Ten Thousand Villages
Other Ministry Profiles on our site:
American Bible Society - SERRV International - Prison Fellowship - Billy Graham Evangelistic Association - L'arches - Christians for Biblical Equality - One Great Hour of Sharing - Habitat for Humanity - Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus - Bread for the World - Covenant House
For 55 years Ten Thousand Villages has been making a
difference in the lives of artisans around the world by marketing their
handicrafts and telling their stories in a network of stores throughout
North America.
Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to Third World people by
marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America.
Marketing the handicrafts gives these artisans---who otherwise have no
access to the North American marketplace---a market for their goods and a
fair wage. In addition to marketing the products, Ten Thousand Villages
tells their stories, adding dignity to justice. In a small, but powerful
way, Ten Thousand Villages levels the playing field.
A program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), Ten Thousand Villages
offers home decor, jewelry, linens, ceramics and coffee. Total sales for
the organization in 2000 totaled nearly $14.3 million, allowing Ten
Thousand Villages to put more than $5.2 million in the hands of artisans.
Sales benefit nearly 60,000 people in 30 countries, including India,
Guatemala, Kenya and the Philippines.
Ten Thousand Villages pays a fair wage for the items that it sells in its
network of stores. A fair wage, however, is just a part of fair trade. Fair
traders, like Ten Thousand Villages, pay an advance up to 50 percent when
the order is placed and the balance when the order is ready to be shipped.
This provides working capital so that artisans can buy the raw materials
they need and feed their families while the order is being completed.
Consistent, continuous orders are also an important part of Ten Thousand
Villages. Samuel Macharia, an artisan who makes wire push toys in Nairobi,
Kenya, said, "Without Ten Thousand Villages we can’t meet our basic needs.
Orders help us very much and we know every year we can depend on an order
from Ten Thousand Villages."
In addition to paying a fair wage, Ten Thousand Villages also treats
artisans with dignity by establishing and building relationships with them.
Ten Thousand Villages buyers visit with artisans in their workshops and
their homes, learning about their work, their families and their way of
life. They hear their stories, know their names and build relationships
with them.
Ten Thousand Villages also shows dignity by providing income to artisans
who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. In many countries,
unemployment is high and work is a coveted thing. In many cases, Ten
Thousand Villages works with those people who are on the fringes of society
---they may be handicapped, they may have leprosy, they may be members of
the caste system with little opportunity---and gives them dignity by giving
them work. The work and fair income in turn allows them to care for
themselves and their family.
Building bridges between artisans in the Third World and customers in North
America is another part of the Ten Thousand Villages equation. Photos and
artisan stories throughout Ten Thousand Villages stores show the faces and
the stories behind the items on the shelves. Store volunteers and staff
members also share the stories of artisans with customers as they browse
throughout the store.
The nonprofit stores selling Ten Thousand Villages merchandise, are managed
by individual local boards, many including board members of different
religious affiliations. Although Ten Thousand Villages has a close
connection to the Mennonite Church, members of many different denominations
are coming together to sponsor new stores and volunteer in existing stores.
In addition to selling its handicrafts in a network of more than 100
stores, Ten Thousand Villages, based in Akron, Pa., and New Hamburg, Ont.,
works with sponsoring churches, civic organizations and individuals to plan
more than 260 International Gift Festivals and Sales annually. The
organization relies on churches from all denominations---Presbyterian,
Baptist, Brethren, United Church of Christ -- to host and sponsor these
sales. Festival sales in U.S. cities including, San Jose, Calif.,
Fairfield, Pa., and Memphis, Tenn., sold more than $798,000 in handicrafts
during 2000.
For more information about holding an International Gift Festival and Sale
in your local community or starting a Ten Thousand Villages store in your
city, please visit www.tenthousandvillages.org
or call (717) 859-8100.
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