WE RE MORE THAN A STORE As the world s original fair trader, we have been breaking the cycle of poverty in developing countries for over 70 years. TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
OUR MISSION We create opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn income by bringing their products and stories to our markets through long-term, fair trading relationships. OUR VISION One day all artisans in developing countries will earn a fair wage, be treated with dignity and respect and be able to live a life of quality. FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT EMPOWERING MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES OUR UNIQUE MODEL Ethical at every step Artisan Development Microfinance Emergency & Disaster Relief ARTISAN Long Term Buying Relationship Fair Pricing Product Design Collaboration Shipping TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES Creating Access to Markets & Establishing a Marketplace RETAIL STORES E-COMMERCE WHOLESALE Education & Community Outreach EMPOWERING WOMEN AND GIRLS ECO-CONSCIOUS COMMITMENT YOU
OUR GLOBAL PROGRAMS Ten Thousand Villages empowers individuals to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in entrepreneurial endeavors in developing countries and providing a marketplace for their handicrafts in North America. HELP A WOMAN EARN HER OWN INCOME, AND SHE WILL NEVER BE HELD DOWN AGAIN. IRANI SEN, ARTISAN PARTNER IN INDIA Empowering Marginalized Communities Where you live can determine your access to education, transportation, and jobs. For geographically and socially marginalized people, the fair trade jobs created by our purchases can be transformational. What we do: We build buying relationships in places excluded from the global economy: 100% of the artisans we work with live in marginalized communities. Microfinance In communities where banking services are scarce and interest rates are prohibitively high, debt is one of the most common ways people fall into an inescapable cycle of poverty, bonded labor, or even slavery. What we do: To reduce the vulnerability of artisans and their families, we offer interest-free advances when placing an order, giving artisans the cash needed to do their work. Long Term Buying Relationships Consistent incomes help families maintain regular school attendance for children, obtain preventive healthcare, start savings and achieve financial security. What we do: We invest in people and organizations so they are able to grow and improve over time. Our average buying relationship with an artisan group is more than 10 years. Empowering Women & Girls Research demonstrates that when women are able to earn incomes, their households and communities flourish. When women gain financial independence, their daughters are more likely to attend school, breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. What we do: More than 60% of our job creation efforts target women. Artisan Development Each artisan workshop needs a different kind of support, from skills training that advances their work to new technology that improves their material processing. What we do: We make small investments that can support great leaps forward improving handmade crafts, increasing incomes and creating safer working conditions collaborating with partners like Mennonite Central Committee. Creating Access to Markets & Establishing a Marketplace From urban slums to rural villages, we work through distance, language and technology barriers to collaborate with artisan groups, developing inventive products that utilize time-honored skills. What we do: We connect artisans to markets they could not access alone and customers who appreciate the beauty of their handmade crafts. Emergency & Disaster Relief When natural disasters devastate high poverty communities, we work with partners like Mennonite Central Committee to provide relief funds, sending help when and where it s needed most. What we do: When artisans are ready to return to work, we ensure they receive product orders, because the ability to return to routine can accelerate financial and emotional recovery. Product Design Collaboration By working with artisan groups over time, we learn about their strengths and challenges, and we convey what our customers want. What we do: We offer market and trend research and collaborate to develop new handmade crafts that utilize locally available materials and the unique skills of our artisan partners. Fair Pricing Fair pricing protects the dignity of artisans, respects their skills and provides for a sufficient quality of life. What we do: Our purchases from artisan groups start with a conversation. Together we agree on a price that provides fair wages for artisans to obtain clean water, food, shelter and medical care. Pricing also accounts for revenue to help their workshops grow and thrive. Eco-Conscious Commitment The earth s limited resources need to be kept in balance through good stewardship. What we do: We emphasize the use of recycled and renewable natural materials in our products. We finance improvements in energy efficiency and safe processing of dyes at artisan workshops. We consolidate sea shipments in order to reduce our carbon footprint. Education & Community Outreach As a pioneer of the fair trade movement, we believe that sustainable incomes can help to end poverty. We work to educate consumers about the true power of their purchases. What we do: Connecting our communities with artisans through story-telling and face-to-face encounters widens perspectives and empowers us all.
WE DIRECTLY IMPACT THE LIVES OF 20,000 MAKERS IN 30 DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OUR IMPACT Since 1946, we have provided over $140 MILLION IN SUSTAINABLE INCOME to artisans who otherwise would have been unemployed or under-employed. + fair trade = Middle East & North Africa Latin America & the Caribbean Asia & the Pacific Sub-Saharan Africa fair trade affect the lives of women whose husbands were killed during Guatemala s civil war AS THE WORLD S ORIGINAL FAIR TRADER we continue to break the cycle of poverty around the world by providing meaningful and dignified opportunities for work, expanding the efforts begun by our pioneering founder Edna Ruth Byler. In 1946, after traveling abroad and meeting women who struggled to find jobs and feed their families, Byler began selling their traditional embroidery work to friends and neighbors back home. Born out of a Mennonite faith-based commitment to compassionate service to others, the project that started in the trunk of Byler s car is known today as Ten Thousand Villages. I M JUST A WOMAN TRYING TO HELP OTHER WOMEN. EDNA RUTH BYLER, OUR PIONEERING FOUNDER Our fair trade craft purchases made it possible for the artisans of Ruth & Naomi workshop to stay on their land after their families were torn apart by civil war in the highlands. The women earn fair incomes, send their children to school, and have created education scholarships for other youth in the community. fair trade improve the lives of physically disabled adults in Mombasa, Kenya Our fair trade jewelry purchases make it possible for Mombasa-based artisan partner Bombolulu to provide sustainable livelihoods to 150 adults who live with physical disabilities. Where there are no government social services, Bombolulu provides skills training, health services, housing and schooling for artisans children. fair trade influence peace efforts of Arab and Jewish women Our fair trade olive oil soap purchases make it possible for Sindyanna of Galilee, a women-led non-profit, to practice business for peace by bringing together Arab and Jewish women to work side by side. Sindyanna offers economic opportunities to women artisans and 200 local olive oil producers from Galilee. fair trade improve the health of jewelry artisans and families in a suburb of New Delhi, India Our fair trade jewelry purchases made it possible for artisan partner Tara Projects to build a health clinic in a densely populated slum of New Delhi. In 2015 alone 21,000 patient consultations were provided. Medicines were distributed and 1,300 members could afford to keep their families healthier.
HOW WILL YOU BE PART OF OUR STORY CONTACT: Andrea Rush, Development Director Andrea.Rush@tenthousandvillages.org 717-859-8122