Trade As One

The end of September marks the beginning of fall- the leaves are beginning to fade to yellow and the temperature is slowly dropping. It’s time for change! October 2011 marks the 8th annual Fair Trade Month in the US, and we want each and every one of you to be a part of it. So every week we’re going to suggest ways that challenge you to be part of the Fair Trade Movement for a better world!

1) EAT: Everyone eats, it’s a given fact! But here’s the challenge for this month- try something new and totally delicious to eat that’s Fair Trade. Fair Trade isn’t just coffee and chocolate- it’s green tea mints, olive oil, garlic & herb dip mix and so much more! The real challenge might be choosing from our wide variety of tasty items. But no matter what, you’ll be providing fair wages for farmers throughout the world. You’ll be feeding your families so they can feed theirs.

Start the food frenzy here!

The last part of our visit with ASHA was a trip to see one of their top producers. After a short car ride, we met Ram Prasad Patwa in his bright, cheery workshop, saw some of his artisans at work, and had the opportunity to admire his beautiful jewelry!

Ram Prasad moved to Mumbai after high school, following in his brother’s footsteps to enter the jewelry market. After a few years, he set up his own business and later began working with ASHA Handicrafts in 1989. Originally making about $777 a year and with only a couple of artisans who worked for him, Ram Prasad himself was often the one completing the orders. Since working with ASHA, he has rebuilt his childhood home for his extended family while also building a new home for himself. Just recently, ASHA helped subsidize his workshop move from above his home into a two-room apartment (the one we were privileged to visit).

Today Ram Prasad supports seven artisans and can concentrate full time on marketing his products. Over the past six years, some of his artisans have even managed to purchase their own houses with their earnings.

One of Ram Prasad’s artisans, Shushila Yadav, has a particularly difficult and redemptive story. She was married with four children until 2004, at which point her husband deserted her, leaving her to take shelter with her already over-crowded extended family. To support her children she began to work from home making jewelry when ever she could get job work from local workshops. On average, she worked once in three days, making about $23 a month.

Since she met him in 2006, Ram Prasad has provided Sushila with regular employment. She no longer has to struggle for her living, and she enjoys her work. Asha Handicrafts and Ram Prasad have both assisted in paying for her children’s education.

I was so encouraged to hear Ram Prasad’s story and to witness how he is carrying forward fair trade principles into his own business! We were also (justifiably) overjoyed to sit in the workshop surrounded by beautifully crafted jewelry and choosing some to purchase! It was certainly a highlight of our trip.

The day following our visit with Saathi group (which you can read about in my previous two blog posts) found us heading to ASHA Handicrafts. After a confusing ride with a driver who spoke no English and who stopped to ask for directions every few yards, we arrived at ASHA’s headquarters. We were warmly welcomed with the customary chai, and began with an overview of the organization from Immanuel, who has worked there for over 30 years.

ASHA was formed in 1975, and their name means “hope” in Sanskrit. Their mission statement demonstrates their seriousness of purpose: “…to promote the social and economic welfare of its artisans and producers in India, by providing marketing facilities for handicrafts through fair trade practices.” They clearly state that ASHA guarantees with their fair trade certification, “A fair price, quality handicraft products, welfare of the artisan community, and dedication to protecting and preserving the environment.” We were highly impressed with the comprehensive overview that Immanuel gave us, and were encouraged to see how high and wide ASHA’s scope of influence is and how much they are achieving.

We went on to meet one producer for ASHA who brought with him several beautiful products for us to admire, including a piece of screen-printed material which had required over twenty different screens for the separate colors. It was amazing to realize how much intricate work goes into the handmade items we buy! Immanuel also took us down into the warehouse to meet some of their employees and see where the packing-magic happens; Amy spoke with one of the employees, and will be telling his story on Monday.

ASHA treated us to a delicious lunch—seeing the picture makes me miss Indian food—after which we had the privilege of meeting the CEO, Lucas. To cap off our full day with ASHA, we drove over to the outskirts of the largest slum in Mumbai and paid a visit to one of their producers, whose story you will hear on Friday! We couldn’t have asked for a better glimpse into ASHA’s work. 

During our visit with Handmade Expressions’ Saathi Group (of which I gave an overview in the previous post), we requested to hear one or two individuals’ stories. We explained that for ourselves, our friends, and our customers at Trade as One, hearing specific stories is one of the best ways to enable comprehension of issues that are foreign to us. Mum, Amy and I sat with our open notebooks on our folded legs, and Minal translated for us.

We asked about a typical working day and also went with specific questions like “what would life be like without this job?” and “how does your job make you feel?” And we found the boys’ responses encouraging and honest.

We began by talking to a lanky twenty year-old with a scholarly appearance and a shy smile behind his large glasses. Ramish was originally from Northern India, had run away from home to look for a better life in Mumbai, but ended up working thirteen hours a day at a hotel for minimum wage (next to nothing). He found himself at literally a dead end with his lifelong dream of being a runner falling farther and farther out of reach. With the help of Saathi Group, he got into an apartment, developed some basic life skills and then vocational training, and began working to create newspaper bags.

He told us that he loves how he has seen his life change, discovering the freedom to create and to pursue his dreams. To our incredulity, given how sluggish we felt in the Mumbai heat, he now trains twice a day for his marathon running (once before and once after work), and hopes to run for India in the 2016 Olympics. Though Ramish seemed fairly sober and serious, when he spoke of running, he exuded a palpable joy. The eyes behind his glasses lit up, and he looked us directly in the face, laughing at our amazement over his prowess.

Though he hid shyly from our camera for most of our visit, we managed to snap a picture of him. What struck me about our conversations with these young men was that they were my age, and yet our paths had so sharply diverged. I was reminded of how fortunate I am to have my family, opportunities to be creative, and chances to dream. I was encouraged to see how Saathi group and Handmade Expressions enable these boys to do the same.

Though still sort of reeling from our experiences with Bombay Teen Challenge, Mum, Amy, and I went on our first producer visit for Trade as One the very next day! We met Minal, of Saathi group, at a crowded bus and train depot in downtown Mumbai. After struggling to hear each other over the phone and then to find each other amidst the hoards of people, we were relieved to head away from the bustle and back into smaller side streets. Together we climbed some impossibly steep metal steps up to a workshop which hosts Saathi’s recycled newspaper bag making industry.

(Saathi is one group that produces for the larger company, Handmade Expressions. They create sustainable newspaper gift bags for Trade as One!)

Minal gave us a comprehensive overview of Saathi group, which works with homeless youth, involves getting them into apartments, and equips them to be self-sufficient. A huge part of the move toward autonomy is training for dignifying and specialized work. We met five boys, each with unique—though hauntingly similar—stories of becoming homeless, and each of who now express hope for his future because of his work.

We sat on the floor of the workshop facing these young men, who worked swiftly and deftly, showing us what goes into the making of their bags. I marveled at the precision and speed with which they worked, and felt blessed to have them share their precious time with us. When we requested to buy two bags at the end of our visit with them, they quickly pressed them into our hands, refusing to take any payment.

On Monday I’ll be telling you the individual story of one of the boys to whom we spoke!