still clings to their cultural roots, filling their colorful market with crafts made with native materials and techniques passed down for centuries.

The remote and extreme geography of this region allowed crafts such as textiles to develop independently of outside influence, leading to ingenious innovations and wonderful techniques that make that their fabrics so unique. Using a mix of complex heading arrangements, intersecting warp weaves, and tubular weaves combined with spindle-spinning and centuries of know-how, every piece they create is a work of art and a little slice of history. Worldwide sales of their crafts helps create interest and raise awareness of this folk art, and of the many indigenous artisans who create them.

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Peruvian Gourd Artisans

Artisans: Esperanza Palomino and Raquel Rojas Location: Cochas Chico, Peru

"My biggest dream is that all will have work and that all the families will have a better future."

High in the Andean mountains of Peru sits the quiet gourd carving community of Cochas Chico, home to Esperanza Palomino and Raquel Rojas. The two women were inspired to start their own business based on the age-old local tradition of gourd carving. In a community where farming difficulties have left many struggling to make ends meet, gourd carving (mates burilados) has provided a source of income for many families. Profits made from the gourds are shared amongst the community and given to the families with the greatest needs.

Esperanza says, "All that I hope and dream for the future is to spread my craft to all countries so that our work will be very recognized. My biggest dream is that all will have work and that all the families will have a better future."

In Andean culture, gourd carving is a tradition handed down generation after generation and a tool to record traditions, rituals, myths and celebrations. As Esperanza explains, "This craft we inherited from our ancestors, grandparents, and parents to the present. Each generation improves the art and it continues to grow with future generations."

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Peruvian Alabaster Artisan

Artisan: Timotea Quispe de Bautista

Location: Ayacucho, Peru

Timotea Quispe de Bautista is a native of Ayacucho, Peru, an ancient Andean city nestled 8,000 feet above the sea. Today, she carves a brighter future for herself after many years of grief and hardship.

After her home was destroyed by the Peruvian Communist party, also known as the Shining Path, Timotea and her husband Juan left their home and fled to the protection of the Andean mountains. Living in a cave by night, and working their farm by day, they hid from the waves of violence being conducted by the Shining Path throughout Peru. When a storm flooded the cave, Timotea and her family were forced to move back into their home and away from the safety of the cave. Eventually, Timotea's home was raided and all of Juan's siblings were murdered. After losing loved ones and their livelihood, Timotea and Juan had no choice but to move to the nearest city. But with no capital to purchase cattle or land, and no formal education, they lived in a state of extreme poverty for nearly a decade.

Eventually, Timotea and Juan began to teach themselves how to carve figurines out of alabaster. Today, the sales of her products and some generous gifts have provided Timotea and her family with a stable life. A true inspiration, Timotea continues her beautiful alabaster work with a smile on her face, and her grandchild at her feet.

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Alvaro Carreno

Artisan: Alvaro Carreno

Where: Cuzco, Peru

Up in the steep hills overlooking the heart of Cuzco, Peru, you will find the artisan quarter of San Blas at over 11,000 feet (3,400 meters) above sea level. Dominated by the Iglesia de San Blas, which features an inspiring cedar pulpit carved from a single tree trunk and is the oldest parish church in Cuzco, narrow, twisting streets snake off throughout the neighborhood, packed with small galleries and craft workshops. It is here in this rarefied atmosphere of artistry and tradition that Alvaro Carreno crafts some of the most distinctive jewelry in the Andes.

Award-winning Peruvian artisan Alvaro Carreno maintains a unique jewelry-crafting style that produces some of Peru's most innovative, yet time-honored, designs. Working from his shop in the San Blas artist neighborhood of Cuzco, his jewelry incorporates ancient Incan design elements brought into modern-day focus. His jewelry tends to incorporate precious and semi-precious stones set into unique sterling silver settings, including hammered and his signature "rolled" designs.

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Peruvian Silver Jewelry Artisan

Artisan: Fermin Vilcapoma

Where: Lima, Peru

Born in Lima, Peru, Fermin Vilcapoma learned the art of jewelry-making at a young age. His father, Fernando Vilcapoma, saw Fermin's enthusiasm for jewelry and taught him the art of silversmithing. Both the Vilcapomas have a passion for the art of jewelry, and there was never any doubt that Fermin showed great talent in the art. In 1982, Fermin took over the family business and began traveling around Peru to familiarize himself with different jewelry styles. In the beginning he worked alone in a small workshop, but eventually was able to take on some assistants, who he trains in jewelry-making. With the training, he hopes to pass on his passion for jewelry and give his assistants the skills to later open their own workshops.

Fermin says that his jewelry business is successful because "he has an innovative design, because he is always trying to see what is new on the market ... and he mixes that with the traditional style of the Peruvian world." Fermin now sells his jewelry all over the world, while providing economic opportunity for his employees. His hand-crafted jewelry pieces showcase his unmistakable talent and eye for singular design.

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Peruvian Jewelry Artisan

Artisan: Claudia Rey

Where: Lima, Peru

What began as a hobby for Claudia Rey in Lima, Peru in 1989 eventually grew to become a career as an internationally recognized jewelry artisan. Inspired by the natural beauty of her native country and the indigenous Inca culture, Claudia designs her sterling jewelry to bring out the hidden beauty and spark of the stones she so carefully selects. She says her goal is "to show all the gifts that mother nature can give us."

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Central America: El Salvador

El Yagual

Artisan: Anabella de Tenorio

As a child, Anabella learned to make crafts from her mother, and created home-made gifts for friends and family. In 1988, Anabella saw the opportunity to sell her custom items, and began painting clay and wood products to sell from a small showroom in her home. As word of mouth spread, El Yagual eventually outgrew its small workshop and took on a staff of 7 full-time employees who lovingly draw, paint, varnish and package their custom work. Specializing in colorful hand-painting, El Yagual's artisans are known for their original and innovative products.

Over time, Anabella has trained many other artisans, some of whom have gone on to set up their own businesses. Anabella says that El Yagual has "provided a place where she feels happy, relaxed and creative" and likes knowing that she is providing employment. She says that "her employees are like part of the family" and that creating these goods is "a nice way to go through life and make a living."

Artisan: Zulma Hernandez de Bustamante

Previous to working with El Yagual, Zulma Hernandez de Bustamante worked in a sweat shop where conditions were difficult. Zulma has been working with El Yagual since 1998, when Anabella taught her to draw and paint. Now in charge of varnishing, carpentry, and finishing touches, Zulma has attained the skills to be a good leader. The economic security provided by El Yagual has allowed her to help out her family of five brothers and sisters, as well as her mother. She says that the feeling at El Yagual is "of being part of a large family."

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Uca Ruffatti

Handbag and Textile Artisans in El Salvador

"We started small but with big dreams..."

With over twenty years of design experience, Uca Ruffatti in El Salvador combines high-quality chic with eco-friendliness. Uca Ruffatti uses new and recycled materials creatively to achieve original, functional and modern designs.

Owner Maria de los Angeles de Ruffatti explains, "We started small but with big dreams, now we have had so many buyers interested in our products that we plan to double production by year's end. This means more employees, more machines and also new materials, new markets, new possibilities. Our dreams have come through and have gone beyond our expectations. Not only are we working with Natural or Recycled materials but we also have the opportunity to help the artisans here in the town of Santa Ana. We are helping a couple of communities by working directly with them, training their young men and women with new skills. That way entire families become involved and work harder to achieve a greater future for all."

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Central America: Guatemala

Artesanias Multicolor

Artisan: Jerónima Juárez

Where: La Antigua, Guatemala

Jerónima Juárez was born in the small village of San Pedro Las Huertas, near Antigua, Guatemala. She stopped attending school after the third grade in order to supplement her family's income by helping her mother sell vegetables in the marketplace.

Doña Jerónima's mother taught her to make worry dolls, a traditional craft in Guatemala. She recalls, "I was trying for 2 months to make the worry dolls; I made one but was not good enough then I undid the dolls and tried again and again and again lots of times."

Her perseverance paid off. Eleven years ago, she was able to found a small workshop, "Artesanias Multicolor," in the Colonial City of La Antigua, Guatemala. She is able to employ fifteen artisans in the production of traditional and not-so-traditional handicrafts, including the "Worry Cats," a design she developed exclusively for the Greater Good Network.

With their livelihood no longer tied solely to the agricultural harvest, Doña Jerónima, her mother, and her three daughters continue to turn their traditional crafting skills towards the creation of new and unique designs.

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UPAVIM Artisans Group

Where: Outskirts of Guatemala City

In the 1980s, the community of La Esperanza (Hope) sprang up to the south of Guatemala City as the result of massive population displacement during Guatemala's 42-year civil war. Today, La Esperanza and the neighboring settlements of Mezquital, Villa Lobos I, Villa Lobos II, El Bucaro and La Jolla are home to hundreds of thousands of people who live largely without basic services. Work in these communities is hard to find, and the typical monthly income is far under the poverty line.

The women of UPAVIM (Unidas Para Vivir Mejor -- United to Live Better) have been working since 1988 to improve the quality of life for families in these communities through selling handicrafts at fair trade prices. The 60+ women creating these crafts are all mothers and homemakers. Some are widows, and many are the sole economic providers for their children. Through involvement with UPAVIM, these women are able to advance towards their goals, which they state as "Education, health care, employment opportunities, and personal development of women."

"Thanks to the hands-on, peer tutoring approach, the contrast between our school and the two primary schools in the neighborhood is dramatic."

~ UPAVIM's website

The same building where the women work houses a Montessori school for their children, the Center for Alternative Learning, enabling the children to attend classes through the 5th grade while their mothers are just a few rooms away. In addition, UPAVIM is able to sustain a daycare for younger children, a dental clinic, Healthy Babies growth monitoring, a medical clinic and pharmacy, a tutoring center, and scholarships to help children of the community attend primary or secondary schools. These programs provide services to thousands of people in La Esperanza and other nearby communities. Some programs are free and the rest charge a low price. These programs are supported by craft sales and other income generating projects as well as international donations and grants.

As a past UPAVIM holiday newsletter states: "Giving women the opportunity to learn and succeed is one of the basic principles that UPAVIM has worked toward since their beginning in 1988. Also, many of the original UPAVIM members now have daughters in the cooperative, and thanks to their mothers' work opportunities they are now attending high schools and universities, and graduating with professional degrees!"

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MayaWorks

Jewelry and Textile Artisans in Guatemala

Based in the municipality of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, MayaWorks has been exporting high-quality jewelry and textile crafts internationally since 1996. The steepness of the area's mountains and hills make it hard to construct roads to improve commerce and infrastructure. The majority of the people of this area are dedicated to the production of beaded products such as bracelets, necklaces and keychains.

As of June 2008, the craftspeople involved in the production of these crafts are: Elena Sicay Mendoza, Isabel Quiejú, Dolores Sapalú, Loyda Sisay, Francisca Sosof, and Diego Chávez. Each artisan depends on his or her craft in order to earn an income. MayaWorks allows the artisans to earn a living by creating traditional beadwork at home, and allows the women to contribute financially to their families' well-being and educational prospects for their children.

Watch this short documentary for more information about the work that MayaWorks does, interweaving lives between artisans in Guatemala and volunteers in the United States.

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Backstrap Weavers in Guatemala

Artisan Yolanda Calgua Morales

Yolanda lives in a mountainous village near the town of Chichicastenango in the highlands of Guatemala. As a child she observed and helped with the backstrap weaving process and by the time she was a teenager she had learned the ancient craft under the tutelage of her mother. After finishing sixth grade, Yolanda chose the traditional life of a weaver and eventually married a farmer and had two children. The income that Yolanda has earned over the years as a weaver has helped her buy land and build three small adobe houses. Yolanda's design ability and expertise make her an artistically exceptional weaver who is a traditional "carrier" of the art and culture of backstrap weaving. With her special gift and years of experience, Yolanda is now known as one of the best weavers in her village.

Artisan Antonia Panjoj Guarcax

Antonia Panjoj Guarcax is an exceptional woman with an inspiring story. In response to a massacre in the early 1980's, Antonia founded a weaving group in her mountain village in the highlands of Western Guatemala. Antonia's exceptional leadership and values have supported the women in her group for over twenty years. Traditionally, weaving was a cultural activity for indigenous women who wove almost exclusively for their families. However, after many women lost their husbands, brothers, father and uncles in the massacre, selling their weavings became an economic strategy vital to their survival. Antonia works to help her group gain markets for their weavings, aiding in the economic vitality of her community.

One of Antonia's most successful initiatives resulted in the building of a community center for her weaving group. In collaboration with a fair trade organization, her group received and paid back a loan for communal land where members plant and harvest corn to sell when yearly supplies dwindle. These funds serve as capital for the group's projects. Later on, the weavers and their families provided labor to build the community center on this communal land.

Antonia's success as a leader and artisan has brought opportunity to her family as well. Antonia's son, Gilberto, is attending medical school at the San Carlos University in Guatemala City and her daughter, Yolanda, is learning leadership skills as an intern with a local organization where she helps facilitate adult education.

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La ComUnidad

Arising out of Friendship Bridge, a non-profit organization that provides microcredit and educational programs to women in Guatemala, the artisan cooperative La ComUnidad creates beautiful, women-made crafts whose sale improves the lives of the women who make them, their families, and their communities as a whole.

Friendship Bridge is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides microcredit and educational programs so women and their families can create their own solutions to poverty. The organization blends the short-term economic development needs of women through access to credit and education with the long-term goal of breaking the generational cycle of poverty by providing educational opportunities for their children. Friendship Bridge has affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of rural people by investing in women entrepreneurs, first in Vietnam and now in rural Guatemala — women who become leaders and agents of change for themselves, their families and communities.

La ComUnidad is proud to offer handwoven and hand-beaded crafts straight from their homes — and hearts — to yours.

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Central America: Nicaragua

Pine needle artisans

Where: El Cerro, Nicaragua

Nicaragua's state of Chinandega lies along the Pacific Ocean, with miles of beaches rising into dry coastal hills covered with pines.

The women of El Cerro, a tiny community near the town of Cinco Puntos, have turned these pine trees' dropped needles into a creative craft. Under the leadership of Yeiba Guevara, 30 women gather and clean the dropped pine needles, then weave them together with threads and ribbons to create baskets, boxes, and even magazine holders, hats, and purses!

The weaving process is simple, but the execution and skill involved truly make each piece a work of artistry. Through selling their pine needle crafts, the women are able to bolster their families' incomes and send their children to school. The artisans constantly develop new designs to appeal to international audiences, ensuring that El Cerro's coastal pines will continue to provide more than just shade to the people who live there.

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North America

Remy N.

Artisan: Brooke Navarre

Location: New York

U.S. artisan Brooke Nevarre, the force behind Remy N., left a lucrative career to pursue her passions -- jewelry design and raising her twins, Dylan and Jade.

Remy N., Brooke's "third child," draws inspiration from the earth, the ancients, and the elemental truths. These inspirations can be seen in all of the pieces Brooke creates, which are as diverse as they are stunning. Utilizing language alongside beautiful and funky materials, she crafts original designs that are sometimes symmetrical, sometimes rough, but always beautifully unique. Remy N. is jewelry both classic and modern, jewelry that transcends trend.

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Rebekah Abrams

"Actually, I'm just trying to have fun with my work."

Location: Park City, Utah

A well traveled, internationally represented metalsmith living in Park City, Utah, Rebekah Abrams is one of the most exciting young jewelry designers in the U.S. Her style, a blend of elegance and simplicity, is created with both silver and gold in designs that cascade from the necks, ears, and wrists of her delighted customers from New York to Singapore. The current pieces, all bearing distinct DNA from her original "Big O" pendant, dash off playfully in all kinds of directions, from linked ringlet earrings to square series necklaces that evoke Alice Through the Looking Glass or the doors of perception.

"Actually," says Abrams, "I'm just trying to have fun with my work. Selling in boutiques in the big cities demands a certain level of couture, but living in a place like Park City means I'm always conscious about making pieces that are light and easy to wear." Her image as a small-town jeweler belies an impressive pedigree that includes apprenticeships in Boston and Steamboat, Colorado, as well as time spent studying ancient metalsmithing techniques and lapidary in India and with the masters at Fuji Studies in Florence, Italy. Her work bridges the gap from the old world to popular culture, being featured in magazines like Lucky and spotted on the necks of celebrities in In Touch, US Weekly, and Life and Style.

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Alison Blair

Artisan: Alison Blair

Location: Boulder, Colorado

Born and raised on the east coast, Alison Blair moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1997 after a brief, yet impressive visit. Formerly a travel book editor in New York City, she wanted a different pace for herself and her family, one that would allow them all to thrive, grow, and experience life in real time rather than at warp speed.

However, slowing down didn't come naturally to this city girl. After a whirlwind few years of job changes, health issues, and two new children, Alison got the message. She started to slow down and look within, and discovered the therapeutic value of working with her hands and the gifts of nature to manage life's stressors. And so, in 2001, Alison Blair Studio was born.

Alison's artistic inspiration comes from Boulder's Flatiron Mountains and their ever-changing moods and colors. With a delicate ecosystem but stately presence, the mountains represent strength in simplicity and the power of nature's visual and physical rhythms. On a winter's morning, the mountains can look as gentle as a cloud; on a summer's sultry afternoon, a fiery force. With each movement of the sun, the mountains dance. Keeping these images in mind, Alison has created four collections to live by: Aspen Glow, Boulder Illusion, Durango Sun, and the Lotus Spa Collection, in addition to the expanded stretch ring designs.

All of Alison's designs use semi-precious stones and precious metals, as well as nature's own glorious colors and combinations. Alison wishes all wearers of her jewelry will live richly, love fully, and play heartily. Alison Blair Studio designs are made to live in.

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Whitney Stern

Artisan: Whitney Stern

Location: Seattle, WA

Whitney Heather Stern is a Seattle custom jewelry designer, birth doula, and yoga instructor. Whitney's passion is to inspire and empower women throughout the world to support one another in strength, creativity and spirit.

Whitney's artistic journey began while living and studying in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. There she met several artesanías, or artisans, who were experts at making indigenous handcrafted jewelry. Many of these artisans sit in public spaces with their colorful skirts spread out around them weaving and crafting jewelry. Whitney's necklaces and earrings are inspired by the creations of these indigenous women from which she learned much of her skills.

Her vision is to combine her love of art with making a change in the world. With each necklace or earring purchased, a percentage of the proceeds goes toward supporting the development of two different women and children's public health organizations, one based in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and the other based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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The Enterprising Kitchen

Location: Chicago, U.S.

The Enterprising Kitchen provides transitional employment and life skills training to disadvantaged women in Chicago working toward self-sufficiency. Women from across the city are able to participate in an intensive, but individually oriented workforce development program that includes paid employment, work and life skills training and individualized support services.

Artisan Shajuana

"The Enterprising Kitchen helps you get back on track. The staff helps you try to accomplish anything you want to accomplish."

In April 2003 Shajuana was referred to The Enterprising Kitchen, Inc. (TEK), from the Cook County Sheriff's female furlough program. "I had made some poor choices and mistakes, but I wanted to get back on the right track." Shajuana was an excellent participant, and after completing six months of training, she was hired to work in the shipping room. When TEK needed to train a new soap maker, Shajuana quickly learned to be a soap maker.

Determined to continue making positive changes, Shajuana enrolled in the Illinois School of Health Careers to receive certification as a medical assistant. Shajuana completed all in-class coursework, and an externship in order to obtain the required 160 training hours; her first step toward becoming a registered nurse. While attending school in the evenings for eighteen months, Shajuana maintained her employment with TEK.

Shajuana is a remarkable young woman, and truly a role model for other participants. The Enterprising Kitchen has become a source of motivation in her life. She proudly states, "The Enterprising Kitchen helps you get back on track. The staff helps you try to accomplish anything you want to accomplish."

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The Women's Cooperative of Rosie's Place

Location: Boston, U.S.

Established in 1974, Rosie's Place provides a sanctuary for poor and homeless women who have nowhere else to turn. Offering both emergency and long-term assistance, Rosie's Place aims to help women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives.

The Women's Craft Cooperative of Rosie's Place, in existence since 1996, is helping women help themselves by turning new and vintage buttons into decorative accessories. Through introducing women to craft skills and the basics of merchandising, the cooperative aims to foster self-esteem and creativity, along with employable skills, a greater earning potential, and a source of income to the artisans. As members of the cooperative, women have access to opportunities for training and education in areas that both complement the needs of the cooperative and offer career growth for the individual.

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Thistle Farms at Magdalene

"My life is full now. Magdalene is what gave me my life; it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."

Location: Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

Founded in 1997, Magdalene is a two-year residential community for women with a history of prostitution and drug addiction. Founded not just to help a sub-culture of women, but to help change the culture itself, Magdalene stands in solidarity with women who are recovering from sexual abuse, violence, and life on the streets, and who have paid dearly for a culture that buys and sells women like commodities.

Thistle Farms began in 2001 as the cottage business of Magdalene, with the aim of helping women gain much-needed job skills and learn responsibility and cooperation. By hand, the women of Magdalene create natural bath and body products that are as kind to the environment as they are to the body. Into every product goes the belief that true freedom starts with healing and that love can change lives.

Why the thistle? Thistles grow on the streets and alleys where the women of Magdalene walked. Considered a weed, they have a deep tap root that can shoot through thick concrete and survive drought. And in spite of their prickly appearance, their royal and soft purple center makes the thistle a mysterious and gorgeous flower.

Artisan Sheila

While serving in jail, Sheila remembered a woman she had met at an outreach event for Magdalene, and wrote a letter to the judge asking if she could enter the program. The judge granted her request and changed her life forever. Sheila says, "My life has changed since Magdalene. I own my own home; I am married, and I have a baby. I am cancer-free. I had breast cancer while in the program ... My life is full now. Magdalene is what gave me my life; it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."

Artisan Grace

Grace came to Magdalene after using drugs and prostituting for 23 years. A mother of four, and a grandmother of eight, Grace says that working for Thistle Farms has changed her life. "I am an artist; I draw, I write poetry. Magdalene has given me a wonderful life, the best life I've ever had. I am blessed to live in the brand-new transition house. I give thanks to God and Magdalene."

Artisan Katrina

Katrina, the mother of a seventeen-year-old daughter, walked the streets of Nashville prostituting and using drugs for nearly two decades. Now clean and working with Thistle Farms, Katrina says that she never thought her life would be this wonderful. "I now live a happy, healthy, and productive life. I went from living with my mom to living on the streets to owning my own brand new home. I love walking in the door of my house. It's my world. I never thought my life would be this amazing."

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Jacqueline Berting

Artisan: Jacqueline Berting

Where: Cupar, Saskatchewan

"Believe and you cannot fail!"

Through the use of sand-cast and blown glass, Jacqueline Berting celebrates the progression of life and its air of mystery; the boundaries we face, how we deal with the obstacles, and the spirit we create. Born in St. Gregor, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1966, Jacqueline attended Red Deer College in 1987 and Sheridan College in Oakville Ontario, 1987-1990, where she majored in Glass. She furthered this education by studying Iron Art and Blacksmithing in Penland, North Carolina in 1990. Her artistic foundation set, she went on to complete the astounding Glass Wheatfield in 1991. Perhaps her most famous work to date, this piece of installation glass art is comprised of 14,000 waist-high glass wheat stalks, each piece individually hand-cut and lamp-worked. It is on permanent display at the Regina Plains Museum.

Established by Jacqueline and her husband, fellow artisan James Clark, Berting Glass Studios in Cupar, Saskatchewan employs several people from the community to meet the demands of over 150 galleries and other vendors. The studio continues to accept commissions for installations throughout Canada, and in December 2005, Jacqueline was awarded a Centennial Medal and Celebrations of the Arts pin for her contribution to Saskatchewan through her art.

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David Braut

Where: Seattle, Washington

Seattle glass artisan David Braut began learning his craft in the traditional way, by apprenticing under a number of highly-skilled artists. Once the skills of his trade were learned, David developed his own distinctive style, setting up his own studio space in Seattle where he has been producing singular pieces of jewelry ever since.

David's pendants are individually flameworked from clear and colored borosilicate glass, in a process he has been perfecting since 1999. All of his pieces are from original designs.

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Leslie O'Connor

Where: Portland, Oregon

"I believe strongly that today's active women want fashion that's flexible."

Inspired by the city of Portland, Leslie O'Connor strives to capture the multi-cultural chic of the city while blending it with the luscious natural surroundings of the Pacific Northwest. Drawing from the influences of the broad Columbia and Willamette Rivers which carved the valley in which Portland was built, the snow-capped volcanoes and mountains, the roaring ocean beyond, she crafts her jewelry with a conscious eye towards an appreciation for the timeless elegance of nature.

Founded in 1993, her Wild Iris Handcrafted Jewelry initially served the fashion-conscious and active women of Portland, but soon bloomed well beyond the city limits. Using high quality fresh-water pearls, fine crystal, handcrafted beads, and sensual semi-precious stones, the casual style was relaxed enough to have broad appeal — going from the workplace to the PTA meeting to a nice dinner and cocktails without ever feeling out of place.

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Stanley W. Barszcz

Where: Rhode Island

"Genuine stone gives a timeless sense of connection to Earth."

American jeweler Stanley Barszcz finds endless inspiration in nature, channeling the evocative shapes and tints of semiprecious stones into wearable art. From the thousands of pearls, handmade glass beads, Austrian crystals, and metal components he sees in each year's jewelry trade shows, he chooses only a few special ones to become part of his jewelry designs. He states, 'I believe that when inspiration, color, and material are mixed together skillfully, jewelry is created that can communicate a message not easily sent in any other way.'

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The Women's Bean Project

Where: Denver, Colorado, U.S.

"This program and what it stands for is helping me come out of my shell and I want other women to receive the help I'm receiving so they can better their lives."

Since 1989, The Women's Bean Project has been dedicated to helping women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment. The Women's Bean, as it's often fondly referred to in Denver, aims to teach workplace competencies through employment in on-site businesses to women who come from backgrounds of chronic unemployment or poverty. The organization helps women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training. With this stepping-stone toward success, the women will be able to support themselves and their families, and create stronger role models for future generations.

Jossy Eyre founded The Women's Bean Project as a result of her volunteer work at a day shelter for homeless women. Eyre saw that while the shelter kept women safe, it could not help them make lasting changes in their lives. Eyre bought $500 worth of beans and gave two homeless women work - the first step in building the social enterprise they are today. The training opportunities at the Women's Bean Project have expanded dramatically over the years and they now help many more women.

Artisan Waesheia

"I have been held back in the past by a negative attitude, low self-esteem, insecurity and feeling unloved. The Bean Project is helping me get to work, open up and talk about my feelings, find a place to live and is teaching me job skills."

Artisan Latoya

"What I have learned in the time I have been at The Women's Bean Project is that you can always start over and be accepted regardless of your past. I've overcome the barriers to unemployment. I now have a means to provide for my two sons and am motivated to accomplish much more. I am learning the skills of being able to work effectively and communicate with others. I am learning to express myself and recognize how I behave affects my work as well as my life. I want to own my own business someday, and The Women's Bean Project is acting as a bridge to help me reach my goals as I accomplish the steps I need to get there and be successful."

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