Greetings y’all,

Since it is the gift giving season for lot’s of folks I wanted to share some information with you on a company, founded by a woman ahead of her time, that started the “Fair Trade” movement.  Ten Thousand Villages has been helping artisans in countries all over the world find markets and receive a fair price for their work since 1946.

The global fair trade movement began with the founding of Ten Thousand Villages more than 60 years ago through the visionary work of Edna Ruth Byler, a pioneering businesswoman. Byler was struck by the overwhelming poverty she witnessed during a trip to Puerto Rico in 1946, where she was moved to take action. The seminal contribution of Byler ignited a global movement to eradicate poverty through market-based solutions.

Byler believed that she could provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products in North America. She began a grassroots campaign among her family and friends in the United States by selling handcrafted products out of the trunk of her car. Byler made a concerted effort to educate her community about the lives of artisans around the world.

For the next 30 years, Byler worked tirelessly to connect individual entrepreneurs in developing countries with market opportunities in North America. From these humble beginnings, in 2002, Ten Thousand Villages was incorporated as an independent nonprofit, charitable organization (501(c)3), wholly owned by MCC. Ten Thousand Villages has grown to a global network of social entrepreneurs working to empower and provide economic opportunities to artisans.

“Many artisans would have joined post-election
looting and violence in Kenya in early 2008, if not for
the stability provided by fair trade.”
Mike Muchilwa of KICK Trading, Kenya Kenya.

“This work has helped to elevate my self-esteem, and to
know as a woman that I can earn income and be able to
meet whatever goal is set in front of me.”
Lilian Perez, artisan with UPAVIM in Guatemala

What kind of gifts will you find at Ten Thousand Villages?  They strive to improve the livelihood of tens of thousands of disadvantaged artisans in 38 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East so the selection of unique hand made art for you to choose from is huge. With a vibrant network that includes a strong alliance of more than 150 retail outlets in 36 states, a group of fervent annual festival sales sponsors, and thousands of volunteers and online shopping it’s easy to find the perfect gift that you can feel awesome about buying and giving.

Check out their main site at Ten Thousand Villages.com for the retail store near you. While a visit to the shop is a wonderfully tactile, visual, olfactory, spiritual experience if you don’t have one nearby you can shop online from anywhere.  We are fortunate to have two retail stores in my area, one in the heart of downtown Asheville and the other just a short scenic drive out of town at Montreat, a beautiful enclave in the mountains.

10 College Street
Asheville, NC 28801
phone: (828) 254-8374
Hours: Monday-Wednesday 10-6
Thursday-Saturday 10-8

Moore Center
303 Lookout Road
Montreat, NC 28757
email: montreat@tenthousandvillages.com
phone: (828) 669-1406
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10-5

I hope you take the time to check out this wonderful company that has done so much for others.  If you stop by the downtown Asheville store, say Hi to the manager, Jennifer, and tell her AWOP sent you : )