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!

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.

I lay down in my train compartment happy that the boys seemed to have settled into something that resembles sleep. I sweat through my clothes some time ago, and despite the open window and my watch telling me it’s nearing 9pm, it’s an oppressive 87 degrees and brutally humid. Twenty minutes ago it was 84. Shouldn’t it get cooler as the night wears on? I notice the near full moon framed by my window and see some small fires glowing outside as the train rushes by.

My thoughts move to the events of the past week. So far our travels have brought us to the doorstep of some interesting fair trade producers throughout Kenya. Beacon of Hope, for example, is an impressive operation. A series of vocational training programs have developed into expert workshops that produce high quality rugs and textiles. Sales of these items, in turn, fund additional community outreach programs like a kindergarten, a much needed health clinic and access to free HIV/AIDS treatment. 

Eco Sandals transforms discarded automotive tires into hard-working, fashionable footwear. Situated in the shadow of the Korogocho slum where an estimated 200,000 people are crammed into a 1.0-mile radius, the Eco Sandals workshop hums with constant motion. Employees come from Korogocho to find sustainable, well paying jobs that include access to evening high school classes. 

Bombolulu teaches…

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