The Impact of Fair Trade on an Artisan and their Family

Not entirely unlike a lot of our western-based businesses, a little momentum can really facilitate change in the life of an artisan. The family unit is very strong in most of these countries and, what may have been a very small single artisan business can be accelerated at a strong rate if there are consistent, repeat orders that come their way.

Is the difference huge? Well, when a company like ours, Global Village, works with small artisans, it's not huge, but it might be the difference to allow that artisan to employ his brother or brother-in-law, either full time or part time. Even part-time opportunities are meaningful in these countries, so, if we are working with an individual or a small cooperative, you’re talking about usually the ability to involve more of their family in the business. More family in the business, leads to a higher, collective standard of living.

One of the families that makes our pottery, the Sanchez family, is very much that way. It was the parents' business and was passed on to the six brothers and sisters who have since carried it on. Each family member has a principal task. The individual's focus may be throwing the clay, painting, or polishing on the final finish that gives each piece its glow. They each have a specialty and, as the business grows, it allows them to be able to support more of their family or even to help others in the community find employment by bringing in some outside help if they need it.

Even some things we take for granted, like packaging an order, can provide meaningful employment in a third world country. We bought a few hundred pieces of pottery and, to properly package pottery, you need to employ people to get newspaper and thoroughly wrap it around every single piece. The value of purchasing fair trade items created in a developing country doesn't just benefit the artisan; the value extends to a network of people involved in shipping, transportation, and packaging. An artisan who is successful at developing a market for his wares will have a domino effect on others in his community.

Still, the most direct impact certainly is on the artisan's immediate family. I met a man while I was in Nicaragua. He and his family and other generations of his family all lived very simply in a one room cinderblock house. Coming off the side of their house was a corrugated metal roof, and, underneath that metal roof, were three potter wheels set up to throw pottery. In their backyard, they had a relatively rudimentary brick kiln that the pottery would get fired in. While we were there, I was able to witness the results of his "success". He was expanding some of his pottery-producing capabilities to be able to train others in this community to come in and have this skill. They were also adding other elements to be able to allow more from the community to come in and be trained in how to make pottery.

This family lives in a part of Nicaragua known for superior quality pottery. In fact, some of his work has been on display in some famous galleries and museums. When you see where this museum-quality pottery is being shaped, you realize success is measured very differently in a third world country. You'd think that kind of visibility would bring more "traditional" success to these families, but it really is a much longer road to success in a third world country. They need people to purchase their products, not just people to admire the quality and artistry of their pieces.

Just something to think about the next time you see beautiful pottery from a third world artisan. Admire it for its beauty; buy it for its ability to change the artisan's life.

The Challenge of Breaking Free from Poverty

For third world artisans, looking to break the cycle of poverty is not as easy as going out and securing a job. The simple fact is there are limited opportunities for employment in most developing countries. Certainly, the majority of opportunities could not be deemed quality by our western standards. There are no on-line job boards where you can go to query and pick out what’s the best one out of more than a hundred jobs. In fact, there are limited opportunties to even connect to the internet. Due to the limited jobs available, many people in these countries are relieved to get a job that pays any wage.

The education systems aren’t the same as we're used to in the United States, so the level of education that anyone can attain is often limited by financial resources, their need to work and their need to contribute to their family situation. That said, those who have been fortunate enough to continue on in education and might have gone on to a college in their country or in the States or anywhere else, have a far greater opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. They probably have received exposure to multiple languages and hence, are fluent in multiple languages. Whether it’s in a relief or development organizations, business or government organization, there are more opportunities for people that can converse in multiple languages, have some business skills, and can transition those.

Yet, even with those skills, someone who might be doing very well is likely only receiving the equivalent of $10-11K in US dollars on a yearly basis. That’s not a whole lot of money, even in those countries, to work with and to improve your standard of living.

So, if someone is working in a factory and is relegated to working one of those shifts where everyone gets up at 1 in the morning and, at the end of the shift, everyone filters out of the factory and are riding their bikes or walking along the edge of the road, you know that they’re making great sacrifces to make a wage that is difficult to consider fair.

At the same time, it is still work and it is still a step up from collecting refuse in the local dump for your family or using a hammer to break rocks to pave roads. Many people in third world countries are still making pennies per week doing just these types of basic labor chores to make a living.

It is important that we do what we can to nurture the skills and talents that lie dormant in these countries. That's the heart of the mission at Global Village Trading. We want to help awaken the skills and talents of the hundreds and thousands of artisans who will benefit by having their talents shown to a wider audience with the resources to purchase the wares of these individuals, beautify their homes, and expand the opportunities for the artisan and their families.

Fair Trade Provides Dignity and Opportunity

While there are a range of artisans who have been more proactive and aggressive in establishing relationships with contacts in foreign countries to distribute products, there are a limited number of third world artisans that are able and have the means to do this.

Without outside support, third world artisans, regardless of their talent, are stuck to generate income for their families from within the confines of their country. People who possess the level of income that would enable them to purchase a piece of furniture at the prices that really should be demanded are very slim – often this limits quality sales to government officials and, ironically, relief, development and foreign aid workers who are stationed in the country, as well as the occasional tourist.

Many times, without fair trade, these artisans must resort to sit along roadsides with a cloth laid out with their wares on it. Their only hope is that a tourist will pass by and see something that they might be interested in. Obviously, that's difficult to count on in many of these countries and certainly no way to plan for growth of a business.

Fair trade not only allows the artisans to have their product reach a broader audience, it’s a show of dignity for the quality of work they do, as well as a positive representation of the capabilities of their country.

I often have people comment that they wouldn’t have expected the quality of work, style or design to come out of a third-world country like they see in pieces such as our Nicaraguan coffee table .

One of the greatest ways to bring dignity into the life of a third world family is by recognizing their worth as an artisan. Not only are you creating new opportunities for them, but you are showing that their skills have value and worth far beyond those of a simple street hawker.

What message are you sending with your decorating habits?

Fair Trade and the Environment

NBC Universal just completed their first Green Week, a week of green-themed programming aimed at entertaining, informing and empowering Americans to lead greener lives. While the increase in "green" awareness grows, anti-green events have shared equal billing in the news. Back in mid-August, Mattel made big headlines for its massive recall of 9 million toys due to concerns over lead paint and magnets.

So, how does fair trade enter into the discussion about the environment? Well, if you’re dealing with larger cooperatives or factories, you’d address issues related to more environmental practices and policies. What kind of materials are being used in their dyes? Are there chemicals that are used in the finishing process of a chair? What becomes of those residual materials and how are they disposed of?

However, at Global Village Trading, we’re dealing with the smallest of the small and the weakest of the weak in terms of countries as well as artisans. These issues are more difficult to take on simply because there isn't a basis for education nor are there established systems of treatment and disposal. There simply isn't the infrastructure in place to fully address these issues.

Nonetheless, Global Village doesn't give up on the issue. Instead, we have to take a more simplistic approach. We try and work with artisans and encourage using natural dyes. In the case of our Henna Leather lamps, only natural mineral oxide dyes get applied, as opposed to a pure chemical dye.

Preserving our environment and the resources it provides for the livelihoods of our third world artisans may be aided by major corporate initiatives like NBC Universal's, but it is more likely to occur by encouraging artisans and laborers the world over to take small, fundamental steps like using natural dyes and materials.

Think about what you can do to improve the environment by the choices you are making with your home decor purchases. Often, it's the simple things that make the greatest difference.