Artisan Spotlight: Meet Achiro Paska

Meet Achiro Paska, an artisan in Uganda, and a member of the Ember Arts Artisan Group.

Nearly all of the women we partner with through Ember Arts are mothers, and part of the privilege of working with them is the opportunity to see their children grow throughout the years. The women of Ember frequently have babies and toddlers teetering through their office, and during training sessions, older children stop buy regularly to deliver messages from home and watch their mothers at work.

Achiro Paska's two youngest daughters, Emily and Evelin, have been staples at the Ember Arts office over the last few years, and she was happy to be asked to show them off and speak more about their lives.

When prompted to share her favorite part about being a mother, Paska couldn't choose; from pregnancy to teenagers, so far, she's loved it all. With six children from ages 14 months to 14 years,  she has certainly seen motherhood from many different angles. While she admits to getting annoyed when her children are quarreling with each other, most days she is happy to see them playing well together. They even have a favorite game that she couldn't quite explain through her laughter, apparently it's so funny that even the thought of it makes her giggle. 

Paska herself was left with relatives at the age of three, and grew up without a mother. She is determined to live her life differently, no matter what sort of trials she faces. Her advice to other mothers is "Love your children, whatever you are facing, and educate them. If you educate and love them it is good, because they are the future."

She is most proud of her children when they do well in school, and working to earn money for their school fees is her greatest concern. Her dream is that they will all finish their educations and never have to struggle the way she did growing up. 

We are thrilled to be partnering alongside hard-working mothers like Paska, and so grateful for the support of all the women- mothers and otherwise- that help make those dreams a reality.

Happy Mother's Day and thank you for supporting Fair Trade!

Meet Gladies – An Ember Arts Artisan

Want to know a no-fail technique to a Happy Monday morning?

Read an inspiring story about a woman achieving her goals. Even better, how about goals that have been achieved because you helped support!

That is just what we did today, as we read about Gladies, one of our partners in Uganda, and how purchases of her Fair Trade jewelry are helping her make her dreams a reality.

Gladies has been been working with Ember Arts for the last five years. She is affectionately refered to as ‘Special Teams’ because she’s smart, dependable, and can get just about anything done. Recently she made a big step towards her dreams by starting her own small business.

Gladies fled from her family home in Amuru, an area in northern Uganda, about a decade ago during the civil war. When she first arrived in the Acholi Quarters community of Uganda’s capital city it was only a collection of mud huts around a stone quarry, where men, women, and children could do hard labor for about $1 per day. That’s what Gladies did to pull her family through.

And now Gladies is using her earnings from Ember Arts to expand her earning potential, too.

These days Acholi Quarters is looking a lot better, and so is Gladies’ family. She has three children, and she’s paying for all of them to attend good local schools, an expensive feat in Uganda’s capital.

And now Gladies is using her earnings from Ember Arts to expand her earning potential, too. She recently traveled back to Amuru and bought a rice milling machine, and rented a place in a big trading center to collect, mill, and sell rice. Farmers come for miles around to sell their harvest to her.

She partnered with her brother in the business, so now his family is benefiting, too. And they have big plans for the future.

Gladies and her brother plan to put up their own commercial building in the trading center, a place where they can process and store not just rice, but other crops, too. Building, she says, will start in December.

Like most of our partners in Uganda, Gladies wants to eventually move back to her family home. With the money she’s earned and skills she’s learned as an Ember partner, she’s well on her way to accomplishing that dream.

We are so excited to support Gladies, and the 27 other women in her artisan group! Stop by the store and see their beautiful jewelry today!

Content and Photos provided by Ember Arts

Summer Love – Fair Trade Fashion

Is it just me, or does Memorial Day feel like the kick off to summer?

The pool at the Durham YMCA opened, and temperatures are finally hitting the 80s. Duke students have graduated, and other schools will be letting out soon. And one thing is for sure, it is OFFICIALLY sandal weather!

In honor of summer, we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite summer Fair Trade accessories. And since we just mentioned sandals, let’s start with:

Our beloved Sseko Sandals! If you’ve been in One World Market lately, then you have seen OWM staffers April, Katie, and Brandy rockin’ their Ssekos.

Handmade in Uganda, each sandal and strap provide an income for a young Ugandan woman on her way to college! We love that you can change the strap and design of your sandal easily, but even more, we LOVE that they support higher education for women in Uganda!

They were even featured in this month’s issue of Vogue:

Fair Trade High Fashion!

In fact, our Executive Director April was wearing her Sseko sandals with the blue and white strap today. To finish off her outfit:

One of our new GORGEOUS handmade bags from Brazil! Handwoven from grass, we love the pop of yellow. (Pairs perfectly with the Ssekos!)

Another combo we’re loving is brass and white:

These roll-on bracelets were made in Nepal, and the earrings were made in Northern India, but they were really made for each other! Perfect for a summer outfit, on your way to a show at DPAC and dinner outside at Geer Street. Nothing says SUMMER more than crisp white accessories.

But even darker color combinations can be adapted for summer. Like our new earrings and necklaces from Guatemala:

Even though it’s navy with brown, we feel more like it’s ocean with sand! Paired with a white tee shirt and jeans, it’s a great summer look!

However, the necklace comes in a variety of bright, summery colors…

Good luck choosing a favorite – we can’t!

What about you?

Do you have a new Fair Trade Accessory that is brightening up your summer wardrobe? Share it with us!

One World Market Earth Day Celebration & A Winner

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our recycling game this week! We were so excited to read everyone’s comments as the week progressed!

Just as we predicted, One World Market Facebook Friends are incredibly smart! Nearly every guess was correct! And those that weren’t were still great ideas! Purse made of bacon? Yum!

Before we announce the winner of the week and the recipient of a $50 OWM Gift Card, let’s review the answers!

Monday’s Recycled Item:

This is in fact three different coiled bracelets handmade in Uganda out of recycled magazine pages! Each bead starts as a long strip of paper, which is then rolled, glued, and lacquered.

Simple and yet incredibly beautiful! We carry paper bead jewelry in a WIDE RANGE of colors, styles, and lengths!

Next up, Tuesday’s Item, and what seemed to be the easiest guess of the week:

Handmade in India, this handbag is made entirely of old seatbelts! So many of you guessed this bag correctly!

Want to see the artisans in action? Check out this short video, less than 2 minutes long, to see a seatbelt purse being made!

Wednesday’s Item was another purse, but instead of seatbelts…

Conserve artisans used recycled denim and rubber from the inner tubes of tires! The artisans that make this bag are the same artisans featured in the video above!

Conserve makes ALL of their items from recycled materials, helping India cut down on their enormous issues with waste.

Thursday’s item, a friendly rhino from Kenya, may have been a little bit obvious:

 

meaning that his Coca-Cola cans were showing! Made from recycled soda cans, this friendly fellow is 100% recycled. A few of you even guessed what his accents were: recycled telephone wire. Great job!

Early this morning, OWM volunteers carefully copied down everyone’s name who guessed, giving double entries to those who shared the game with their Facebook friends. Our winner was chosen by random drawing:

Jennifer Smith

Congratulations Jennifer!

Stop by One World Market, your Fair Trade, non-profit on Ninth Street in Durham to claim your gift card!

And thank you to everyone for playing! Be sure to join us this Saturday, April 20th from 12noon to 3pm as we celebrate Earth Day!

You can even try your hand at making your own paper bead bracelet or keychain!

Fashion Trend: Collar Necklaces

A new trend that’s going to be popular this fall is the Collar Necklace. Simple but chic, a collar necklace can add a nice touch to a casual outfit or dress up an outfit for a special occasion.

This fall, One World Market is embracing the Collar Necklace trend with some fun, Fair Trade options that will give you a unique way to play with your wardrobe.

And since our options are handmade by very talented artisans in developing countries, we know that each piece will continue to garnish compliments, even after Fall 2012 has passed.

Our first favorite is handmade in India by a cooperative of women artisans:

Wire nests embellished with classic black seed beads, this necklace is truly a work of art!

Also from India, the next two necklaces shimmer with blue tones reminiscent of the ocean:

Also in shades of cool blue, the next collar necklace is made from recycled glass by artisans living in Ghana:

With brass accents, no two necklaces are the same, making it truly a one-of-a-kind statement necklace.

But not all collar necklaces are made of shiny beads, and our next few choices are great examples of the variety in our jewelry collection.

These necklaces are not only Fairly Traded, making them a benefit for the artisans who made them, but they’re also SUSTAINABLE, making them good for the environment!

Each of these necklaces is made from a sustainable nut called Tagua. Found readily in Ecuador, artisans hand-carve each bead from the nut.

Just like the necklace from Ghana, since each bead is handmade, no two are exactly the same. And since each carved nut is hand-dyed, the colors can vary as well.

It’s no secret that we love jewelry at One World Market, but what we really love is being able to embrace current fashion trends with pieces handmade by our artisans.

When you shop Fair Trade, the artisans gets a fair wage for their handy work, and you get a well made handicraft. Fair Trade is truly a growing trend that we hope never goes out of style!

Stop by the store today to see the necklaces featured in today’s post, and ask a volunteer to show you other Collar Necklaces we currently have in stock!

Fashion Trend: Layering Bracelets

It’s no secret that we love jewelry here at One World Market!

What’s not to love when you’re able to wear beautiful pieces that also help alleviate poverty in a developing country!?

A fashion trend that we’ve been following this summer is the “layering” look. And with unique, handmade bracelets, we love the looks you can achieve – all while supporting Fair Trade!

All bracelets handmade from recycled paper in Uganda by Jinja Fair Traders.

Top three bracelets are hand-carved tagua nut from Ecuador;

the bottom bracelet is woven cotton from Unique Batik in Guatemala.

Show your Olympic Spirit with

(from top to bottom) a beaded bracelet from Kenya and bangles from India.

Layer on a wooden and wax thread bracelet from Thailand with

a woven cotton bracelet from Guatemala.

Let your wrist sparkle with layers inspired by grass, earth,

and water in bracelets handmade in Guatemala from Unique Batik.

Simple beaded bracelets handmade in Nepal in shades of blue and green.

 

Come by the store and see hundreds of other options and let us know which combination you like best!

Tent Sale 6/16/2012!!

 

Come check out all the fabulous items we have been saving for our first ever tent sale.

Celebrate Your Mom with Moms Around the World!

With Mother’s Day around the corner, OWM staff and volunteers have had a lot of fun picking out their favorite items that are perfect gifts to celebrate the day!

PLUS at One World Market you not only give a gift to your Mom but also to mothers around the world by shopping Fair Trade and providing them with a meaningful and respectful job!

Everyone loves the new Flip Stone Pendants from Minga Fair Trade in Peru:

Each pendant is double faced with a semi-precious stone, so you can change the color in an instant!

Need a gift for a cat loving Mom?

This mama cat and her kitten is a terra cotta lantern from Bangladesh which comes to us from an artisan group there made up of 4,000 women.  The group works with women regardless of caste, creed and race. It provides job training, develops leadership skills and generates awareness of the women’s plight.

Mom loves to garden?

This set of 3 elephant planters comes to us from the same group of women in Bangladesh.  It’s a perfect herb garden starter set!

 

We have planters in all shapes, sizes and colors.  Like this pretty green and white one from Vietnam.

Really, we’ve got all your planting needs covered!  From simple colors to whimsical frogs and birds, we have something every mom would love.

 

Simple gifts are great for moms too.  Stop by and pick up a marbled soapstone soap dish from India.  We love how it captures the suds from our soap, keeping our countertops puddle free!

Don’t forget, Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13th!  Shop Fair Trade at One World Market, and we’ll be happy to gift wrap all your gifts for Mom.

Artisan content provided by Ten Thousand Villages.

Back in Stock! Our NEW favorite necklace!

As soon as the UPS truck pulled up, Laura and I were so excited because we KNEW what was coming in!

Wire Flower Necklaces from Guatemala are back in stock!

        

We LOVE these delicate beaded necklaces! Laura loves the Spring Burst with greens, oranges, and pale blue; I am more drawn to the pale lilac with silver accent.

And yes, there are earrings to match!

As well as other fun colors too! I love the aqua with blues!

                                 

Another pretty necklace that came back in stock is leaf wire spray necklace.

Which also comes in a few different color varieties. Good luck choosing your favorite!

   

And yes, there are matching earrings for these too!

Swoon!

Handmade by women in the highlands (Altiplano) of Guatemala, based on the beautiful shores of Lake Atitlan, beneath the towering volcanoes, Altiplano has been providing fair wage and employment for over 20 years. We’re so excited to have their items back in stock!

Come by the store and see them in person today!