Find out about producers of our goods
Enabling ethical producers in Cambodia to connect with the outside world.
After decades of violent warfare, Cambodia has finally begun to stabilize and its people have started the long road to recovery. 80% of the population lives in rural conditions with low standards of living, and those who migrate to the cities struggle to adjust. In an effort to provide support for many young rural and urban Cambodians, AAC works alongside local workshops where people draw on their rich culture to design products reflective of a long and distinct heritage. Workers receive fair wages in decent working conditions, providing them the dignity of a respectable trade along with training workshops on life skills. Your purchases see these lives built and strengthened. Watch this video of artisans turning bullet shells into jewellery with one of AAC’s partners, Rajana:
These items were made by rural craftspeople in Duyen Thai, a picturesque Vietnamese village south of Hanoi. The area is well-known for its wide range of lacquerware products and people of Duyen Thai have been engaged in the industry for many years.
Au Lac Designs works in Vietnam as a fair trade organisation, helping traditional craft producers such as those from Duyen Thai develop their small businesses and create sustainable development for the rural poor.
Your purchase of Au Lac Designs products supports Vietnamese craftspeople and their families.
The women who work with Basmeh and Zeitooneh live in Lebanon's Shatila refugee camp, a place originally set up for 3,000 Palestinian refugees. Today, because an influx of Syrian refugees, more than 22,000 people are crammed into Shatila, making it severely overcrowded and unsafe for women to walk around the streets. Basmeh and Zeitooneh's workshop has created a safe haven for women who were previously confined to their homes without skills or any stable income. Now, they've been trained in embroidery and crochet and can provide for their families. "We are more than refugees waiting for assistance," say the women. "We are productive and talented."
Bread of Life cards and handicraft items are made by people who are trying to rebuild their lives in the struggling, post-war nation of Former Yugoslavia.
Many find it difficult to find work, even if they are highly skilled and experienced. Proceeds from these products contribute to the work of Bread of Life, and to the craftspeople and their families. Thank you for helping us to support them through your purchase!
Lured to the big cities by the prospect of finding a job to support their extended families, many young women in Asia instead find themselves led into prostitution by deceit, coercion, or desperation. They are then trapped by the lack of sufficient education, job skills, and familial connections needed to break free. They lose hope for a different way of life, suffering physically and emotionally from the struggles they face daily. Eden formed as an outreach to these trapped women, offering them shelter, protection, medical assistance and skills training as a way to lift them out of their imprisoning circumstances. Women learn various job skills including making handicrafts, allowing them to find a new start in life. Your purchase allows this work to continue, bringing new life and hope to women in Asia.
Farmers in developing countries face many challenges their wealthier counterparts can avoid: limited access to market information, greater exposure to market forces and bad weather, lack of access to capital, and more. Each of these factors disproportionately hurt poorer farmers who, as a result, often earn far less than deserved for their crops, or may lose their crops or fields altogether. Fair Taste, a Hong Kong based organisation, works with producers in developing countries to manufacture goods that will be sold at fair prices. Fair Taste also works locally to educate the community about these producers’ plight and how fair trade can support them. Sales of Fair Taste goods ensure that producers get a fair price, and a voice in a more developed society. Why not watch a video about their green tea:
Each day, as stubbornly high unemployment plagues Uganda, many struggle to find any kind of work. This is nowhere more true than in the northern part of the country where two decades of war have left almost no infrastructure intact. In an effort to survive when no other work could be found, Francis Kidega and his family of eight began making jewellery out of the only thing they had access to: paper. They are now able to support themselves through the revenue these crafts bring, even as they learn how to take their new skill and turn it into a business, helping their neighbouring families in the process. Revenue gained from the sale of these products supports this family as they work, learn, grow and share.
Freeset, an organisation based in the heart of Calcutta’s red light district, offers employment to women who want to escape prostitution. For the approximately 10,000 sex workers in this area, “poverty has left them without options. The cries of their hungry children drive them to sell their bodies,” says Freeset. Working with Freeset can provide some of these women with an alternative life – a life of freedom.
Handmade in India from eco-friendly jute, all stylized with some Indian charm, our Freeset products turn heads as well as helping set women and their families improve their lives.
Watch this video to hear more about Freeset:
Gogo Olive was set up in Mutare in the Eastern Highlands of Zimabwe in November 2008 to give local women the opportunity to use their craft skills to build a future for themselves and their families. They chose knitting because the materials are basic and cheap, it can be done anywhere and at any time and is a skill that is practical and profitable for the women to learn. Each knitted animal, or 'Shamwari' (meaning 'friend' in the local Shona language) is lovingly handmade with individuality and character!
Established in 1977, Gospel House Handicrafts produces quality wooden educational aids and recreational toys under fair trade conditions. Its mission is to raise the standard of living of employees, producers and their relevant communities in Sri Lanka, many of whom have few opportunities for training and employment. Gospel House also aims to add value to the country’s sustainable resources. By purchasing these products, you are helping improve the quality of life of these individuals in Sri Lanka. For more information, see
http://www.gospelhouse-handicrafts.com
The deaf population of China numbers around 72 million. Since the majority of deaf young people are unable to find adequate employment, many turn to gangs, theft, and drugs. In an effort to curb this growing trend, Hearts & Hands offers employment to deaf people in the handicrafts business. All the workers are disabled or deaf, and they are each able to learn useful skills while working in a friendly, encouraging environment. Thank you for offering your support to these people and giving them the hope they need!
Refugees huddle together in tents, starving children beg loose change from passers-by and AIDS victims quietly die in huts in rural villages. These people have a small voice on the global scale. Helen Mottee has dedicated herself to shedding light on these and other situations throughout the world with her music. She gives a voice to the disenfranchised and the marginalised, and the agonies they face in today's world. Based on her personal observations, she advocates for each of these neglected people. By purchasing this CD, you help lift the voices of those who have trouble being heard. Watch a video of one of Helen's most loved songs below:
Many woodworkers in Bethlehem have seen their businesses suffer as violence and unrest plague the Middle Eastern region. The trade that once came from steady streams of tourists has been dramatically reduced. By purchasing these carved olive wood products, you are helping keep craftspeople and their families from unemployment and poverty during a time of social and political unrest.
In Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar, those struck by poverty seek shelter in the city’s heating and water systems below the streets. They emerge occasionally to pick through garbage heaps above for food, and some will scavenge for plastic or glass to sell to scrape a meal together. Mary and Martha Mongolia formed to offer relief to the poor by providing them with a place to live and a chance to learn marketable trade skills. The pioneering organisation trains these people to create handicrafts based on traditional materials and techniques which they can then sell to support themselves and their families. Each purchase allows this work to continue, bringing renewed dignity and hope to the poor.
Imagine being a nine-year-old in a small African village where you find life is simple but satisfying. Then one night, rebel soldiers burst into your home with a roar of gunfire, killing your mother then ripping you off your mat while you scream. Later, the soldiers threaten your life, forcing you to kidnap other children and kill adults. The subsequent daily horrors are unimaginable, and even after you make a daring escape to a relief camp, you find it difficult to shake the nightmares and terrors you experienced. But there are those willing to help you. No Child Soldiers brings together many talented African artists who share about the heart-breaking issue of children being used as soldiers. Your purchase will allow projects within African countries to continue their work aiding former child soldiers and preventing other children from being abducted.
PODIE has been serving Negombo, Sri Lanka since 1985. PODIE’s goal is to raise the living standard in small scale farming communities in Sri Lanka by eliminating several links in the traditional trading chain. PODIE is able to both pay farmers more for their spices (25% to 40% above market rates – income which is used to provide education, sanitation, housing and basic health care for families) and also to fund other services. PODIE buys directly from producers so the goods can be exported to fair traders around the globe. With your purchase, you are helping to increase the standards of living and create renewed provision for hard-working farming communities.
The beautiful crafts for sale through Pueblos Del Sur are made by craftspeople in Chile who are disadvantaged for various reasons. Their help is especially important for as Chile has the highest income inequality of any nation in Latin America!
Pueblos Del Sur is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to help Chilean people, families and groups who try to overcome poverty and improve their quality of life by producing handicrafts in their own workshops and micro businesses. Thank you for helping to change the lives of these craftspeople through your purchase!
The Refugee All Stars, recorded by record label Epitaph Europe B.V., began with a group of six musicians who lived in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, during the era of the country's horrifying civil war. In a rebel campaign named 'Operation Kill Every Living Thing', soldiers descended on Freetown and caused a panicked mass exodus, with thousands of civilians fleeing the region, and ending up in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. It was in one of these camps that the six musicians found each other and began singing songs of hope, pain and freedom for their fellow refugees. Today the group has returned to Freetown, recorded CDs, been the subject of an internationally-acclaimed documentary, and joined hands with many other musicians, still advocating for refugee issues through their uplifting, buoyant songs that speak the African refugee story.
Through their work with 90 community-based organisations in 34 countries, SERRV gives thousands of disadvantaged people the opportunity to sell their products so they can support themselves. Thank you for your purchase, which will have a direct impact on the life of the artisan and their family.
Faced with the challenge of feeding a family in situations of uncertain economics and security, the women of Palestine often cannot find dignified means of earning and instead remain mired in poor living conditions. The women often have excellent talents in traditional craftwork, but do not know how to turn that into income. Sunbula, a local organisation, works alongside such groups of women or the disabled to help them learn administration skills and get access to the world market. Each product is made by hand and keeps with Palestinian tradition, a rich heritage extending through the millennia. Your purchase enables these people to support themselves and their families with dignity while preserving their native culture.
Threads of Yunnan aims to improve the quality of life of the women living in the countryside of Yunnan. The creation and sale of these items raises the self-esteem of these women, many of whom have never attended school. Through this organisation, they not only financially benefit, but are also able to receive education in literacy and hygiene. Thank you for empowering these women through your purchase!
Tintsaba products are made in Swaziland, a tiny land-locked country in southern Africa. It's a place of majestic beauty, but where poverty has its grip on the population. Only 36% of people attend high school, and around 40% of Swaziland's population is HIV-positive. Tintsaba is helping to make a difference by improving the lives of rural women in Swaziland. The jewelry they produce uses a local plant called sisal, which is harvested with minimal environmental impact and processed using very little water and no chemicals. The women who make Tintsaba's jewellery are trained to become master weavers, silversmiths or managers, giving them the chance to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
“Tukul” is a Sudanese word meaning “the small hut” in which villagers in Sudan live. Many Sudanese refugees, in an effort to survive, began silkscreen printing their original designs. This business has given them the opportunity to gain self-sufficiency while creating new designs to reflect their African culture. Purchasing these crafts will allow these refugees to continue to rebuild their lives.
The Vietnamese city of Hue has, for centuries, been the nation’s centre of culture and artistic inspiration. It is still home to many traditional artists and craftspeople, who have maintained their incredible talents even through years of war and unrest. These days, however, economic development in Vietnam has centred around the major cities in the North and South, and many traditional artists in Hue are suffering poverty and unemployment. Vinh Hoa is an organisation helping artists use their talents in effective, marketable ways, so that they can support themselves. They also make it a priority to invest in good working conditions for its staff. This handcrafted item has been produced by one of the artists working with Vinh Hoa. Thank you for supporting their valuable work!
