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Tree of Life Mirror & Chess Set
Ten Thousand Villages has a wonderful selection of
fairly-traded gifts for the father in your life. Enjoy
handicrafts made from banana fiber to buffalo
horn.
This Tree of Life mirror and travel chess set was created in India by a father and sons team of Archana Handicrafts. Carrying on a family tradition, the two sons, Abrar and Sahbad have now been carving from Shesham wood for 12 to 15 years and learned their skill from watching and copying elders in the family, using the techniques and materials of their ancestors. Also pictured is a Nepalese, Himalayan Bead Calendar with a perpetual display of the day, month and year. Perfect for the office desk. For other fathers day gifts, please visit us in the store or shop online. |
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Oriental Rug Event in August
Benefit Night
Tuesday, June 27: Grazia Forte carries handmade photo greeting cards featuring images from around the world. Looking Ahead July 10-16: Our ‘Christmas in July’ sale brings you nativities and ornaments from Asian, African and Latin America. August 2-6: Oriental Rug Event offers handknotted rugs supporting the fairness artisans deserve. More at the Oriental Rug Room. |
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| by Stephen Hochstetler |
Practicing Generosity
May was a special month for the Austin store. We
were blessed with an artisan visit by Illies Mouhmoud,
a master silversmith from Niger. Many of our repeat
customers and volunteers were able to come to the
store and watch as he shared his story and
demonstrated how he makes his exquisite Tuareg
jewelry.
The item that struck me most when learning his story was the acts of generosity by artisans in his group. |
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Our Response to the Indonesian Earthquake
A devastating earthquake struck Yogyakarta, a
province on the island of Java, Indonesia early in the
morning on May 27, killing thousands and leaving
many people homeless and injured.
Ten Thousand Villages trading partners Java Ixora, CD Bethesda, Pekerti and Apikri have been affected by the disaster and are leading relief efforts in their communities. More details here (PDF). If you would like to donate money to support relief efforts in the affected regions, please visit the Mennonite Central Committee Web site. |
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Lynn Johnson
This month we turn our volunteer spotlight on Lynn
Johnson. Lynn has been volunteering at our store
since April 2004 and is one of our most active
volunteers. Lynn volunteers several times each
month and is an expert at greeting customers and
introducing them to the beauty of fair trade. Lynn
also volunteers with many other organizations in
Austin including the Zachery Scott Theatre, TAP,
SXSW, and Zilker Hillside Theatre.
Where are you from? My father was in the service, so I lived all over the place as a child. I went to high school in Austin and got my degree from UT, so Austin is really my home. How did you find out about Ten Thousand Villages? The volunteer coordinator for the SXSW film festival suggested I check out the store and I fell in love with it. What is your favorite thing to do at the store? Besides shop?! I like to talk to customers and other volunteers about the different people and countries that are represented in our store. I really love the artisan stories and how they help us to be connected to the people behind the products we have. What is your favorite artisan story? There are so many good stories here I can't have just one favorite. The story about the purses from Benin is really wonderful. Benin is a small, very poor country in Africa and the people there have very limited natural resources. A group of women wanted to do something about all the plastic shopping bags that litter their country and came up with a way to create these beautiful purses and placemats from them. I think that is so amazing and so smart. They take what we consider trash and turn it into something beautiful and useful and through that they help to support their families. That is so inspiring to me. I know you're a theatre and film fanatic - what is your favorite film? Lawrence of Arabia. Such an epic story and fantastic scenery! |
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A Passion For Ceramics
Abdon Ccahuantico and his family moved to Lima,
Peru, 20 years ago. Since that time, he worked for a
number of different ceramic workshops, gradually
learning all aspects of the work. Last year, the
business that he was working in closed and Abdon
found himself without work. Allpa, familiar with
Abdon, and recognizing his skills and strong work
ethic, helped him to establish his own
workshop.
Abdon’s first experience with ceramics was painting traditional designs on pots for his uncle when he was only 7-years-old. |
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