Of course, you know that all the products in our store are handmade and fairly traded, but did you also know that some of the products do not come to us through Ten Thousand Villages? One of our favorite non-Ten Thousand Villages fair trade vendors is based right here in Austin, Texas!  Handmade Expressions is a vendor for socially and environmentally responsible products from India. Like Ten Thousand Villages, they work with underprivileged and disadvantaged artisans to improve their economic and social standing by creating self-sustainable employment following fair trade practices.

One of our best sellers from Handmade Expressions is the cruelty-free, tree-free leather bound journals.

The really cool thing about these journals is how they are made.  All the leather is cruelty-free, which means it comes from naturally dead animals. The journals are made in Rajasthan, India. Livestock has a lot of agricultural and household value for the vegetarian population in India, which makes it economically unwise to kill animals for their skin. Inside the sturdy hand-tooled cover is a thick journal of cotton rag paper. Artisans collect cotton waste and turn it into a pulp, making paper that is 100% tree-free. The final result: a rich textured paper, great for writing, drawing and painting.

Handmade Expressions has a wonderful website with lots of information about fair trade and lots of great pictures of the artisans who produce their merchandise. Be sure to check out the Community Development Projects that they are working on and their fair trade blog.

(author: Polly, Ten Thousand Villages Austin Volunteer Coordinator)

One of the main missions of the Ten Thousand Villages stores is to connect our customers with the artisans who create our amazing products. There is always a face – and most likely more than one – behind each item carried in our stores and it’s important to us that we share their stories.

Ten Thousand Villages establishes relationships with artisans cooperatives from all over the world in order to ensure that all items sold in our stores are fair trade. Golden Palm Crafts is just such a cooperative in Sri Lanka.

Golden Palm Crafts exports handmade wooden objects to fair trade organizations throughout the world. Golden Palm’s principal objective is to create job options for people in the rural areas of Sri Lanka, where employment opportunities are rare. With its main office in Colombo, Golden Palm’s woodworking and painting workshops are found in a number of rural villages. Most artisans are the sole income earners for their families.

In light of recent safety recalls of Chinese-made toys, fair trade artisan groups have an opportunity to tell their story, said Ravi Jayawardena . Golden Palm, a Ten Thousand Villages trading partner, primarily produces children’s toys, mostly from painted wood.

“This is a time for fair traders to explain to customers that our products not only conform to safety standards, but also to ISO 9001:2000,” he explained. Developed by the International Standards Organization in Switzerland, ISO 9001:2000 is a quality management system. “An organization following the ISO systems needs to maintain required minimum standards in order to qualify for that certification,” said Jayawardena. Golden Palm is also governed by the International Toy Safety Regulations, EN 17.

Golden Palm ensures that all paint used is non-toxic and lead-free according to safety requirements. The paint manufacturer is required to submit test reports of the product.  The company also ensures that toys pass safety tests such as drop tests, pull test and choking prevention.

“Furthermore,” he added, “our products are made according to fair trade principles, and the producers are receiving many benefits.” Golden Palm artisans receive payment above minimum wage; they also receive insurance, workers’ compensation, pension contributions and assistance with school fees. Fair wages enable families to improve their standard of living. Special training and encouragement is given to women to take leadership. Profits from the business are reinvested in new machinery, tools, and training, to improve working conditions and to create more jobs.

Ten Thousand Villages and Golden Palm have been partners in fair trade since 1985.

We were thrilled to find out that one of favorite products, Zulugrass, was recently featured on the blog, The EcoChic. Zulugrass jewelry is not only beautiful, but as blog author, Calley Pate, raves, “As a mother of 2 children (one infant) I was sure it was going to be broken in the first day.  Well, to my surprise, it’s almost one month later and I’m SOLD!  I’ve worn them them almost everyday and I love them.  I love the versatility and the strength.”

Finding jewelry that can stand the constant pull and tug of an infant’s curious grasp is a treasure, to be sure!  With Zulugrass, moms can be both stylish and confident that their necklace or bracelet is not going to go flying in a million different directions with one tug!

It’s also a wonderful feeling to know that your purchase of Zulugrass helps support the Maasai women of Kenya.  The Zulugrass is harvested and cut by hand and this joint venture between the Maasai and the the founders of The Leakey Collection, Philip and Kate Leakey, has helped restore the livelihood of the Maasai.

The Eco Chic’s mission is to search for ways to reduce environmental impact on the Earth by sharing ideas, products, and services with the world. Our thanks go out to EcoChic for sharing the story of Zulugrass and the Maasai.  You can read her blog about Zulugrass as well as other ideas about being a “green mommy” at www.theecochic.com/

Stop by our store to try on our Zulugrass products and find the perfect match for you.

Our new flooring is in and it’s beautiful!  We had a great team of volunteers that helped pack up the store and then our fantastic floor team went to work, ripping out the old carpet and laying down the new laminate.  Then, in came our volunteers to unpack boxes and restore order!  The store looks amazing – airy, clean, and so much bigger!  We’re looking forward to our shipment of fall merchandise to help fill up the space.

We were really amazed to see how much floor space we had once all of the merchandise was packed up!

Everything fit into two U-Haul trucks!

Our new floor!

To celebrate both our new floor and the coming of fall (despite our temperatures still reaching into the 100s!), our store will be having a

Grand Reopening Party on August 26th, from 4 – 7 p.m.

We will have a preview of our incoming fall merchandise as well as music and refreshments.

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers and staff who worked so hard on this project!

]]> http://fairtrade.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/were-open-for-business/feed/ 1 moxyjane 2009 August - Ten Thousand Villages 2009 August - Ten Thousand Villages 2009 August - Ten Thousand Villages http://fairtrade.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/under-construction-for-a-couple-of-days/ http://fairtrade.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/under-construction-for-a-couple-of-days/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:18:25 +0000 Taylor Overstreet http://fairtrade.wordpress.com/?p=452 ]]>

…but we’ll be back better than ever! This Sunday, August 9th, we’ll be packing up the store and moving things out to make way for new, earth-friendly flooring. If you have a couple of hours to spare and want to give us a hand, come join us at the store! We’ll have snacks, beverages, music and of course, lots of fabulous volunteers. Come join us!

This past Sunday, the local news station KEYE42 featured our store on their program, We Are Austin.  Our store manager, Kitty Bird, does a lovely job explaining the fair trade mission of Ten Thousand Villages and gives a tour of the store and shares information about a few of our many interesting products.

Our heartfelt thanks to KEYE42 and to all our wonderful friends who stopped in the store on Sunday because they saw the program!  We love knowing that the fair trade story is being shared with our Austin community!

See the video HERE!

Please stop by our store from July 19 – 25 and check out our World Caravan Sale! Items throughout the store will be reduced up to 75% off their original price. Shoppers will also receive an additional $10 off their purchases of $50 or more!

This is a great time to buy a unique gift for a friend or for yourself! Be sure to look for our over-stocked Christmas ornaments, Nativities, and tree toppers – all on sale from July 19 – 25 and get a jump on your holiday shopping.

More clearance items can also be found at the Ten Thousand Villages online catalog.

This year, International Women’s Day is March 8.  At Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, we will be celebrating the economic, political and social acheivements of women around the world and in our own community all week long!

The majority of our beautifully handmade items in the store are made by women artisans, and your purchase directly benefits women and their families in developing countries around the world.  This week, we will host benefit nights each night to benefit fellow nonprofit organizations in Austin.

Monday:  GENaustin
Tuesday:  Mother’s Milk Bank
Wednesday:  SafePlace
Thursday:  Ann Richards School

Come join us in the store and support women right here in Austin and around the world!

Click here to read an excellent article on challenges women face today, including gender equity, political freedom and health care.  Thanks for reading! …Taylor

Ten Thousand Villages of Austin is proud to partner with Zulugrass to bring you unique accessories from central Kenya.  Single or multiple strands can be worn a variety of ways, as a necklace, choker, hair tie, belt, bracelet, and more!  The grass from which they are made grows naturally in the region with a hollow center, making the grass perfect for beads.  The grass, dyed in rich hues, is combined with hand-blown Czech glass bead to create over 200 color combinations.

Because every strand is unique, Zulugrass makes a wonderful gift.  In addition, your purchase of Zulugrass products from Ten Thousand Villages of Austin provides a sustainable economic opportunity for local communities in East Africa.  We should mention that the livestock in this region do not eat this grass, so its use is not posing any threat to the ecological system.

Fun Fact: The elastic used inside the strands, the strongest and best quality available, was also used to suspend the actors in the Spiderman movie series.  Stop into the store and try them for yourself! …Taylor