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The current virus lockdown has been hard for everyone, but particularly hard for Mexico’s artisans.The classic way to sell handcrafts is through street and market vending. While there have been efforts by government and private organizations to take this to the next level, success has been sporadic at best.Today, artisans face an unprecedented situation, perhaps even catastrophe. “Non-essential businesses” are shut, tourism is dead and street traffic is nil, eliminating venues that artisans rely …

What we can learn from the world’s independent makers, and why preserving these ways of working means sowing the seeds for better systems going forward.The onset of COVID-19 prompted billions of workers to shift their work life to their home offices for the first time, introducing a new working style. Yet as a large part of society globally faces this apparently radical and sudden shift in how we live and work, we must remember that home-based work has existed in emerging economies, and right he …

For the last 20 years we have provided fair wages and sustainable employment for skilled artisans in our workshop in Peru. Over 63 families enjoy full time well remunerated employment that allows them to provide for their children and themselves. Long term relationships have been established with families working in rural areas of the Andes allowing them to work from their villages and ensuring sustainable employment and a marketplace for their fine skilled crafts. As a small organization we …

Life in rural villages around the world is not an easy one, mostly due to a significant lack of jobs and resources. For the more fortunate ones who do have a job, such as an artisan, face hard work, low wages, and long hours on a daily basis, to name a few of the hardships. Common artisan jobs are weavers, knitters, and gourd carvers, and while they are masters of their craft, often they forced to produce their goods in poor working environments. Luckily, today there are a number of businesses, …