About
OVERVIEW
Founder's story
The global fair trade movement began with the founding of Ten Thousand Villages more than 60 years ago through the visionary work of Edna Ruth Byler, a pioneering businesswoman. Byler was struck by the overwhelming poverty she witnessed during a trip to Puerto Rico in 1946, where she was moved to take action. The seminal contribution of Byler ignited a global movement to eradicate poverty through market-based solutions.
Byler believed that she could provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products in North America. She began a grassroots campaign among her family and friends in the United States by selling handcrafted products out of the trunk of her car.
Our mission
Ten Thousand Villages provides vital, fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. This income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing.
Our vision: One day all artisans in the developing countries will earn a fair wage, be treated with dignity and respect and be able to live a life of quality.
Our philosophy
The types of products we sell
Ten Thousand Villages is an exceptional source for unique, handmade gifts, jewelry, home decor and personal accessories representing the diverse cultures of tens of thousands of disadvantaged artisans in 36 countries.
Where the producers live and work
At Ten Thousand Villages, we work with over 120 artisan groups in Africa, Asia and Latin America to market quality products from diverse cultures around the world--handmade by people that we know and care enough about to do business in a manner that together we consider fair. We strive to operate as a business with a compassionate mission so that we can provide vital, fair income to artisans.
Projects we support
How we select what we sell
Ten Thousand Villages decides whether or not to buy from artisan groups, countries, or regions, within a framework of considerations that balance human need, product marketability, and the long term sustainability of the relationship between the artisan group and Ten Thousand Villages. Most countries have a percentage of their population living below the poverty level making it necessary for us to evaluate other factors as well, when deciding where our purchasing dollars can be spent most wisely.
What makes us unique
More information about us
Ten Thousand Villages is an exceptional source for unique, handmade gifts, jewelry, home decor and personal accessories representing the diverse cultures of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. One of the world's largest fair trade organizations and a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), the company strives to improve the livelihood of tens of thousands of disadvantaged artisans in 36 countries. Ten Thousand Villages accomplishes this by establishing a sustainable market for handmade products in North America, and building long term buying relationships in places where skilled artisan partners lack opportunities for stable income. Product sales help pay for food, education, health care and housing for artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.
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