It all began with one woman selling textiles from the trunk of her car. Her name was Edna Ruth Byler – wife, mother and unexpected entrepreneur. As a volunteer living in Akron, Pennsylvania in the 1940s, she became known in the Mennonite community for her warm hospitality, creative spirit and cinnamon rolls.
In 1946, when Edna travelled with her husband to Puerto Rico, she met women in La Plata Valley who were struggling to feed their children. Having lived through hard times herself during the Depression, she knew the face of poverty. She also knew the importance of dignity and people wanting a way to help themselves.
Edna was moved to do something. She saw the pieces of fine embroidery the women of La Plata created, but had no place to sell. If she, an American, was so struck by these unique textiles, perhaps other Americans would also appreciate their beauty. With no clear plan but a sense of purpose, she brought the pieces home and began to sell to friends and neighbours.
Mennonite Central Committee, an aid and relief agency, saw the long-term value that sustainable income opportunities would bring to impoverished villages. They supported Edna’s endeavours and facilitated her travels abroad including to India and Jordan.
By the 1950s, she was driving her Chevy II packed with global needlework to women’s sewing circles and parties of interested friends across the country. She shared the stories of the makers, describing how each purchase meant that a woman gained economic independence and a chance to give her family a brighter future.
It was a simple idea. But a pioneering one that would launch Ten Thousand Villages and blossom into a global fair trade movement. In 1997, Edna opened the first Ten Thousand Villages shop and today, there over 70 Ten Thousand Villages stores across the US, and more than 300 allied specialty shops that sell Ten Thousand Villages products. Named by Forbes as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, Ten Thousand Villages is committed to creating opportunities for artisans in developing countries to lift themselves from poverty, work consistently, and earn income at a fair wage by bringing their handmade crafts to customers all over the world.
Gandhian inspiration
The name – Ten Thousand Villages – was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s quote. Because in every village are people who want to live a meaningful life with dignity and who bring beautiful culture worth sharing. Multiply the village idea by ten thousand and it represents the world the brand is working to build.
- A circular stamp represents the makers’ mark, the seal of approval and craftsmanship
- Lighted doors and windows reflect the life inside artisans’ homes
- A continuous line of rooftops reminds us we are all part of the global village
- Lowercase type invites everyone into the maker-to-market movement
The artisan investment model
It all starts with the maker. Sometimes a cooperative of artisans. Sometimes it’s just one person. All of the makers are working towards improving their communities with sustainable business practices. These makers present to Ten Thousand Villages a product sample built on their skill, tools, available materials and market design.
Then quantity and timing are discussed, making sure that the makers’ profit is factored in when settling on a price that works for everyone. When the product order is placed, Ten Thousand Villages pays 50% of the agreed price as an interest-free advance to help cover the cost of materials and production and to protect makers from exploitative loans.
When the products are packed up and ready to ship to America, the final 50% of the agreed price is paid. This may sound like business as usual, but it’s actually quite unconventional. By completing the financial transaction before items are exported, the brand takes on all the risk. If products are lost at sea, trends change, tariffs rise, or the market becomes flooded with knock-offs, the artisans will not be burdened with loss. They’ve already been paid in full.
Ten Thousand Villages chooses to work with women, people with disabilities and others often excluded from the global economy. The brand’s long-standing relationships have shown that when women gain financial independence, their daughters, families and communities flourish, breaking the cycle of poverty.
How does Ten Thousand Villages define a fair wage?
As a fair trade buyer, Ten Thousand Villages removes the financial risk from the artisans who make these beautifully handcrafted items. It works as a business partner to provide fair and consistent incomes for the work artisans do.
Artisans quote what they want to be paid for their work. After they give their price, Ten Thousand Villages confirms whether they are covering their costs and building sustainability into their businesses.
The buying team works with the same people over many years to develop an understanding for what a fair income is in their local community. They talk to the people making the product and ask them what they are being paid, how it compares to their neighbours, and what their wage means for their family.
If the price the workshop asks for is untenable in the market, then they work together to adjust the product or the materials. It’s a dialogue that builds incomes that help families thrive.
Customer purchases help to fund the entire artisan investment model and to maintain a market for handcrafted goods. All funds are focused directly on the upfront microfinancing that is so crucial to makers’ ability to produce their goods in a stable and non exploitative business environment.
The global market has become a very competitive place and that has put enormous pressure on craftspeople all over the world to make their products cheaper and faster. Choosing to purchase fair trade is a way of saying that it’s important to you that the person who made your product is not exploited. By your action, you are investing in the dignity of others.
Sustainable way of life
The focus is on the use of locally sourced, recycled and renewable materials in the products. The brand promotes creative re-use and energy efficiency in artisan workshops and its supply chain to minimise environmental footprint. Like for example, the baskets sold at Ten Thousand Villages stores are made from natural materials that grow near the maker’s home, including seagrass, raffia, palm leaf, and banana fibre. The maker might use vegetable dyes for added colour or introduce contrasting materials like recycled plastic or reclaimed sari fabric.
It all starts with an idea. Some designs originate with the maker based on a time-honoured pattern or her own imagination. Other designs are a collaboration with the buyers who share trends and inspiration. Most times, maker skills have been passed down from generation to generation. They are part of the history of a place and people. Thus, Ten Thousand Villages also helps preserve indigenous legacies while spurring innovation and designs that speak to customers who love craft and culture too.
A completed basket may travel from the remote countryside to a bustling urban center where it boards a ship to cross the sea. At port it goes through customs, is picked up by the brand’s truck, and brought to its warehouse in Akron, Pennsylvania, where staff carefully sort and check items for quality.
Many of the products that Ten Thousand Villages offers are made in people’s homes, on their porches, or in small workshops. Women artisans often take materials home with them in order to balance childcare with their work. Most of the working spaces are not fancy, but they are safe and everyone is free to come and go as they choose. Formal workshops have fire extinguishers, and dedicated drinking water and toilet facilities.
As a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organisation, Ten Thousand Villages visits the workshops where the handmade crafts are made. It sees the artisans do their work and provide feedback for ways to improve safety and health standards.
Through partnerships and capacity building efforts, Ten Thousand Villages has paid for water effluent treatment plants, improved tools, lighting and ventilations systems at some workshops.
