Our Artisans
Mercy House Global
Rescue a Girl. Empower A Family. Redeem A Generation. Mercy House exists to engage, empower and disciple women around the globe in Jesus’ name. They provide for the rescue of pregnant girls in Kenya and provide a home for them. They empower their families and many others with dignified work so they can redeem future generations.
AfriBeads partners with a group of Ugandan women, the AfriBeads Women's Association, to provide a market for the beautiful recycled beads and home wares they produce. By helping the mothers, it is possible for their children to be fed, educated, and cared for and for them to work towards a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous society.
Matr Boomie is a fair trade collection that blends the traditional artforms of India with timeless and modern design aesthetic, bringing people and cultures closer together. The Matr Boomie collection is made from natural and upcycled materials that are sourced in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
JOYN is committed to hand making bags, crafted by local artisans in the foothills of the Himalayas. JOYN choose people over machinery to breathe life into each piece. JOYN are passionate about creating a circular ecosystem where all considerations of the supply chain are taken into account, actively working to purchase remnant leathers and sustainable materials while also empowering people in local communities with fair work.
WorldFinds mission is to empower women through fair trade. Their jewellery and accessories create work for over 700 artisans in vulnerable communities in India. Thoughtful designs and sustainable practices bring change to the lives of the artisans, provide a bright future for their children, and strengthen their communities.
Uplift Fair Trade is a Fair Trade organisation with a vision to educate and empower Australians to uplift people all over the world through ethical purchase, creating opportunities for disadvantaged artisans.
Eden hold to a vision of a world where no one is bought or sold. Each Eden piece is inspired by the true story of a courageous woman and handmade by rescued women.
Kalahari – Ceramics
Beautifully hand painted ceramics from South Africa. Each piece is individually and lovingly created so no two pieces are the same. It is the vision of these producers to bring the warm art of Africa to homes all over the globe.
Their motto is: “Find something you love to do, and you will never work a day in your life.”
Rise Beyond the Reef is a nonprofit raising the voices of rural, remote Fijian women. By bridging the divide between remote communities, government and the private sector in the South Pacific, they are sustainably creating a better world for women and children.
Kalahari - Gone Rural
These baskets are woven by a group of over 700 rural women in the mountains of Swaziland.
Their aim is to create innovative contemporary designs using traditional hand skills and locally sustainable raw materials.
The women, many of whom are grandmothers, work from home enabling them to maintain a traditional lifestyle and to care for their own children, and many vulnerable or orphaned children within their community.
Thai Village produces a large variety of unique hand-made jewellery, stationery, home décor, and personal items, incorporating traditional patterns and local materials. Through the production of handicrafts, they seek to develop long-term relationships with artisans and encourage self-sufficiency by providing opportunities for vocational training, Christian education, and higher education, made possible by not-for-profit craft sales.
Fair Anita - Cute + Ethical + Affordable
Fair Anita was built on a vision- one where women and girls can grow up feeling safe, respected, and valued no matter their geography. Striving to build a more inclusive economy for women, they partner with 8,000 super-talented women around the world, to design ridiculously cute gifts and accessories that invest in women and fit your budget.
Care Kashmir was founded with the main aim to help empower people in India who experience the effects of leprosy, polio and other childhood illnesses. While Care Kashmir works hard to upskill their artisan's craft abilities, they also pay their artisans fairly so each artisan can financially support themselves and their families.
Village Thrive
Traditional craft meets modern design with the purpose of seeing the people of Bali, Indonesia thrive.
Rahab’s Rope exists to empower Women and Children in the fight against human trafficking. They work to empower women with skills to live a life of hope and sustainability.
Kalahari – Wood Salad Servers
Wood carving in Kenya provides valuable income to many people in local communities where paid employment can be very scarce.
In the Neem Machakos district, south east of Nairobi, olive wood is being used in place of traditional timbers such as mahogany & ebony in a bid to aid in the reforestation of these timbers.
The carvers from the Kamba tribe obtain permits and supplement their agricultural income through carving. Discarded bone is bleached and dyed using the batik process, before being used for handles and decorations.
Kalahari – Kenyan Woven Bags
These bags, baskets and planters are hand woven by rural women in Kenya. Many of the women are subsistence farmers who use weaving to contribute to their income in dryer periods. The materials used, (Sisal in the Kiondo and Palm in the Kikapu) are relatively drought tolerant and suited to the arid regions where the women live. It can take up to a week to weave each basket. After the basket is woven, it is then transferred to another group of artisans to apply leather bindings and linings, thus turning them into fashionable functional items.
Fair Go Trading is a wholesale Fair Trade collection of homewares, lifestyle and children's products from the artisans of the world - including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Peru and Indonesia. Handmade and Fair Trade.
Sasha. For more than 40 years Sasha has been bringing Indian artisans together to create stunning handicrafts and exquisite fashion items. Behind each beautiful product is a commitment to building a thriving artisan community with healthy working conditions, fair play and concern for the environment. Sasha product lines cover a wide range of craft and processes. These include handcrafted apparel, home textiles, furniture gifts, metal crafts, jewellery, pottery, decorative hangings, natural herbal body care and organic food products.
Uplift FairKonnect transforms the lives of India's urban poor, creating sustainable employment, investing in skill development and earning capability of vulnerable women. Situated in the heart of three major slum communities in Bangalore, they offer excellent working conditions and provide tailoring training courses coupled with the provision to complete their 10th and 12th exams, computer classes and English studies.
Uplift – KHJ Beautiful handcrafted items from artisans with a disability from a disadvantaged area in North India. They work hard to discover what customers like to buy and creating new designs. Each bead, bangle or frame is lovingly and carefully made out of bone, horn or resin. This is a small group of 13, who are working together to support themselves and their families sharing any profits made with their community.
Kalahari - Gogo Olive
Beautifully hand knitted animals from Zimbabwe. Each animal comes with a swing tag to tell you their name and the lovely lady they were knitted by. No two knitted animals are the same.
Gogo is the shona word for Grandmother, but she doesn’t need to actually be related to you, anyone can be your Gogo!
Gogo Olive was set up in late 2008 as a response to the huge unemployment problem in Zimbabwe (it currently stands at around 97%), at a time when conditions in the country were particularly difficult. As well as creating employment for local women the aim was to give them hope as they have the opportunity to use their craft skills to build a future for themselves and their families.
Kalahari – Enamel Tableware This job creation project in South Africa focuses on creating meaningful and sustainable employment for single mothers from previously disadvantaged communities. Proceeds from this project are used to support 3 children’s homes for abandoned and abused kids as well as AIDS orphans. Each brightly coloured piece is hand drawn and painted, making each piece unique.
Kalahari – Heartfelt Animals
Martha and Julie started creating and designing the Heartfelt products using traditional handcraft skills, felt and beads.
There are now ten women employed by this project and each day they come to work full of pride and hope.
Creating each design out of love and strongly believing that they can make a difference – not only to their own lives but to the lives of the community in which they live.
Each product sold helps to feed and clothe the ladies and their families. It also gives back to the community by donating a small portion to a local charity to help fight TB, HIV/AIDS and look after children and old aged men and woman within Makapanstad.
The aim is to heal the hearts of people who don’t have the opportunities we have on a daily basis. And to fill not only the ladies’ hearts but many others with hope.
Siham Craftlink was founded in June 2000 and is proudly a family business working closely with Fair Trade producer groups. They have also been heavily involved in fundraising for the school that Artisans Effort, Kolkata opened in January, 2014.
The Leprosy Mission was founded in 1874 by Wellesley and Alice Bailey, and their friends the Pim sisters to provide holistic support to people affected by leprosy. After more than 140 years, The Leprosy Mission is still committed to this central work. It is the largest and oldest leprosy-focussed organisation in the world.
Last Forest’s mission is to pioneer sustainable living choices by connecting communities and markets.
The Global Mamas community is comprised of thousands of people from around the world working together with the mission of creating prosperity for African women and their families. The Mamas define prosperity as going beyond financial well-being to include happiness and good health. They achieve prosperity by creating and selling unique, handcrafted products of the highest quality. Being able to do the work they love and being empowered by financial independence leads to greater happiness. The Mamas realize their dreams of having the opportunity to support their families, send their children to school, improve their health, and save for the future.
ABLE is moving fashion forward. Their mission is to create go-to wardrobe pieces that empower both the women who wear them and the women who make them.
MESH Maximising Employment to Serve the Handicapped
MESH is an Indian organisation practicing Fair Trade with disabled and leprosy affected crafts artisans, for their rehabilitation. MESH work with disabled artisans from all over India.
Baladarshan is a fair trade organisation created to promote and market quality handicrafts made by trained and employed social organisations in South India and small-scale artisans. Founded by social workers concerned with improving the livelihood of isolated women and their children in Chennai slum areas, Baladarshan has grown from producer groups in several slums and extended its partnership to many other groups.
Kisii Stone
The Tabaka Chigware youth self help group community was founded in 1996 by Charles Nyabita in Tabaka region Kisii Kenya; the only place in Kisii and Kenya where soap stone raw material is mined. Providing dignified work, this community also ensures good shelter, food, medical care, clean water and better education for the children in their community through their soap stone handcraft productions. Each purchase of soapstone supports many families.
Starfish Project is a Social Enterprise with a Holistic Care Program that cares for women escaping human trafficking and exploitation in Asia. At Starfish Project women and girls experience freedom, establish independence and develop careers. They have employed and trained over 180 women and served thousands more through their community outreach.