I sit here reflecting on my trip in Peru as it comes to an end and it seems as though I have been here much longer than a month. I am sitting in the dark (the electricity went out) which seems appropriate as I’m feeling in a pensive mood.

 

The initial thought that comes to my mind is that I am so glad that I work for an organization that has such a close relationship with its artisans. Fair Trade is becoming a more common term and perhaps these days can even be found in the dictionary. But especially for crafts, it still remains a variable concept that can be quite relative for each situation/country/craft. Third party verification exists but unfortunately due to its small scope (mainly because of limited budgets and size) can only validate and support producer organizations to a certain extent. Therefore, the consumer really must rely on the word of the intermediaries who interact with the producers to know that the product they are purchasing lives up to the convictions of Fair Trade.

 

The other day I was listening to “Watching the River Flow” by Bob Dylan while sitting on the rather nightmarish 5 hour bus ride from Huancavelica to Huancayo (4 of us in 2 seats, vomiting girl hovering over my seat – who seemed to think that the smell of vix vapor rub would make her nausea go away, food spilled on my head, 2 annoying men with very loud voices selling medicine that cures everything from athlete’s foot to depression) and actually feeling happy…that I was no longer in the Peace Corps and that I didn’t have to do this regularly. Anyways, while maybe not all that Dylan was saying corresponded with my thoughts, there were a few lines that struck me:

 

this old river keeps on rolling though,
no matter what gets in the way,
and which way the wind does blow

 

After visiting nearly all of the groups 20+ groups that BOH and PJT work with, the old river seems to me to be the global economy…the pace and ruthlessness of the ever-changing international marketplace. International trade agreements have encouraged multinational corporations headquartered in the Global North to shift their productions offshore to cut costs where labor and environmental regulations may be nonexistent and worker’s wages are meager. Now Americans have come to expect products at rock bottom prices. While Fair Trade is a much more ethical and humanistic approach than conventional trade, it still must be expected to compete with every other product on the shelf.

 

And aside from general challenges that confront Fair Trade, the declining dollar means the price of the products that we purchase in Peru continue to rise. This topic has surfaced continuously during my trip – everyone in Peru is worried about it. Last year one dollar was worth 3.5 soles and now it is worth only 2.85 soles. So for a product that we paid the artisans let’s say $10 for last year we now have to pay them $12.30. The retail price of the product we purchased at $10 would be $30 but at $12.30 we must charge $37 (see my posting from February 8th to see how our pricing works).

 

In a way the old river can seem intimidating and overwhelming but at the same time, Fair Trade is a refreshing approach to international development. At least we can be a part of that river, that natural movement – trade will always exist as long as there are people in this world. It’s not a one-time handout of money, medicine or food that will last for just a season or until the grant runs out. It empowers people that would otherwise be completely left out to not just participate and benefit but to have a say in what happens. It enables people to stay in their community rather leave everything behind for a bigger city or a wealthier country. It fosters gender equality and personal growth…I could go on and on….

 

There is a lot of work for us ahead (that I’m really excited about!!) and in order to succeed and grow we have to roll with the punches. We need to help the artisans develop products that are valued on the market and cut their own costs as much as possible. We have to increase our sales. We have to educate the public that Fair Trade really is worth the extra dollars it may cost - that a difference is being made each time through the simple purchase of a product...

 

The next line in the song that follows the above is:

 

I’ll just sit out on this bank of sand and watch the river flow

 

Hmmm, this line doesn’t quite work with my metaphor so instead I’ll turn it into a challenge: don’t be the person that just sits there and lets the injustice and inequality occur in this world (if you’re reading this blog I imagine you’re not that person). Support Fair Trade because it is a way to turn something you do every day (consume and purchase products) into something that uplifts others and has a positive influence on the world where wealth and natural resources are distrubuted so unequally.

 

Learn.
Volunteer.
Share your wealth.
Challenge others.

 

 

 

I am sitting with my laptop under 5 layers of blankets trying to stay warm. Huancavelica is a town even higher up in the Andes than Huancayo (13,000 feet) and without heat it feels quite chilly at night.   Since the last time I wrote we have visited various artisan groups living in beautiful places. A few days ago we visited 2 groups outside of Huancayo, La Esperanza and another whose name is in Quechua which I’m still trying to figure out. We have sold several items from La Esperanza . They are talented weavers using a floor loom but have not yet found the right design to use for export products. The women are all related somehow (something BOH and PJT try to discourage when working with groups because we prefer but that the economic development reach the wider community, but it can become difficult when working in small pueblos, where in many cases most of the pueblo is related) and all know how to spin their own wool, dye their fabric, and set up and use their loom. ...continue reading

A long and beautiful bus ride from Lima on Saturday brought me up nearly 11,000 feet to the town of Huancayo. I was lucky enough to sit in the front seat next to the bus driver and take in the incredibly idyllic countryside (but unlucky enough to have to endure the same whiny Huancayan cd blasting the entire way). The terrain quickly changes from the parched, sweltering climate of the coast to the rainy and lush landscape of the Andes. The straight line on the google map shows the distance to be only 120 miles but the road was anything but straight and the trip took 8 hours, passing through mining town after mining town (including the infamous La Oroya whose city is the site of Doe Run’s poly-metallic smelter. It has been named in the top 20 of most polluted cities in the world. According to the Blacksmith Institute , 35,000 have been potentially affected by the pollutants from the mine including lead, copper, zinc, and sulfur dioxide. 99% of children living in and around La Oroya ...continue reading

I should be in Huancayo right now but a bout with giardia has kept me an extra day in Lima. (Giardia is Dr. Carrie’s diagnosis…I took medicine and already feel the party in my stomach coming to an end.) On Thursday we visited 2 groups that are quite advanced, Grupo Mana and Kuichi. Grupo Mana has been together since 2000 and is one of the first groups that BOH started working with. The group has seen some members come and go over but right now they have 5 members who range in age from 22 to 56. They are mothers and grandmothers who have learned to sew and make colorful products using the traditional manta from Huancavelica. They have worked with other groups in the past to fill large orders including an order several years back of a few thousand conference bags. I was only able to meet two members and one was Berta, the current featured artisan on our web site and the other is named Emilia. Both were the initial founders and are outgoing and full of laughter. They had many great ...continue reading

Since I last wrote, I have visited 4 groups: Emady, Manos del Rosario, Jupa, and Ima Sumacc and have inhaled a lot of pollution. I wish I had a map of Lima to show how many different roads we have traversed. Lima is feeling bigger and bigger by the day. And my teeth are decaying by the minute because each artisan group is kind enough to give us Inka Cola or some other sort of sugar saturated, caffeinated drink. And please forgive my English as I am not one of those people that can switch back and forth from one language to another…instead as one language improves, the other deteriorates...   Of all of the groups we have visited, Emady is the most advanced and the oldest member of Bridge of Hope. Emady specializes in producing products that have a touch of Shipibo, an intricately decorated cloth from the northeastern jungles of Peru, but they also use fabrics from other parts of Peru. Dionisia Ramos started the group nearly 7 years ago and from what BOH has told me, has ...continue reading

Early mornings and late nights spent working and trampsing around Lima (in taxis driven by insane drivers of course) have kept me busy since my arrival to Peru. Today, Maribel, Jorge, and I made our first visits to see two artisan groups in San Juan de Lurigancho, one of the poorest parts of Lima.   The first group we visited, named Munay Rumi - quechua for “pretty stone” - is a group of jewelers. Munay Rumi is a very interesting artisan group in the sense that it consists of three women and one man, normally jewelers in Peru are men and it is rare to find a man willing to be outnumbered by women. The group met while working at a factory making cheap wire jewelry. After working there many years - nearly a decade for some - one of the artisans, named Eva (who we weren’t able to meet today), asked the others if they wanted to start their own business. They did and continued to make the cheap wire jewelry (to be honest, I can’t picture the style and don’t know the word ...continue reading

My name is Carrie Hawthorne and I am PJT's executive director. I'll be traveling in Peru from January 22 - February 22 to work with artisans on product design and development as well as spend time getting to know all of the artisans whose beautiful products we sell. I have been working with PJT since April and this will be my first time meeting the artisans and the wonderful staff we work with in Lima, Bridge of Hope . When I'm able to access the internet I'll be posting to this blog to share the stories - both the challenges and accomplishments - of my travels.  Here's a map of where I'll be traveling (the map is interactive so you can click on the different markers to see what artisan groups are in each city and when I'll be traveling where and unfortunately - the roads are not nearly that straight!!). View Larger Map One of the many challenges of working in Fair Trade crafts is developing new products. Fair Trade is fundamentally about involving more people in the ...continue reading