July 2007: Introducing the Basket Weavers of Darfur

Pictured above, some Darfur weavers at work.

In an effort to bring our customers even closer to our producer groups, the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store brings you the Featured Producer Section. Set to launch this fall, the goal of the section is to spotlight crafts producers who have a particularly compelling story and outstanding products. The first product will be the colorful Handwoven Basket from Sudan. These one-of-a-kind baskets are created by women basketweavers living in an internally displaced persons camp in Kalma in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Darfur region has been engrossed in a complex conflict since 2003, leaving half a million people dead and over two and half million people displaced. Those that have been displaced within Sudan are living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Since 2004, The Craft Center at CHF International has been working with the Sudanese people living in these camps. Kalma, the largest camp in which these basketweavers live, is home to over 100,000 people displaced by the conflict. Women in these camps are often left vulnerable and with no way to support their families. In response, CHF International has implemented mat and basket weaving projects to ensure that women living in the camps are able to participate in improving their own lives, while simultaneously preserving their vibrant cultural traditions. This project not only provides the women of Kalma economic opportunity, but it also creates a space where the women can share their stories and begin to heal together.

Listen to what the women have to say about the project:

~"When I first arrived [at the camp] a year and a half ago, there weren’t any services like [the basket weaving project]. We had to leave the camp frequently and many women were attacked. We feel safe inside the center and now have some money to buy goods and supplement the food rations we receive.” -Zulafa

~"[Coming to the women’s centers] gives us a chance to be with other women and talk about our problems. We can laugh and forget the hardships we have suffered.” -Victoria

July 2007: A Visit from the Batsiranai Craft Project

Photo of children from the Batsiranai Craft Project showing off their dolls.

Lynn Poole from the Batsiranai Craft Project visited our workplace the other day. Batsiranai is a cooperative of mothers with disabled children living in Dzivarasekwa township in Zimbabwe. Before getting down to business, Lynn showed a slide show to us all. Having worked with Lynn for three years now, I am aware of the wonderful work her group is doing. But it doesn’t hurt to get a visual reminder of its impact now and then. While watching the slide show and listening to Lynn’s stories, I tried my best to not to lose it. I felt happy to be doing the work that I do, but so sad to be reminded in such vivid detail why this work is so important and how much further we have to go. It’s hard to grasp that 1 in 4 people from the village where Batsiranai operates has AIDS, many of them children. Not to mention, the amount of orphans is daunting. And all the while, this group has to hope and pray that another government cleanup isn’t around the corner, ready to demolish their craft center yet again. The word “Batsiranai” translates from Shona language to mean “helping each other.” Helping each other is just what this project is about – the women work together to support each other emotionally and help their families economically through their artistry in handicrafts. From our meeting, it was decided that Global Exchange will start offering a few Batsiranai products at wholesale rates when we launch our wholesale program this Fall. Among those products that will be offered at wholesale rates will be the Zimbabwe Twin Dolls, which are by far one of my favorites on our site! Each is one-of-a-kind, and the name of the doll maker is featured on the hang tag.

If you or someone you know has a business and wants to start selling these amazing dolls, keep an eye out for our upcoming new wholesale program this Fall!

Written By: Tex Dworkin, Manager of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store

June 2007: Where Natural Dyes Come From

Pictured above, natural dyes on display at OckPopTok in Luang Prabang, Laos.

OckPopTok’s Veomanee Duangdala explains to Global Exchange Board of Directors member Nhu Miller how each plant grown on their property creates a different color used to dye textiles. Strands of colorful string are neatly hung, with the root plant presented below, so visitors can easily identify where each color of dye comes from.

June 2007: Jenie Learns to Weave

Jenie at the loom, in deep concentration.

What better way to learn about the weaving process then to try it out for yourself?! That’s just what we did during our visit to Ockpoptok’s weaving center. After watching the weavers for a while, Jenie and I tried our luck at the loom. As suspected, it took us a while to catch on, but we finally got the hang of it. Our teachers were patient in giving us the basic knowledge we needed to weave a few lines. We learned enough to realize that it takes great skill, accuracy and concentration to create the beautiful textiles Laos is famous for. The Ockpoptok weavers were certainly masters in their own right, making what they do look easy. Having tried it out for myself, I can assure you, easy it is not! Keep an eye out for Ockpoktok textiles, which will be introduced on our website this Fall!

Written by: Tex Dworkin, Manager of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store

June 2007: Global Exchange Visits Ockpoptok Workshop in Laos

Situated alongside the picturesque Makong River, the Ockpoptok workshop is a wonderful place for weaving enthusiasts to visit.

OckPopTok is Lao for 'east meets west'. Co-founded in April 2000 by Joanne Smith and Veomanee Duangdala, OckPopTok aims to promote Lao textiles abroad, to train its team in a way that encourages commitment and pride in each other and in the group, and to provide a working environment that recognizes an individual's skills and initiative and produces a better quality of living. OckPopTok has a gallery space near the center of Luang Prabang, but the bulk of their work is done off premises in their workshop space along the river. Here visitors can witness the weaving process firsthand.

June 2007: Direct Buying Trip to Luang Prabang, Laos

The Makong River pictured above, was our view from the riverside restaurant we planted ourselves at one evening to enjoy the tastes of Laos.

Our Global Exchange direct buying trip to Southeast Asia included a weeklong stopover in Luang Prabang, a World Heritage Site situated at the junction of the Mekong and its tributary, the Khan river, and surrounded by lush mountains. In the centre of the city is Mount Phousi, with stunning views of the surrounding temples and hills. Jenie (our Senior Buyer) and I met up with Global Exchange Board of Directors member Nhu Miller, who seemed to know all the right people in all the right places! We visited with Kopnoi, a local Fair Trade business doing a world of good. We wandered and browsed through local craft markets, discussing the sad fact that many crafter sellers were asking far less for their products than they were worth, especially when the amount of time it takes to produce each item was taken into account. With limited access to foreign markets, craftspeople are dependent upon the meager amount of visitors who spend their tourist dollars on local wares. What I find frustrating is that wherever I am in the world, I find tourists who seem to inhibit a sense of obligation to haggle with local sellers, regardless of whether the asking price seems fair or how long the item took to make. At the market in Luang Prabang, a local sewer was asking $20 for a hand-stitched double sized quilt. When she sensed my lack of enthusiasm, the $20 quilt suddenly came with two matching pillowcases. And when that failed to engage me, the price sank. So did my heart.

Written by: Tex Dworkin, Manager of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store

May, 2007: Global Exchange Store folks visit the Saa Paper Village

Pictured above, our new mulberry paper producer partners pose in front of a pile of their mulberry paper screens.

During our direct buying trip to Southeast Asia, Jenie and I visited the Saa Paper Village in Chiang Mai, THaihland. Since we go through so many gift bags throughout the year, (hundreds alone in our Fair Trade Action Kits!) we decided to source a 100% eco-friendly alternative. We settled on Saa paper, also known as mulberry paper. The mulberry tree grows in abundance in Thailand, and the village we visited specializes in nothing but mulberry paper products. During the visit, though there was no production at the time, Jenie and I got to learn firsthand the process of production, from boiling down the mulberry to pouring out the material onto screens for the paper to form, before the paper sheets are literally hung out to dry in the yard. My favorite part of the gift bags….the handles. Also made from mulberry, they are very sturdy and rope-like, so hopefully people who receive the bags will want to use them over and over again. The colors are great and the bags are sturdy, so the landfills will have to look elsewhere for excessive amounts of gift bags to fill them up! We’ll also be offering sets of gift bags (three sizes per set) on our website to customers who want to use them as an alternative to wrapping paper. Global Exchange will be introducing our new gift bags this Fall, so keep a lookout!

Written by: Tex Dworkin, Manager of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store

May, 2007: Global Exchange Store folks visit with Thai Tribal Craft

Pictured above, Hmong tribe weavers work on their crafts, while Tex chats with Thai Tribal Craft Manager Harry Wathittayakul.

Global Exchange Fair Trade Store Senior Buyer Jenie Farinas and Store Manager Tex Dworkin traveled on a three week buying trip to Northern Thailand and Luang Prabang, Laos. The items purchased during this trip will be available on our website beginning in Fall 2007. During their travels, local NGO Thai Tribal Craft hosted a trip to visit with one of their Hmong Tribe producer groups. Thai Tribal Crafts (TTC) was established in 1973. Its main objective is to provide opportunities for improving the quality of life of the tribal people in the Northern Thailand. Seven Hill tribes of Northern Thailand are involved in the project: the Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lawa, Lisu and Mien groups, as well as many women working in Chiang Mai. To achieve their objective they have the following goals.

• To be a non-profit but self-sustaining agency


• To operate under the principle of fair trade


• To preserve the traditional arts and crafts of tribal people


• To provide advice and training for the producers on quality control as well as creating new designs.

To learn more about TTC, visit the Thai Tribal Crafts website.

June, 2007: Fair Trade Federation Conference

For more than twenty years, the Fair Trade Federation has brought together leaders in the field of fair trade and social enterprise to advance the fair trade movement and to provide practical, skill-building workshops. From June 1-3, 2007, this year's conference, Changing Hands: The Work of Fair Trade, brought together more than 130 FTF members, partners, and friends with a hand in positively changing the lives of those living in poverty. Our own Tex Dworkin chaired a panel discussion entitled "Putting Web Technology to Use." Overall, conference attendees left the weekend inspired and ready to take Fair Trade to the next level.