Celebrate International Womens’s Day with Fair Trade

Today is International Women’s Day, a time to celebrate the accomplishments of powerful gender of female. But also, it is a day to highlight the struggles that continue for women today. The theme of 2012 is “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures.”  We thing it is a perfect theme for Fair Trade to embrace, as Fair Trade is a viable and empowering alternative to conventional life for many women. In several countries around the world, Fair Trade is sometimes the only outlet woman have to find work to send their children to school and thus improving the lives of their families.

As a female owned and founded business, International Women’s Day is important to us. We thought in honor of the day, we would highlight some of our own Fair Trade woman warriors. One of our products that uses plenty of female Fair Trade power is our footwear. Ethletic sneakers, flip flops, and rain boots are all made from Fair Trade sourced rubber, tapped right out of a certified sustainable rubber forest. Many of the female workers here are Tamils, which have long been disenfranchised and oppressed by the ruling government. Many women in the region do not have many options available to them. But working at the Fair Trade Rubber Plantation is a viable option. The women who work there receive health care for themselves and their children, assistance with school, and they banded together to bring water and electricity to their villages. Society and the government does not give these women advancement or access to their needs, so they have empowered themselves and are working for Fair Trade ideals. Now that their children can go to school and electricity is running in their towns, the next generation will have even more opportunity then the last.

Another great female empowerment story is behind the Proxy Jewelry we carry. The jewelry is made by a women’s worker owned cooperative in Guatemala. The women live in a community outside Guatemala City and had very little opportunity to find work. That’s when they decided to take their lives into their own hands by starting a co-op. As owners, they have full control over their lives and work, in fact every member of their cooperative has an equal vote. Using their awesome jewlery making abilities and sewing skills together, they now run a cooperative where the children receive help with school, healthcare, and child care as well. They also now run a soy milk store and school through their cooperative. We are completely impressed with their story and find it inspiring. Since they could not find work through conventional means, they made work for themselves and have improved their own lives as well as their families and most important their children.

Both the female Fair Trade workers of Sri Lanka and Guatemala have met the theme of International Women’s Day by connecting each other and definitely inspiring the future. They have chosen to provide for their families and inspire their daughters to make an even better future for themselves. And every time you support the products they have made and other Fair Trade items like these, you are empowering them even further.

In celebration of all the awesome women behind our Fair Trade workers you can find the Ethletic Flip Flops on sale for only $5.50 (that’s a 75% savings) and all the Proxy Jewerly 10% off.  Both are great to add to your upcoming Spring wardrobe and even better you can tell their story every time someone compliments your style. So here is to all the female workers of the world: Happy International Women’s Day from the women workers at Autonomie Project. ❤

 

Stories Behind Fair Trade: Madhara Dulanjali

Madhara Dulanjali is 10 years old and lives on the Frocester Rubber Estate in Horana, which is located in the western province of Sri Lanka. Her great-grandparents worked as rubber tappers at this estate, and her father and mother – Vijararatnam and Kumari – both started working as tappers in 1995.

Madhara and her family are part of the so-called “plantation Tamils,” which is a term for those whose ancestors had been brought to work in Sri Lanka by the British colonial administration more than 100 years ago. For almost a century this meant no citizenship or the right to vote. After some tumultuous times most of the Tamils were granted citizenship at the end of the Twentieth Century. However, socially and economically, they continue to be ignored in their country.

In their little town of Horana, Madhara’s family had been trying to get the State to provide electricity. However, considering their political status, it was unlikely to happen. Furthermore, the cost of the electricity extension is so high, it would never have been supported from public funds. 52 families live in the same town as Madhara and her family, all have been living without electricity.

However, this March, these 52 families no longer had to worry about their kids doing homework in the dark. This plantation works under Fair Deal Trading, a Fair Trade company that produces Autonomie Project’s Ethletic flip flops, rubber boots, and rubber sneakers.

As workers of Fair Trade, they not only receive higher premium wages, but  additional profits from the rubber sales are placed in a Fair Trade Premium account that the workers themselves control and vote on how to use the funds. The 52 families knew exactly what to do with the $33,197 in Fair Trade premiums they earned from all the rubber they produced last year: electricity!

Fair Deal Trading paid the Fair Trade premiums, and today Madhara, her family, and 52 other families have electricity in their homes!!

As Madhara’s family fought to bring electricity to their town, her parents enrolled her into a school that teaches in Sinhala, the language spoken by the majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka, in order to have a better chance for the future beyond rubber tapping.

Now with electricity, the children’s school uniforms can be ironed instead of the usual way, which was folding them under their pillow overnight to “press” it. Two other things they welcomed warmly into their towns: refrigerators and television!

Most importantly, Madhara and her classmates are now able to do their homework after dark without ruining their eyes. This allows them to do even better at school, and making it unlikely that she, or her brother and sister, will become the 4th generation of rubber tappers.

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GIVEAWAY: Head over to our Facebook to win a pair of the flip flops our Horana rubber tappers produced! Our last Facebook status is a link to our blog. Enter our giveaway by sharing our blog post. Just hit “share” underneath our blog’s link on Facebook! Also, be sure to check the website for a special discount on Fair Trade Flip Flops.

 

Fair Trade Workers Stories: Yasir Saddiqe

Yasir Saddiqe can’t stand or walk. He hasn’t been able to since contracting polio at the age of three, but despite his disability, he worked as a tailor’s apprentice for 18 months after graduating. His customers appreciated his work, as the garments were always high quality and completed quickly. His family and customers all agreed, Yasir has great talent for tailoring.

Now at age 21, Yasir decided it’s time he open his own tailor shop. During his apprenticeship, he earned Rs. (Pakistani Rupee) 50-60, which is about $0.58 to $0.70, per Shalwar Kameez, a loose local trouser-shirt combination. If he opened his own shop, he figured he would stitch 3 or 4 suits a day and sell for Rs. 250 each. After the cost of electricity, rent, and fabric, his earnings would be around Rs. 125 ($1.45), which would be double his previous income.

To get him started, Yasir’s family purchased a used sewing machine for Rs. 13000 ($151.35). However, Yasir needed more funding to actually open the shop. His 60-year old father, Mohammad Saddiqe, earned only the minimum monthly wage of Rs. 6000 as a contract sneaker worker, and has not only Yasir to support, but three other sons and four daughters as well.

Normally situations like Yasir’s would end up hopeless because although there is a minimum wage set by the government in Pakistan, workers are often paid less and therefore struggle to provide for their families. However, Mohammad works for Talon Sports, a leading manufacturer of sports goods in Sialkot, Pakistan. Talon is also the manufacturer of Autonomie Project’s sneaker line, Ethletic. Certified by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) in 2002, the fair trade premium of Talon products are invested in projects that support the empowerment and social development of workers.

The Saddiqe family requested a loan from Talon, and in June the loan committee paid for a second hand hem-making machine and loaned Yasir Rs. 25000 to open his tailor shop! Yasir was now practically set to open his shop.  However, just as the loan was approved, a doctor from a local hospital called Yasir to Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab province, some 2.5 hours away by car. His left knee needed to be re-set. The Lahore hospital charged him Rs. 30000.

Because Talon provides health coverage for its workers and their family, Yasir’s charges were taken care of by the Talon Fair Trade Welfare Society. His follow up costs, which total around Rs. 20000, would also be covered.

Yasir returned home after ten days with half his left leg in a cast. He currently passes time by watching TV on an old computer since he has to stay in bed for at least two months. After that, he can finally open his shop for business. The loan committee has postponed repayment of course, until he is well enough to start his shop.

Considering the fate he has to wrestle with, it is an enormous relief that Talon and Autonomie Project could help make his life a little easier.

-Michelle Thai

 

Fair Trade Pioneers: The Women of Northern Creations

Our hand bag collection and new winter accessories (coming soon this Fall!) are produced by a worker-owned cooperative in Peru called Northern Creations. The Co-op is comprised of 25 mothers that have joined together to improve the standard of living for their families. Located in rural Piura, a hot, desertlike area 3 hours north of Lima, steady employment is hard to come by – especially for women. The mothers of Northern Creations took matters into their own hands, did what they know best (knitting and crocheting), and decided to start their own Fair Trade business.

They started meeting informally in January 2007 and have since legalized their business, expanded their product line, and are busy filling orders for their US distributor, Autonomie Project! Indeed, their handiwork is beautiful and well-crafted. A true testament to the talent of these extraordinary women!

We thought it would be nice to highlight some of the women behind our products and get their perspective on how this cooperative has impacted their lives! These are interviews with a few key players of the coop conducted earlier this year.

Maria Dolores Febres Rivera (Loly), age 23
President
Children: Belen (age 2)

My biggest accomplishment so far as President has been getting to know myself. I have realized that I am able to make things happen through my talent for making crafts, which God has given me. In addition, I am learning how to operate more effectively as president. For example I am learning how to speak more directly and confidently which will ultimately help me and the rest of my coworkers. Also, I am learning how to better guide the association, specifically how to organize and complete quality products and do it with kindness. I am ready to continue facing challenges that appear, as President and as a member of the Association. My hope is that [Northern Creations] exists forever, that the Association grows in terms of its products and members, and that it is a source of employment for “Piuranos” with a stable market and consistent sales.

Magali, age 27
Treasurer
Children: Emmanuel (age 13), Paul (age 7)

I have learned that there is something inside of me that I did not know was there. It’s the ability to crochet and the knowledge that with my leadership I can help this association grow. I hope that everyone who started this association continues and achieves success. I hope to leave this association organized and well run. I hope that in the future [Northern Creations] is viewed as an example that anything is possible and that success can be achieved even by women.
Clara, age 52
Quality Control
Children: Lisby (age 28), Victor (age 27), Jaime (age 26), Lilian (age 23), Franco (age21)
2 grandchildren

I have formed new friendships. I have learned that my age should not prevent me from learning and improving my life. Due to my position I have learned that I need to set the example and produce quality work to be able to demand that from my coworkers. I hope that [Northern Creations] grows and that I am able to continuously give the best of myself.

Juli, age 24
Vice President
Children: Yasuri (age 5)

My biggest accomplishment so far is that I have become friends with people I did not know previously in my own neighborhood. I have learned from their experiences and seen other perspectives on life. I used to think that only men could work and maintain the home financially but that is not so. Women also have the ability to do so, maybe even more than men. I hope that we continue working and developing as an Association. I hope that this lasts. I hope that we are able to sell products not just in the United States but around the world. I hope it continues so that there is work for the women of La Florida. We are leading the development and improvement of our neighborhood.

We are very excited to continue working with these women and hope to assist them in any way we can to build their business and watch their community and families thrive and succeed!