Connecting people in a worldof need

Fair Taste

Farmers in developing countries face many challenges their wealthier counterparts can avoid: limited access to market information, greater exposure to market forces and bad weather, lack of access to capital, and more. Each of these factors disproportionately hurt poorer farmers who, as a result, often earn far less than deserved for their crops, or may lose their crops or fields altogether. Fair Taste, a Hong Kong based organisation, works with producers in developing countries to manufacture goods that will be sold at fair prices. Fair Taste also works locally to educate the community about these producers’ plight and how fair trade can support them. Sales of Fair Taste goods ensure that producers get a fair price, and a voice in a more developed society.

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

Eden Jewellery

Lured to the big cities by the prospect of finding a job to support their extended families, many young women in Asia instead find themselves led into prostitution by deceit, coercion, or desperation. They are then trapped by the lack of sufficient education, job skills, and familial connections needed to break free. They lose hope for a different way of life, suffering physically and emotionally from the struggles they face daily.

Eden formed as an outreach to these trapped women, offering them shelter, protection, medical assistance and skills training as a way to lift them out of their imprisoning circumstances. Women learn various job skills including making handicrafts, allowing them to find a new start in life.

Global Handicrafts sells Eden jewellery in our marketplace store, with many pieces available online. Purchasing the jewellery made by Eden’s artisans allows their work to continue, bringing new life and hope to women in Asia. Browse our Handicrafts store for Eden jewellery and other products by clicking the button below!
SHOP

Shop Now!

Browse Global Handicrafts’ full online range here or visit our shop at Crossroads Village to walk through our colourful global marketplace, with even more handmade delights from around the world, all of which care for the people who made them.

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

Bread of Life

Bread of Life cards and handicraft items are made by people who are trying to rebuild their lives in the struggling, post-war nation of Former Yugoslavia.

Many find it difficult to find work, even if they are highly skilled and experienced. Proceeds from these products contribute to the work of Bread of Life, and to the craftspeople and their families. Thank you for helping us to support them through your purchase!

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

Au Lac Designs

These items were made by rural craftspeople in Duyen Thai, a picturesque Vietnamese village south of Hanoi. The area is well-known for its wide range of lacquerware products and people of Duyen Thai have been engaged in the industry for many years.

Au Lac Designs works in Vietnam as a fair trade organisation, helping traditional craft producers such as those from Duyen Thai develop their small businesses and create sustainable development for the rural poor.

Your purchase of Au Lac Designs products supports Vietnamese craftspeople and their families.

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

Artisans Association of Cambodia

Enabling ethical producers in Cambodia to connect with the outside world.

After decades of violent warfare, Cambodia has finally begun to stabilize and its people have started the long road to recovery. 80% of the population lives in rural conditions with low standards of living, and those who migrate to the cities struggle to adjust. In an effort to provide support for many young rural and urban Cambodians, AAC works alongside local workshops where people draw on their rich culture to design products reflective of a long and distinct heritage. Workers receive fair wages in decent working conditions, providing them the dignity of a respectable trade along with training workshops on life skills. Your purchases see these lives built and strengthened. Watch this video of artisans turning bullet shells into jewellery with one of AAC’s partners, Rajana: http://www.rajanacrafts.org/news/story.php?id=6

Shop Now!

Browse Global Handicrafts’ full online range here or visit our shop at Crossroads Village to walk through our colourful global marketplace, with even more handmade delights from around the world, all of which care for the people who made them.

Hunan Ethnic Crafts

Meiman, of China, knows the meaning of fair trade first hand. For almost a year, Meiman worked in a large factory far away from her hometown. The hours were long and after eight months she started to suffer serious health problems. It was then that Meiman knew she wanted to go back to the job she had held before: working as a seamstress for China Ethnic Crafts, a small handicrafts enterprise in Hunan.

“They not only took me back and welcomed me,”said Meiman, “they were also willing to adjust my work duties to help with my health issues.”

Many of the ethnic minority women employed with China Ethnic Crafts have similar stories to tell.

Meiman’s co-worker Ying Xiang says, “If there was no embroidery work for me to do here, the only other option I would have to earn money would be to go sit outside all day and shine shoes.”

The beautiful designs sewn by Meiman and her friends echo the traditional bright embroidery that Miao women have been sewing for centuries. Now, those same skills can be turned into a fair job in a safe environment and a steady income to support their families.

We have the adorable embroidered coin purses made by Meiman and her colleagues available online, with more products from China Ethnic Crafts to be found in-store!

Shop Now!

Browse Global Handicrafts’ full online range here or visit our shop at Crossroads Village to walk through our colourful global marketplace, with even more handmade delights from around the world, all of which care for the people who made them.

China Snapshot

Population: 1.35 billion

Capital: Beijing

Population below international poverty line of US$1.25 per day: 11%, or 157 million people

China is experiencing rapid economic growth, but the benefits have not reached millions of people in rural areas. People who are already poor are the most vulnerable to death, injury and loss of livelihood when floods and earthquakes hit.

Natural disasters in China affect more than 200 million people every year.

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

Bombs to Jewellery

Young Heang, just three or four months of age, did not enjoy the fun of babyhood that is the ‘norm for many little ones, the world over. He lived in a refugee camp, together with his parents, in order to escape war torn Cambodia, in the years captured, movingly, in ‘The Killing Fields’.

That was in 1980. Today, in one of life’s extraordinary ironies, Heang works with bombshells from the war, turning them into ‘peace jewellery’. There is no shortage of this raw material in Cambodia, with its tragic legacy of shells littering the landscape and, where unexploded, still claiming lives.

Heang works as a metalsmith for Rajana Crafts, a Fair Trade group that teaches its people valuable skills and then employs them, ensuring a fair return on their work. He cuts, solders and polishes the once deadly metal into necklaces. Some symbolise peace, shaped into the classic ‘Peace sign’, made famous during the Vietnam war, or the ‘dove of peace’. Some are turned into butterflies or the ‘Tree of Life’: reminders of a new start after their tragic past. Others feature the metal in its original form, shaped into small bells: its raw surface a poignant reminder of the shells’ first, deadly purpose.

Young Heang makes jewellery from discarded bombshells with Rajana Crafts, Cambodia.

Young Heang makes jewellery from discarded bombshells with Rajana Crafts, Cambodia.

As well as producing a powerful message, Heang’s superb jewellery also gives him a ‘fair’ income, consistent with Rajana’s Fair Trade ethos, as he receives a salary he has never known before. Heang’s father drove a taxi and his mother sold vegetables to support their family. Now, Heang has enough to meet the needs of his own wife and children, and to finance his BA studies.

The ancient words, ‘swords into ploughshares’, have seen life come full circle for this child of war.

Watch Heang’s story: http://www.rajanacrafts.org/news/story.php?id=6

Shop Now!

Browse Global Handicrafts’ full online range here or visit our shop at Crossroads Village to walk through our colourful global marketplace, with even more handmade delights from around the world, all of which care for the people who made them.

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

Threads of Yunnan: Mountain-made Fair Trade

Life is a struggle for Wang Ping Fen and her husband. They live with their three children in the mountains of Yunnan Province, where sweeping craggy slopes meet the vibrant colors of Yunnan’s many ethnic minority cultures, brimming with embroidered textiles, different dialects and traditional dance and song. While rich in cultural heritage, it’s an area that sees great material poverty. Many families like Wang Ping Fen’s survive on a salary of less than US$50, leaving them vulnerable to disease, malnutrition and poor education.

Someone once asked Wang Ping Fen what her greatest desire was. Her answer was simple: she wished to own a sofa – a soft and comfortable place to sit at the end of a long day’s work in the fields. The humble dream became a real possibility, when Wang Ping Fen was given the chance to join a project called Threads of Yunnan. The hand-embroidered ornaments, homewares, jewellery and cards, designed with a modern international market in mind, are inspired by the beautiful traditional designs and motifs of the different minority cultures of Yunnan.

After some time making handicrafts with Threads of Yunnan and carefully saving her earnings, Wang Ping Fen was able to purchase her sofa! Delighted as she was, however, there was something she earned that was even greater. Before taking on the handicrafts job, Wang Ping Fen couldn’t read, write or do basic arithmetic. Threads of Yunnan offered her the chance to take part in their educational and development programs. When, at last, Wang Ping Fen wrote her name for the first time, she had tears in her eyes.

You can see the handiwork of the craftspeople employed by Threads of Yunnan in our Global Handicrafts shop, where we stock embroidered hanging ornaments, greeting cards with lift-out decorations, jewellery and bags.

Shop Now!

Browse Global Handicrafts’ full online range here or visit our shop at Crossroads Village to walk through our colourful global marketplace, with even more handmade delights from around the world, all of which care for the people who made them.

China Snapshot

Population: 1.35 billion

Capital: Beijing

Population below international poverty line of US$1.25 per day: 11%, or 157 million people

China is experiencing rapid economic growth, but the benefits have not reached millions of people in rural areas. People who are already poor are the most vulnerable to death, injury and loss of livelihood when floods and earthquakes hit.

Natural disasters in China affect more than 200 million people every year.

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

Tukul Crafts

The Sudanese Civil War killed more civilians than any other conflict since World War 2. Two million Sudanese people died – an incredible 20% of the population – from war or the disease and famine it caused.

For those Sudanese who managed to escape the war, home in a new nation turned out to be almost as difficult as what they left behind. Life in Sudan meant torture, forced starvation, landmines, death of loved ones and losing their homes. But life as a refugee in a new country can mean discrimination, violent racial attacks, unemployment and poverty. The tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees that settled in nearby Egypt have found it extremely difficult to get a job, and care for their families. Simply to make enough to eat, they accept work in illegal, unsafe conditions, or with dismally low pay.

Tukul Crafts, in Cairo, Egypt saw this need, and wanted to give refugees the opportunity to use their existing skills to make a fair and sustainable living for themselves. The clothes and household items that Tukul artisans produce are bright and hopeful: a reflection of the hearts of the people who make them. Their screenprinted designs are intentionally rustic and traditional, the colours bold, and the textiles sturdy and strong.

From tea towels to travel bags, from aprons to coin purses, Tukul offers a beautiful range of products that Global Handicrafts is proud and pleased to be able to offer in our online store, and in a fuller range, instore at our shop.

Shop Now!

Browse Global Handicrafts’ full online range here or visit our shop at Crossroads Village to walk through our colourful global marketplace, with even more handmade delights from around the world, all of which care for the people who made them.

Benin: New hope for the vulnerable and isolated

Benin, West Africa, is a land rich in natural beauty, but it is sadly also one of the world’s poorest nations....

Guinea: Building infrastructure and skills

Since governmental structures in Guinea finally stabilised about fifteen years ago, the country’s economy has gradually improved. However, refugees fleeing civil...

Malawi: Looking up and forward

Malawi is a country working hard to lift its people out of its challenging history. Since gaining independence nearly sixty years...

Cameroon: Empowering and rebuilding

Crossroads’ partner for this shipment originally began their work in a busy market town, aiming to provide support for widows, a...

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