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MayanArtisans
Mayan huipils are traditional handwoven blouses using the ancient method of backstrap weaving. Huilip are woven and worn by Mayan woman. These bags are made of recycled huilpils and they are each unique and embody the tradition and spirit of the Mayan world. The sheer beauty of design, color, and quality of the huipils is immediately apparent, but it is the history and personal information that they silently convey that makes them the ultimate expression of tradition and pride among the Maya.
Your purchase helps support fair trade and the Mayan women of Guatemala. The fair wages the artisans receive improves their living conditions and helps build a better life for themselves and their families.
For centuries, the people had lived in peace until an insurgency began in 1996 which continues today. Your purchase improves the lives of the Nepali artisans by providing them much needed income and status. They are ensured fair pay and good working conditions. |
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Fair-Trade handbags from Vietnamco
Canvas & Satin embroidered handbags from Vietnam.
Click here to shop.
 Pauline Lewis, a Malaysian-born entrepreneur living in Virginia began this handcrafted handbag company in 2004 with a mission of working with only women-owned businesses and female artisans.
Her company now provides work for over 600 women in Vietnam. Some 500 of them embroider the bag’s panels in their homes in villages North of Hanoi, and 120 other sewers complete the bags in Ho Chi Minh City. Because Lewis’s embroiderers earn more than they would get at a factory, the enterprise attracts the best talent.
The workers also are paid bonuses. Each year the sewers are taken on an all-expenses-paid weekend vacation. In addition, to the financial benefits, Lewis wants the workers to feel a connection to the buyer. She thanks them and described how much customers love their bags. “I told them that their work mattered,” she says. “I have the women in mind when I’m selling the bags here. It adds meaning to know that when you’re buying this bag, you’re buying a family dinner back in Vietnam.”
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Aid Through Trade™
Color, beauty, & elegance
with a whimsical yet luxurious flavor.
This magnificent glass bead jewelry from Aid Through Trade™ is made by women artisans in Nepal. Glass beads are an important part of Nepali culture and tradition and here they have been designed for Western Fashion.
The founder of Aid for Trade, a former Peace Corps Volunteer, returned to Nepal to help find markets for socially responsible micro enterprise projects. He helped establish a women's artisan group.
Nepal is about the size of Tennessee and is sandwiched between the giants, India and China. It draws fame as home to Mount Everest, as the birthplace of Buddha, and as the source of Britain's fearless Gurkha soldiers. The country, however, ranks as one of the world's poorest nations.
For centuries, the people had lived in peace until an insurgency began in 1996 which continues today. Your purchase improves the lives of the Nepali artisans by providing them much needed income and status. They are ensured fair pay and good working conditions. |
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