Ten Thousand Villages
Encyclopedia
Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade
organization that markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 38 countries.
As one of the world’s largest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages has spent more than 60 years cultivating long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to unique gifts, accessories and home décor from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association
(IFAT) and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation
(FTF). Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit program of the Mennonite Central Committee
.
The global fair trade movement began with the founding of Ten Thousand Villages more than 60 years ago through the work of Edna Ruth Byler, a pioneering businesswoman. She was moved to take action by the poverty she witnessed during a trip to Puerto Rico
in 1946.
Byler began a grassroots campaign among her family and friends in the United States by selling handcrafted products out of the trunk of her car. She believed that she could provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products. For the next 30 years, Byler worked to connect individual entrepreneurs in developing countries with market opportunities in North America.
In the 1970s the small project moved out of Byler's basement to become SELFHELP Crafts of the World, an official program of the Mennonite Central Committee
. In 1996, SELFHELP became Ten Thousand Villages, a retail company that has grown to feature more than 100 stores in the United States and Canada.
Ten Thousand Villages establishes long-term trade relationships with groups that work with craftspeople who are most in need of work in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The company often selects artisan partners that provide training and employment to those who have virtually no chance of securing employment in the mainstream labor market. Many of these artisans are disadvantaged because of disability, gender or ethnicity.
Ten Thousand Villages also purchases from export businesses that market handicraft products on behalf of thousands of artisans who lack access to markets. These groups provide tools and sustainable sources of income for small artisan workshops to develop their infrastructure and build business capacity. Export businesses enable artisans to build their local communities and preserve culture through the proliferation of traditional crafts.
Ten Thousand Villages markets products through multiple sales channels, from its retail network of more than 80 stores nationwide to an e-commerce website. The company also works as a wholesaler to supply several hundred retailers nationwide. Additionally, local groups at churches, colleges and community centers around the country host festival sales, the company’s oldest distribution channel.
Individual stores are staffed by volunteers ensuring that administrative costs are kept at a bare minimum. There are currently 51 stores in Canada alone with the most recent being located in Cobourg, Ontario.
was released, a compilation CD to raise awareness and funds for Ten Thousand Villages.
In 2005, Ten Thousand Villages released "The Power of Trading Fairly," a DVD highlighting artisan partners from Bangladesh, Guatemala and Kenya, and how their lives have been improved by fair trade.
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
organization that markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 38 countries.
As one of the world’s largest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages has spent more than 60 years cultivating long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to unique gifts, accessories and home décor from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association
International Fair Trade Association
The World Fair Trade Organization , formerly the International Fair Trade Association , was created in 1989 and is a global association of 324 organizations in over 70 countries...
(IFAT) and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation
Fair Trade Federation
The Fair Trade Federation is a Washington DC-based nonprofit trade association that provides support to and promotes North American businesses that they identify as being fully committed to the principles of fair trade...
(FTF). Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit program of the Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee
The Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...
.
History
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in 1946.
Byler began a grassroots campaign among her family and friends in the United States by selling handcrafted products out of the trunk of her car. She believed that she could provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products. For the next 30 years, Byler worked to connect individual entrepreneurs in developing countries with market opportunities in North America.
In the 1970s the small project moved out of Byler's basement to become SELFHELP Crafts of the World, an official program of the Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee
The Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...
. In 1996, SELFHELP became Ten Thousand Villages, a retail company that has grown to feature more than 100 stores in the United States and Canada.
Artisan partners
Ten Thousand Villages encourages artisans to employ production methods that are environmentally sustainable and to use recycled and natural materials whenever possible. In 2007, Ten Thousand Villages redesigned stores to minimize environmental impact in order to meet the "triple bottom line" of economic, environmental and social sustainability.Ten Thousand Villages establishes long-term trade relationships with groups that work with craftspeople who are most in need of work in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The company often selects artisan partners that provide training and employment to those who have virtually no chance of securing employment in the mainstream labor market. Many of these artisans are disadvantaged because of disability, gender or ethnicity.
Ten Thousand Villages also purchases from export businesses that market handicraft products on behalf of thousands of artisans who lack access to markets. These groups provide tools and sustainable sources of income for small artisan workshops to develop their infrastructure and build business capacity. Export businesses enable artisans to build their local communities and preserve culture through the proliferation of traditional crafts.
Today
As an importer, wholesaler and retailer, Ten Thousand Villages is a successful non-profit enterprise. The company uses sales profits to increase purchases from artisan partners and to expand its domestic distribution channels. In 2006-2007 fiscal year, the company increased purchases from artisans by more than one million dollars.Ten Thousand Villages markets products through multiple sales channels, from its retail network of more than 80 stores nationwide to an e-commerce website. The company also works as a wholesaler to supply several hundred retailers nationwide. Additionally, local groups at churches, colleges and community centers around the country host festival sales, the company’s oldest distribution channel.
Individual stores are staffed by volunteers ensuring that administrative costs are kept at a bare minimum. There are currently 51 stores in Canada alone with the most recent being located in Cobourg, Ontario.
Merchandise
Ten Thousand Villages offers a wide variety of unique, handmade home décor, and gifts from around the world, including baskets, sculptures, jewelry, instruments, toys, tablewares, planters, linens, stationery, various holiday items and other accessories. Most Ten Thousand Villages stores also sell fair trade food items such as chocolate, tea, rice, dried fruit and coffee.Media
In 2006, Make Trade FairMake Trade Fair (album)
Make Trade Fair is a compilation album released by Lower Left Records in 2006. It features 20 songs by a variety of independent and signed bands from around the world.The goal of the album is to raise awareness of alternatives to sweatshop labor...
was released, a compilation CD to raise awareness and funds for Ten Thousand Villages.
In 2005, Ten Thousand Villages released "The Power of Trading Fairly," a DVD highlighting artisan partners from Bangladesh, Guatemala and Kenya, and how their lives have been improved by fair trade.
External links
- Official US site.
- Official Canadian site.
- Ten Thousand Villages at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia OnlineGlobal Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia OnlineThe Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on anabaptist-related topics....