October 4, 2007

Take a trip around the world at annual Gift Faire

The 19th International Gift Faire, offering crafts and artwork by artisans in 30 developing countries, returns to Willow Glen on Oct. 13-14 at the Lincoln Glen Fellowship Hall, 2700 Booksin Ave. The fair will be open on Oct. 12 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The International Gift Faire is an affiliate of Ten Thousand Villages, the oldest and largest nonprofit trade organization in the United States. Many years ago Edna Ruth Byler began marketing Puerto Rican embroidery from the trunk of her car and the basement of her home in Lancaster County, Pa. Since then Ten Thousand Villages has grown to a network of 160 fair trade stores and 175 festival sales in the United States and Canada with a trade volume in excess of $22.7 million this last fiscal year. In 2005, Ten Thousand Villages launched a new e-commerce Web site.

Crafts are purchased from organizations working with these people who struggle to find markets. Artisans are encouraged to set a fair price for their products, covering labor, materials and providing a livelihood with dignity. Up to 50 percent in cash advances are made when an order is placed, and payment in full when the order is shipped. That’s what makes Ten Thousand Villages different as well as the direct contact and long-term relationships with the craftspeople that need work.

Eighteen years ago two Mennonite women, Marcella Claassen of Santa Clara, and Evelyn Heinrichs of San Jose, felt the need to help disadvantaged women in Third World countries find a market for their handicrafts. They set up a small sale at their church. Today the International Gift Faire, coordinated by Frances Schroeder from Campbell, is one of the largest in the United States. The unusual handicrafts attract people, “but it’s the idea that they are helping others that brings them back,” says Schroeder. “Our customers like the fact they are shopping fair trade.”

Ten Thousand Villages currently supports the work of 50-60,000 artisans across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. With the income they earn, artisans, who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed, are able to provide food, education, health care and housing for their families. Ten Thousand Villages is the oldest and largest fair trade organization in the United States with 60 years experience and an annual trade volume in excess of $20 million.

Among the 150 volunteers is Rupa Rahman, who, when visiting her family in Bangladesh, met with village women who create the Shuktara Handmade Paper which she helps sell.

One of the women told Rahman, “Now I have a job; I can support my child. I don’t have to resort to begging or work as a farm hand anymore.”

Volunteer Candi Smucker asked a Bangladeshi basket weaver, “How do our purchases make a difference in your life?” He replied, “Now I can feed my children two times a day.”

This nonprofit fair trade event offers San Joseans an opportunity to make an impact on a world of poverty where one billion people still live on $1 a day. With the income they earn, artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed, are able to provide basic necessities—food, health care, education and housing for their families.

Admission is free. Proceeds from the International Gift Faire are returned to Ten Thousand Villages, which in turn can purchase more crafts from an increasing number of craftspeople. For more information, visit www.internationalgiftfaire.com and www.tenthousandvillages.com.