Trade As One

The Trade as One team has been blessed with some wonderful moms. We’re going to be profiling (read: embarrassing) them here on the blog this week. First up is Kevin’s mom: Brenda Madsen.

My mom is so cool. She was “blessed” with three boys within 5 years of each other, and has handled 25+ years of boys destroying her house with a seemingly endless supply of grace and perspective. She has always been a second mom to all of my friends, and on several occasions I had girls over to the house with the intention of actually spending time with them, only to find that they were only interested in hanging out with my mom. She’s that mom.

Rather than just throwing a bunch of superlatives at you, I’m going to tell you a little story that i think encapsulates my mom.

When I was 15, A.D.D., cocky, and essentially unteachable, my mom took on the unenviable task of teaching me to drive. Why she decided to do this is beyond me. She let me drive to my doctor, and I was doing fine until it was time to park. Freaking out as I tried to park our 1995 Dodge Caravan between two cars, I hit the gas instead of the brake. Repeatedly.

By an act of God, I somehow avoided hitting either of the two cars. However, I did manage to take our family van on an unplanned 4-Wheeling adventure. I finally found the brake, and the car skidded to a stop about 5 feet from a busy cross-street.

My mom was laughing uncontrollably. This infuriated me. She then calmly removed me from the driver’s seat and proceeded to back the car over the lawn, and back into the parking spot that I was initially aiming at.

After calming down her hyperventilating son (me), we went upstairs to my appointment. After that weird 20 minute wait in a dressing gown with my mom in the room, the doctor came into the room laughing. I asked him why he was laughing. He said, “The nurses were just in the hallway telling me about some kid who tried to park in the parking lot and drove all the way up onto the grass. It sounded hilarious.” My face went completely white.

My mom, not a hint of a smile on her face, says, “Poor kid,” then immediately changes the subject.

My fragile ego intact, I lived to drive another day.

That’s why I love my mom. She always has my back, with a word of encouragement, well-timed advice, or a well-kept secret.

Happy Early Mother’s Day, mom.

- Kevin

Happy 40th Earth Day!
Care and respect for our planet as well as its people is very much part of the Fair Trade ethos.

One doesn’t work without the other. Trade as One, and indeed the whole Fair Trade movement, actively supports environmentally friendly farming and business practices throughout the trading chain.  Environmental sustainability is a core principle of the Fair Trade movement.
Trade as One’s consumables like coffee, tea, rice, sugar and olive oil are all organically farmed, our body care products are paraben-free and unrefined, many of our journals are paper-free, the leather in the journals comes from cruelty-free leather, our wooden products are sustainably harvested, and many of our products are made from recycled materials.  Supporting rural artisans around our planet keeps ancient communities together, and keeps traditions and crafts alive. Earth-friendly, fair trade practices allows these talented groups to thrive and to earn a living wage with dignity, and stops the flow of peoples to cities and often to the slums surrounding them.
So, this Earth Day take a walk, enjoy the view, stop and smell the roses, ride a bike, hang the washing out to dry, use a travel cup, leave the bottled water on the supermarket shelf, reduce, reuse, recycle and when you shop keep your conscience with you!
Live simply. Give generously. Buy ethically.

Trade as One

For the next few weeks, Chad and Jodi Mulder will be posting about their experiences visiting Trade as One producers in Africa. Their 6 week trip will take them to over a dozen producers in Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya.

We left Rwanda today with mixed emotions.  We are excited to explore another new country and are particularly looking forward to a few days of family holiday as we spend three days traveling to Kampala, stopping at two national parks along the way.  However, it’s a bit sad to leave Rwanda recognizing that we’ll be entering our final African country. 

As we’ve reflected on our experiences in Rwanda, we feel encouraged and hopeful about Rwanda’s future and the positive impact fair trade is having on in the lives of its’ people.  During our ten days in Rwanda we not only visited fair trade producers, but also to spend time with the Prison Fellowship team, learning about the amazing reconciliation work they’ve done since the 1994 genocide of 1 million Rwandans.  In one of our most memorable mornings we visited a Reconciliation Village, where Hutu and Tusti not only live side by side peacefully, but shared with us that village life together “feels like family”.  Truly remarkable words recognizing that the history of these neighbors includes the violent death of multiple family members.

Cards from Africa was our first Rwandan producer visit. We were thoroughly impressed with the work they are doing and so glad to know that Trade as One partners with them.  Cards from Africa employs adult orphans who are heads of their household.  We had the opportunity to meet with a young woman who lost her father in the genocide and her mother to AIDS in 2004.  Now age 24, she has raised…

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Hagar‘s work in Cambodia is remarkable. Their commitment to the most vulnerable people in their region includes those facing domestic abuse, rescued from slavery, kids with learning and physical disabilities, and more. We love being a part of their story, and will jump on every opportunity to spread the word about the work they’re doing on the front lines of poverty. As you watch the video below, remember that your purchases of Hagar’s (now StopStart) bags bring light and life to these kids. Have a look and pass it on.

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If you’d like to see all of the products we carry from Hagar, click here.

Applications and resumes are hitting our inbox every day and we’re already seeing high-caliber, passionate people who want to join our team this summer. We’re still accepting applications, so I wanted to post this quote from one of our interns last summer, Laura Piper. She was such an asset and friend to our team and still helps out from time to time. We love her.

“I can’t express how thankful I am to have interned at Trade as One. Having just learned about Fair Trade a few months before my internship, it was a great opportunity to expand my knowledge of the movement and interact with people devoted to working to break cycles of poverty and dependency in the developing world through Fair Trade. My time at Trade as One allowed me to not only learn about the company, its producers and its products, but to truly have a hand in what the company was doing. Unlike other internships, the Trade as One team embraced my skills and ideas, and allowed me to contribute on many different projects. They are a great group of people, passionate about what they’re doing and a lot of fun—and it’s impossible to walk away from working alongside them without finding their mission contagious and being a stronger advocate for Fair Trade.”

Here’s a reminder of what we’re looking for this summer:

1. Project Management
2. Research
3. Graphic Design
4. Video Editing

If you are:

- Hardworking + talented
- Self-motivated
- Passion for providing opportunities for the global poor
- Flexible
- Must be college student/grad

Email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your resume and we’ll send you an application.

Know someone who might be interested? Send them this link!