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Afghan Institute of Learning

Afghan Embroidery

Embroidery work is a centuries-old Afghan tradition whose patterns vary by region. Broadly, embroidery from northern Afghanistan is distinguished by intricate geometric patterns, while the khamak embroidery found in southern Afghanistan is distinguished by looser geometric and floral design. Shishadur, commonly found in Afghan embroidery, involves stitching small mirrors into the fabric. These mirrors are intended to ward away evil spirits. Traditionally, embroidery has been used to embellish everything from home décor to clothing and gifts, as a proud expression of a family's cultural heritage. The long-running instability and violence in Afghanistan, however, has affected more than people's livelihoods; craftwork is similarly dying out as people struggle to meet daily needs. Income generation programs like AIL's allow women to support themselves in the midst of turmoil and to preserve their traditions.

Aik Hunar Aik Nagar

Sindhi Embroidery

Each province of Pakistan has a unique style of embroidery, which uses a variety of materials, depicting everything from Islamic motifs to designs drawn from nature. Sindhi embroidery is similar to that of Baluchistan and Punjab in design and color, and uses a variety of nature-inspired patterns and geometric designs. Embroidery from this province is distinguished by bead and sequin embellishments. AHAN's producers in Sindhi incorporate these elements into the production of colorful, elaborate fabric bangles and richly embroidered women's accessories, such as handbags, pouches, and clutches.

Aj Quen

Traditional Back-Strap Loom

Approximately twenty percent of Aj Quen's artisans work in centers, which are provided and equipped by the organization. However, the majority of the women work from home so that they can care for their families. Many use the back-strap looms native to the region rather than the more modern pedal looms introduced in the 15th century. Back-strap looms are convenient, portable devices that strap at one end to the weaver's waist and at the other to a tree or post nearby. The weaver can then manipulate the warp and weft by hand and control the tension in the loom by leaning backwards or forwards. The Mayan women of Aj Quen have adapted this traditional tool to produce modern designs for goods such as wallets and laptop bags.

Alma de los Andes

Alpaca Knitwear

The women of Alma de los Andes produce a line of high-quality accessories from alpaca wool, a warm, durable fiber softer than sheep's wool. Subsistence farmers in the Andes raise Alpacas, whose wool is a readily available local resource. It is hand-knit using traditional Aymara patterns to form the finished product. These women can generate income by capitalizing on a traditional skill without expense, lifestyle modification or harmful environmental impacts. Profits are reinvested in the organization to pay for instructors, day care, meals, and materials. The knitting process is a social activity, enabling often-marginalized or abandoned women to gain a sense of community as well as economic security.

Artesania Sorata

Spun, Dyed, and Knit by Hand

Each piece is handcrafted from start to finish. Women use a drop spindle to turn alpaca and sheep’s wool into yarn. This is then colored with natural vegetable dyes such as herbs, walnut leaves, and the renowned red dye of the region, cochineal. The alpaca used in all Soratan knitwear is high quality—very soft and very warm. The use of natural dyes is better, not only for the environment, but also for the skin of the wearer. Artesania Sorata's success in turning age-old customs into new profits has revived the community's ancient cultural heritage, which had nearly disappeared after centuries of outside influence.

Artetropic

Environmentally Sustainable Art

ARTETROPIC artisans are environmentally conscious and use the excesses of nature to create beautiful handicrafts. Naturally renewable resources such as orange peels, banana leaves, jipi japa fibers (a wild palm found in the rainforest), and recycled paper are manipulated to make unique products that are both durable and eco-friendly. Working in conjunction with its artisans, ARTETROPIC conducts periodic environmental analysis to ensure that all of its operations are geared towards preserving the rainforest.

Artisans Association of Cambodia

Cambodian Silk

The silkworms of Cambodia are unlike those of the surrounding regions. Because of their unique diet of mulberry leaves, these silkworms produce a naturally yellow tinted silk thread. During the Khmer Rouge regime, many mulberry trees were cut down, leading to the near extinction of these worms. Now, extensive efforts are being devoted to replanting the trees in order to revive the silk industry. To make silk, silkworm cocoons are boiled and separated into the outer cocoon, which produces fine silk, and the inner cocoon, which produces raw silk. The main difference between the two is texture; raw silk is often considered superior because of its sturdiness.

Asociacion de Artesanos Andinos

Traditional Weaving

The Quechua and Aymara employ ancient weaving techniques to produce textile pieces inspired by community myths and spiritual beliefs. Quechua and Aymara textiles capture their cultural history and reflect the way it has transformed over the years. Each product represents careful dedication and takes at least 15 days to complete. Following a labor-intensive process passed down from generation to generation, the Quechua and Aymara shear the wool from the desired animal (alpaca, llama, or sheep), apply natural dyes, and then begin the long manual process of spinning it into yarn. This yarn is then used to weave beautiful, warm scarves, blankets, hats, sweaters, and other cold-weather accessories.

Chocofibres

Women in Choco gather at the Chocofibres workshop to craft a variety of beautiful products out of natural materials. Global Goods Partners features a collection of bags from palm tree fiber known as Damagua. The group of artisans strips the fiber from the tree bark and carefully washes the fibers in preparation for sewing. Whenever possible, if not hindered by ongoing violence in the region, Chocofibres artisans buy natural dyes from indigenous groups in the jungle to paint the unique designs that adorn these eco-friendly bags.

Community Friendly Movement

Lacquered Ankudu Woodcrafts

The artisans of Etikoppaka traditionally use natural dyes in their products, although environmental pressures have caused them to begin to use some synthetic colors. Natural dyes for the lacquer used by Etikoppaka's artisans are derived from various trees and plants, which are powdered and boiled to form a thick lather. The concentrate is cooled, filtered, and mixed with lacquer that has been slowly heated in an open oven. The colored lacquer is then stretched, cooled, and cut into small sticks. The lacquer is now ready to be applied to a chiseled and sanded ankudu wood product, such as a toy, bowl, or bangle. Dried leaves of the mogali plant are rubbed on the surface of the wood, which spreads the color evenly and gives a glossy finish.

Comunidad Winay

Ceramic Art

Ceramic art in the Andes has an ancient history; archaeologists have uncovered ceramic artifacts up to 9,000 years old. The artisans of Cochabamba still employ many of the methods used by their ancestors. The beautiful ceramic pieces created by Comunidad Wiñay artisans are also expressions of each artist's unique style and personality. Made entirely of clay, the farm animals that this artisan group is best known for are carefully designed, sculpted, and hand-painted with dedicated attention to detail. Product designs are chosen by vote at the cooperative's council meetings.

Destiny Reflection

Women at Destiny Reflection are trained to sew high quality bags, accessories, home furnishings, folders, and journals. They use recycled sari fabric and hand blocked print fabric. All of the women take part in the color and design decisions of each product.

El Hombre Sobre la Tierra

Mayan embroidery

For generations, Mayan women have embroidered clothing and accessories with brightly colored birds, flowers, and other elements of nature. Embellishment is traditionally found on Mayan huipiles (blouses), belts, and skirts. Mayan women create unique huipil designs, which serve as their signatures. Today, the women of HST have adapted this traditional embroidery for use on stylish and sturdy bags. HST purchases Mexican-sourced materials in bulk for its artisans. One artisan embroiders a colorful nature-themed pattern on each bag in her home. The embroidered piece is then finished in HST's workshop, where a group of women work together to cut, sew, and press the final product. Participants in HST's income generation sewing project contribute their artistic sensibilities to the design of each product, giving personality and unique character to each finished piece.

Foundation for Development of Needy Communities

FDNC's most recent project, Bye Kamahono ("Something Created by the Hands" in the Lugisu language) is a comprehensive art and design center, which invites talented local artisans to train students in the production of art to sell locally and internationally. The program has created a showroom space and retail store in Mbale town. Participants use grass, bark cloth, banana fibers, natural dyes, tree leaves, sisal, and other sustainable materials to make handmade cards, wall hangings, and other art pieces. Depicting scenes of the daily life in rural Africa, the cloth batiks and greeting cards are dyed and hand-painted in vibrant hues. Women of the community paint the images using watercolors while younger students glue and assemble the greeting cards. Participants in this income generation project also receive primary healthcare and life skills training.

Friends Handicrafts

Nepalese Felting

Felt is the oldest man-made textile known, predating knit and woven cloth; in fact, archaeologists have found fragments of felt in Asia dating back to the Bronze Age. It is made by wetting layers of wool with soap and water and agitating the fibers so that they form a dense fabric. This can then be stretched into all sorts of items, including shoes, socks, bags, coats, and even shelters. Today, the art of felting is mainly found in the “Felt Belt,” which runs through Central Asia, and is a particular specialty of Nepal.

Friends International

Creative Recycling

All Friends-International products are made by the parents of high-risk children. The program allows them to earn an income so that their children can go to school rather than work on the streets. Products made by Friends-International are crafted from local, recyclable materials that can be easily sourced by the producers. Friends-International favors production processes that minimize their environmental footprint, using found and recycled materials, including newspapers, comics, magazines, packaging, rice bags, tin, and sarong fabric. The bags available for purchase from the Global Goods Partners website are made from colorful newspaper comics collected from the French embassy in Cambodia. Seventy percent of their sales revenue is paid directly to the producers, while the rest is reinvested in a social fund for families, which promotes the long-term sustainability of the project.

Gone Rural

Lutindzi Grass Weavings

For centuries, the rural people of Swaziland have harvested the tough lutindzi grass, which grows in rocky outcrops high in the country's ancient granite mountains, to make rope and other practical items. Adding some contemporary elements to this age-old tradition, Gone Rural's craftswomen have helped to revive an authentic Swazi crafts industry, creating distinctive baskets, mats, and other woven lutindzi products. Out of the reach of grazing cattle, women collect the wiry grass after heavy rains, carefully leaving the roots in the soil to ensure the regrowth of the grass for the following year. So as not to place an unnecessary burden on local natural resources, Gone Rural uses imported dyes to color the grass, as well as a specially designed fuel-efficient wood-burning tank boiler used during the dyeing process that has reduced the use of wood by more than 150 percent compared to the traditional method. Once the grass has been colored, women work in their homes or in village groups to create plaited and woven goods, which are then brought to Gone Rural's workshop for marketing and sale in Swaziland and abroad.

Gulu la anthu Oluka and Partners in Health

Malawian Knitwear

Each knit or crocheted item is handcrafted by a woman from the Gulu la anthu Oluka cooperative in Neno, Malawi. Knitting and crocheting are practical activities for women in the group because they can be done around other household responsibilities, such as cooking and caring for children. The items produced by the group are made from a soft, machine-washable yarn purchased at a market four hours away from Neno. The yarn is then distributed to the women, who transform it into vibrant children's accessories.

Ikamva Labantu

Dolls

During her long years as an anti-apartheid activist, Ikamva Labantu founder Helen Lieberman often found herself looking for toys to keep fellow activists' children quiet so as not to draw the attention of police. In her search, Lieberman discovered that the only decent dolls produced in South Africa at the time had white skin. Recognizing the importance of children having dolls that look like them, she often stated that when apartheid ended, she would find a way to produce beautiful and proud black dolls. Indeed, when apartheid ended, Lieberman was approached by a woman who offered to help her start production. She jumped at the chance to encourage social justice while providing young children with a sense of self, and the organization quickly blossomed into a business that provides jobs and training for community members, who produce a number of dolls and stuffed toy representations of African animals made from traditional Africa print fabric.

Imvelo Eswatini

The women of Imvelo Eswatini fire, hand mold, and intricately paint stoneware clay, harvest local lutindzi grass, and use recycled items such as bottle tops and buttons. This wide range of materials creates an interesting mixture of products that are inspired by traditional Swazi adornment and have an eco-friendly look.

INEZA

Mothers of Rwanda Dolls

Beginning in July 2005, 25 women participating in the Project to Empower Vulnerable People were trained to create hand-made crafts to sell in the US market. The dolls they make are dressed in high-quality cotton fabrics of traditional prints and stuffed with recycled plastic sacks. The sale of these dolls is vital in generating income to purchase nutritious food, but a larger, stable customer base is necessary to generate significant funds. The more funds generated by sales, the more women the project can incorporate into its work.

Kachin Women's Association Thailand

Kachin Weaving and Textiles

Kachin weaving and textile making is a centuries old craft. Patterns and styles differ widely across Burmese ethnic groups. Kachin cloth stands out with its bright flowery and checked designs and silver and gold thread embroidery. These styles are embodied in the miniature dolls made by Refugee women along the Thai-Burmese border and sold by GGP. Each doll's body is made from tightly wound thread; the clothes are hand-woven with traditional Burmese cloth; and the faces are hand-painted. Through teaching Kachin women the skills to make these dolls and other crafts, KWAT works to preserve the culture of an exiled people while empowering women to take control of their lives.

Kandahar Treasure

Khamak Embroidery

Women from Southern Afghanistan practice a rare form of hand embroidery with silk thread called Khamak. Khamak is an intricate art that involves counting the threads of fabric weave rather than drawing and copying patterns. This technique, inspired by Islamic geometric design and floral motifs, is thought to be at the root of a number of embroidery techniques throughout South Asia and the Middle East. Due to the long-standing war, it is also an art form at risk of extinction. Traditionally, khamak was used to decorate the shawls of Southern Afghan men, women's head-coverings, and table linens. Today, the women of Kandahar Treasure build on these traditional motifs in creating new designs. They produce khamak as a vital source of income, a way of preserving a fading traditional art, and an opportunity to escape the stress of daily life and focus on creativity and beauty.

Kiej de los Bosques

Mayan Weaving

Although synthetic dyes and fibers are often less expensive, many rural groups in Guatemala remain linked to their ancestors through the practice of traditional methods of textile production. Artisans use natural dyes to color yarn and cloth. Native plants such as achiote (rusty reds), indigo (blues) and pericon (yellows and oranges) are either harvested and ground or purchased pre-prepared at local markets. Dyes are then fixed with the liquid found inside banana tree stalks. The gently-colored textiles are woven on foot or back-strap looms. Looms operated by foot pedals were introduced to the Maya by the Spanish in the 15th century, but it never fully displaced the indigenous back-strap loom. The artisans of Kiej use both types to produce loose, gauzy weaves, perfect for the warm climate.

Lahu Women's Organization

Traditional Lahu Garment Weaving

Lahu women have long been recognized as expert weavers. Adept at working on both traditional back strap and foot treadle looms, Lahu women hand-weave delicate patchwork trims and unusual embroidery work. Lahu weaving is unique in that the pattern appears on only one side of the cloth. Also, each Lahu tribe follows a distinct style of weaving.

Maasai Women Development Organisation

Maasai Beadwork

The Maasai are well known for their incredibly elaborate and vibrantly colorful beaded jewelry and ornaments. Beadwork is an age-old craft among the Maasai. Beads are traditionally made from natural materials like skins, bone, seeds, wood, and gourds. Different colors often symbolize different life elements in their culture and society; for instance, red signifies the bravery, strength, and unity of the community. MWEDO artisans now obtain their materials from modern sources, but they still maintain the traditional symbolism of the beadwork art form.

Mantay

The women at Mantay work with all natural and local materials. They cut and dye the leather by hand. After it dries, they move on to the decorative work of the pieces. This includes either hand painting or hand embroidering the leather. To assemble the pieces, the artisans either use a strong adhesive or sew the parts together. Each piece is personally checked for quality. The colorful pieces reflect the aesthetic of the home itself, which is brightly painted and provides a cheery refuge for the more than 20 inhabitants, including children.

Manuela Ramos

Alpaca Textiles

The women of Manuela Ramos draw inspiration for their craft from ancient Andean culture and traditions. Each artisan has been trained by their family to knit high-quality, intricately designed textiles, including scarves, ponchos, woolen hats, gloves and toys. Each item is hand-knit from 100% locally-sourced alpaca fiber or cotton. The tradition of alpaca weaving dates back many centuries. Inca royalty wore intricately woven alpaca robes, and the warm, durable fiber has shielded many Peruvian farmers from extreme mountain temperatures. Alpaca wool is also known for its softness and stain resistant properties. Since the fleece of the alpaca does not have many of the natural oils found on other animals, it is less "itchy," less likely to pick up dirt and stains, and often hypo-allergenic.

Melati 12

Recycled Plactis Bags

In an effort to reduce waste and promote environmental sustainability, the women of Melati 12 collect plastic coffee sachets and detergent packets to weave bright and colorful bags and accessories. By washing, cutting, sewing, embroidering and weaving, the women turn what would otherwise be trash into beautiful new designs.

Niyishi Tribal Cooperative

A Truly Natural Jewelry

Tribal women from the mountainous Himalayan region of India handcraft all of the pieces in this jewelry collection. Each bead is made by drying and carving tree resin, polishing the beads individually to achieve a variety of textures, from smooth and shiny to rough and wooden. Tree resins are a renewable resource and an environmentally sound alternative to wood. The women carve the resin and infuse the designs with white pigment to achieve the patterns on some of the beads.

Opitagua

Seed Jewelry

Tagua is the ivory-like nut from a species of palm native to parts of Central and South America. The tagua nut contains a very hard, white seed increasingly used as an alternative to elephant ivory. When dry, the white seed can be carved in the same manner as elephant ivory, making it a socially conscious substitute for ivory figurines, jewelry and beads. The seeds are generally picked up from the ground after they have naturally fallen from the palms and after animals have harvested on the edible outer layer. The seeds are sanded, drilled, polished and assembled into contemporary accessories. The artisans work together to craft each bracelet, necklace, or pair of earrings in the Opitagua workshop.

Pampa Brava

Chaguar Textiles

For centuries, Wichi women have used the strong fibers of the chaguar,a native forest plant resembling the yucca-to weave nets, bags, hammocks, jewelry, and other textile objects. They collect the plant, cut it with sharply pointed sticks, peal the leaves to separate the fiber, and spin the fiber to create a very strong yarn. They then dye the yarn using natural pigments extracted from roots, bark, leaves, and fruit. Traditional Wichi textile design uses ancestral symbols and patterns, reflecting cultural values and a deep relationship to nature and the environment.

Silver Jewelry

The Mapuche create replicas of ancestral silver jewelry, using techniques that have been passed down for centuries. Though appropriate for contemporary style, Mapuche jewelry pieces represent an ancient culture, charged with cosmic and sacred meaning still present in Argentine life today. Traditionally, the Mapuche believed that silver was derived from the moon and therefore sacred, making it useful to protect against evil and to bring good luck. The rattling of small dangling silver pieces was thought to enhance a woman's power and beauty. By continuing their age-old custom of making silver jewelry, Mapuche artisans are working to connect the past to the present, while maintaining the spiritual significance of their work.

Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy

The Papier Mâché Craft in Punjab

Papier mâché originated in China around the 2nd century, and was initially used to make lacquered helmets for armor. From there, the art migrated to Japan and Persia, and was introduced to Kashmir in the 15th century. The Kashmiri method, passed on to the rural villages of Punjab, involves first forming a pulp of soaked recycled paper with other recycled materials like cloth, rice, and straw. This pulp is left to dry in a mold for several days, coated with lacquer, and then painted with intricate designs. The patterns on PODA products include silver, gold, and red flowers, animals, and Arabesques. Woman artisans spend 7 to 10 days creating each item.

Streetwires

Zulu Wire Art

Wire art craftsworkers create unique products out of wire, beads, tin cans, and other found recycled items. While the origin of this traditional craft is not known, it likely developed in Maputoland and Zululand in rural Northern Kwazulu-Natal, in the northeast corner of South Africa. Lacking the resources to buy manufactured toys, young boys in these regions fashioned their own out of discarded hangers, tin cans, and whatever else they could find. In villages and townships today, one can see boys playing with model cars made entirely from discarded materials. Recognizing the children's ingenuity, older community members began making their own wire crafts to sell to tourists—everything from jewelry to working radios. Today, 'wiremasters' sell their creations not only on street corners and at craft markets, but also in upmarket shops and galleries around the world.

Sumaq Qara

Peruvian Embroidery

Peruvian embroidery and weaving are regarded as some of the most intricate and best quality in the world; many pieces survive for centuries. The materials, patterns, and themes provide clues to the Peruvian way of life in the region years ago. The hand-embroidered pieces made by the women of Sumaq Qara incorporate techniques passed down through women from generation to generation. They use embroidery yarn first sheared from sheep's coats, then hand-spun into thread and dyed in large vats of colored water. Most of the dyes used are derived from local plants and insects. One interesting dye is derived from the cochineal insect, which lives on the underside of giant cactus leaves. The insects are removed from the cactus, squeezed, and boiled in large vats to produce a bright, colorfast purple dye. Once the various dyed yarns are dry, women hand-sew embroidery patterns in their homes, in between caring for their children and overseeing household work.

Tropicalia

The riverine communities that produce the jewelry are largely Amazonas caboclos (from the Tup kaa'boc, 'who came from forest'), among the most marginalized groups in Brazil. Your purchase of their jewelry supplements their income and helps bring them above the poverty line, especially between harvesting seasons. Açai is the main crop among these small family farms, the pulp of which is extracted to make powders and drinks. Ethnobotanic studies have shown that the rate of deforestation in these communities is actually reversing because their crops are sustainable and do not interfere with standing forests. Increased demand for fair seed jewelry will promote more sustainable practices in other parts of the Amazon, many areas of which are being clear cut for monoculture plantations, mining and logging. Deforestation accounts for about 17 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions--more than all transportation emissions combined--and causes devastating ripple effects. Reducing these emissions is a critical priority.

Women’s Education for Advancement and Empowerment

Traditional Burmese Weaving and Embroidery

The art of traditional Burmese weaving has a 5,000 year-old history and its own distinct set of motifs, one of which is the series of horizontal line patterns called achiek present in the work sold by Global Goods Partners. The women of WEAVE use vegetable dyes and traditional Karen and Karenni patterns for their cloth and thread. Weaving and embroidery skills and designs are passed down through generations of women. Roughly 300 women are involved in the weaving project to create greeting cards, bags, purses, scarves, and dolls. The project has an impact beyond income generation: it is a creative escape from the hard life of a refugee and a chance for women to bond with each other over their cultural traditions.