10.11.10 *FOUND | Friends Handicraft

Shanti and Sujitha are friends. They are also sisters and artists. But, they don't leave it at that. After they finished university, they wanted to help the women in their communities, as most of the women around them had no work. While women do the most amount of work in the home—waking first in the morning to fetch water, cook and tend to the rest of household, they are not valued because their tending brings no income. So these two sisters conspired to create jobs which the women could do at home or in the studio—their choice.

Nepalis are shepherds and herders: mostly of goats, cows and yak. The wool that comes from their coats is used for pashminas and blankets and numerous other handicrafts. In a market saturated with pashminas and blankets, they decided to try their hand at something a little different using felted wool, one of the oldest fabrics known to man. Down the dusty back alleys of Thamel and up a flight of stairs in a building that is literally being built around them, at least 50 women are busily sewing lively creations in to existence. Elephants, dogs, birds. Bags, necklaces, slippers, hats and the polka dot coin purses that sold-out at all the awareness events I did before I left. Friends Handicraft is a creative carnival  of color, chatter and creativity.

The majority of the the products made by Friends Handicraft are exported for sale outside Nepal. They have many custom orders placed by European designers and do a swift holiday business. Many of the women were busy tying the last of the ribbons on the holiday ornaments. 

Some of the items are also available on the MadeBySurvivors website, but stay posted for new products! 

Friends Handicraft represents a small but growing collective of efforts by Nepalis. There are many human-relief organizations on the ground in Nepal. While some are in fact doing life-changing work, there are many that do nothing but pocket donations. Corruption has no shame, even in the human-relief industry. So, it is refreshing to see smart women like these two running an honest business of hard-working women. Now if the government could just follow their example, Nepal might actually get a move on.

There are others that are getting on board depending not on foreign investment, but on their very own hard work. There is a lot of room for more opportunities. If you can't shop online, book a ticket to Nepal. This place will change your life.

Maha Guthi // www.mahaguthi.org
Dhukuti: Association for Craft Producers // www.acp.org.np

10.10.10 *FOUND | The Esther Benjamins Trust

About six months ago, my good friend looked me square in the eyes and said, "Tanja, God is not a narcissist."  At the time I was agonizing over the the tug on my heart to press <enter> and buy my ticket for a trip that I knew would change my life but go against all "responsible" logic for my 38 year-old life. Narcissism: egotistical indifference towards the plight of others. The opposite of redemption or empathy. The common thread that ties all of this lost and found together. Every one of the women I meet on this journey is remarkable because they defy the odds.

Esther Benjamins took her own life when she tragically couldn't come to terms with her own childlessness. Her husband Philip Holmes moved to Nepal, a place close to the heart of both of them, and opened a refuge home for women and children to honor her life even in her tragedy. A way to breathe life in to death. A beautiful redemption.

A Refuge has sprung up in the hills outside of Kathmandu. Not a shelter, or an orphanage, but a Refuge—a safe place to start over. EBT (Esther Benjamins Trust), focuses their rescue efforts on children kidnapped, trafficked or sold to Indian circuses. Poverty=desperation. Families sell their children unknowingly and knowingly, or children in abusive homes run away and are picked up by pimps, preying upon the need of the desperate naive. These are not circuses as in clowns and elephants. This is forced, confined labor, often violent and abusive including rape. Their lives are not their own. Many of these young people want to return to their families. Some of their families don't know what happened to their child. One day they never came home. They hope for reunion, not knowing if it will happen. Some just want out but don't want to return to their families who sold them in the first place. EBT facilitates the rescue and repatriation of these young people. They are rehabilitated and either reunited with their families or are given a new life in the Refuge including education and vocational training. 

Vocational training is a word that I say a hundred times every day. It's one of the answers to ending poverty. And there needs to be more of it. If you have limited education (half of Nepal is illiterate), then yes you need a Plan B. You need to learn how to do something to make a living if higher education is not an option. Many of the programs showcased in prior blogs are creative because many of these cultures have that built in to their heritage. Many come from villages where knitting or weaving was part of daily life. It is not uncommon when driving through mountain passes to see mounds of yak wool being knit in to beautiful blankets. Working with their hands is not only a familiar tool, it is an act of community. It is time to be together, to share stories. And in many of these vocational centers, there's a similar replication of "gathering"—there is a sense of peace when you see a room full of bustling hands, lively banter, huddles of humanity contributing to the world around them. 

In addition to rescue and refuge, EBT has developed several training programs which also generate income for its participants. Vocational training and income generation usually go hand-in-hand. It's the golden ticket, because it makes a program sustainable. The uniqueness of EBT is that they make mosaics. Mosaics you say? Yes, mosaics. And they are gorgeous. 

They have two studios, and one is in a little house up in the hills outside of Kathmandu. The path to the studio is full of colorful pieces of broken tile. Inside the studio there are collections of brokenness which trimmed up and smoothed off turn into gorgeous masterpieces. They are then sold in various shops and hotels around Kathmandu or exported to the UK. EBT is also starting a new silver-smithing program lead by jewelry designer Nicola Turnbull. The top four women in the mosaic program are going through training — three of whom are deaf. It's amazing to watch them work and communicate knowing the lives they were rescued from and the lives they now live.

Esther Benjamins suffering was the fertile ground for the rebirth of hundreds of lives. Her suffering was not in vain. Beauty found.

To read more about the life-changing story of The Esther Benjamins Trust, please visit: www.ebtrust.org.uk

To make a donation to EBT, visit: www.madebysurvivors.com

MadeBySurvivors will be carrying a limited number of the new silver mosaic pieces as they become market ready.

NEPAL | faces

There is something very special about the Nepali people. History has etched lines on their faces and hope shines timidly in their eyes. They have suffered. Yet, there is a gentleness about them, or is it their reception to kindness that makes them gentle? Any distrust coming from a long history of being lied to by any government that should but does not help its people out. Defeated but not destroyed. They still smile with their eyes and they want to know "What is your country?" They are a village people wrapped up in long woven blankets with twisted braids and big beaded necklaces. The old men wear these funny tilted hats that make them look oddly official. They walk with their hand behind their backs. And they walk and they walk and they walk. Nepal is a very rural country with high mountains and low desert lands. Remote villages are connected via small paths for people, porters or yaks. It's completely land-locked and China (above) and India (below) seem mostly interested only in what Nepal might have for them. China shoves the landless Tibetans in to Nepal, India comes in to traffic humans. Other than tourism, the resources are few so no one wants to invest, except for human relief organizations—some good, some equally corrupt. And so Nepal suffers. But as it goes with most impoverished countries, those that suffer are those that seem to complain the least. They just keep their shoulders to the grind. Empty promises don't hold water, you learn that quickly. Instability, community, the earth. Those are their constants, and these are their faces.

NEPAL | places

It's hard to believe that I left the country of Bangladesh almost 3 weeks ago. When you're traveling to varied places for an extended amount of time, you lose track of how long you've been gone, what day of the week it is and what it feels like to be cold. You live very "in the present", which is incredibly refreshing coming from a thick chunk of years that had me living for the future. At least once a day I have to ask someone, what day is it? I can't be tethered to email or an iphone because electricity rolls in and out at whim, cell connection is often "beep, beep, beep--busy" and wireless is equally come and go. And why ever would I want to be tied to a computer with all these old towns, and mountains to explore? So, three-weeks have gone by and I haven't told you a thing about this magical kingdom of Nepal, a story best told in pictures...

09.27.10 *FOUND

Being a designer, I get excited by texture and color and photography and making order out of chaos. I love utilizing found objects, natural resources and making something out of nothing. So Bangladesh has been a bit of a playground for me because while it offers very little in the way of order, there is quite a bit of chaos. If you can't find it (and you probably can't), you can certainly find someone who can make it, plus a whole orchestra of people who will want to learn how to make it. So, the combination of all these factors added to the glorious textiles, well, it's pretty fertile ground for artsy types. While my head is full of potential ideas... there are quite a few noteworthy trailblazers who's products are impacting the market.

PEBBLE | HATHAY BUNANO: hand-made toys and children's clothes

This is the kind of stuff you buy because you can't resist leaving it on the shelves. Not only is it completely novel, it is well designed and crafted with savvy color-combinations and spot-on charm. This project is the brainchild of Samantha Morshed who very much understands the idea of utilizing the woman-power of Bangladesh in an environment that works for the woman— in her village, not in a factory. Pebble | Hathay Bunano currently employs over 2000 women at rural centres and also employs the women from the Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP), mentioned in a previous post. Her products are for sale in Bangladesh and also in fine retail establishments in Europe, Australia and in the U.S. Three cheers for you Samantha and all the women that make these can't-live-without products. Pebble is a member of Ecota Fair Trade Forum. If you own a children's shop, know someone who does, please send them to hathaybunano@gmail.com for wholesale inquiries.

SOURCE paper, textiles, jewelry, etc.

Source is the MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) emporium and wholesale showroom. Because MCC has so many projects in their job creation program, this store is bursting with current samples of paper, textiles, gift-items and jewelry. They do a swift export business and partner with quite a few retailers that request custom designs. It's like a candy shop for people like me. Most of these items are sustainably made, the colors vibrant, and the designs are unique yet appealing to a broad audience. Many of these items are available for purchase as Ten Thousand Villages but wholesale opportunities are also available.

AARONG: Bangladesh's biggest emporium of hand-crafted, design-based products

Aarong deserves an honorable mention. I shared their part in the Heart House story, which in and of itself is inspiring, but the "awe" factor lies in visiting one of their retail shops. It is literally layers upon layers of saturated texture. Floor after floor of beautiful and funky items made in rural villages all over Bangladesh, mostly by women, hurrah! The whole thing feels like a choir of color singing at the top of its lungs. No images will do it justice. London has one, I wish Boston did. www.aarong.com

MOTIF: recycled gift items

Heavily focused on fair trade, Motif is the brainchild of British designer Jackie Corlett. A full-fledged import/export operation, Motif works directly with the artisans in creating function-focused items, many from recycled products such as candy wrappers and cement bags. Every member of their team is treated like "family" and they are endlessly working up new ideas. They are also 100% fair trade. To view their products, visit them at: www.motifltd.com

09.26.10 *FOUND

SACRED MARK

My last entry highlighted BRAC and Aarong's as national organizations doing mighty work to support Bangladesh from within. There however are many international organizations that are also helping to lift the nation out of poverty. MCC (Mennonite Central Committee), established in 1922 to help hungry people in Russia and the Ukraine is now a world-wide organization with a strong focus on job creation. MCC is also known for starting Ten Thousand Villages, retail shops all over the United States and Canada which sell the goods designed and produced by many of their own job creation programs worldwide. MCC has their hands in many pots in Bangladesh and they are constantly exploring new, innovative ways to provide opportunities for those that need them.

Most recently, 5-star designer, Austin Miller guided 28 women in to a new income generation program that produces organic, fair-trade soaps. "Sacred Mark" is located in a little yellow house in the middle of bright green rice fields. The whole operation is quite amazing and a total labor of love. Austin worked in partnership with another MCC program called Pobrita (the Bengali word for "pure"), a holistic training program for women leaving the sex-trade. Every single woman here comes from a story of desperation— rape, incest, domestic abuse, abandonment, you name it, all which lead them to working the streets. By the time they are 18, they have already lived many lives. MCC established Pobrita to help these survivors start a new life. The focus is on healing the whole woman, not just providing her with an alternate form of income. They then enter in to a 8 month program of healing and restoration: a program that teaches them everything from reading and writing to basic hygiene to peace-making skills, to vocational training, to small-business skills. No stone left unturned. We visited the program and it was a bustling center of activity and progress. It is from here that the women can then apply to work for various MCC projects, one of them being "Sacred Mark". 

The soaps use only natural products that are locally produced. Scents include cinnamon, cardamom and other herbs. The packaging, also made locally, tells the story of the women who make the soaps. Each bar is tied with a piece of dried banana leaf, closed with hot wax and sealed with the symbol of a finger print. The name "Sacred Mark" comes from the poetry of Bengali born Rabindranath Tagore "Oh let me wear secretly... the sacred mark pressed by Your own hand." The raw idea of soap being made by women who at one time made their living in the unclean world of prostitution is a moving picture of a life transformed by love and second chances. Their old life washed away. Clean. Pure. With the imprint of a Maker. A life with unique meaning and intention. Beauty found.

Sacred Mark products are sold in retail establishments in Bangladesh and can be found in the west at Ten Thousand Villages. If you are interested in carrying Sacred Mark products in your retail environment, spa, salon or inn, please contact: sacredmark@gmail.com

http://mcc.org/stories/news/mcc-teaches-new-job-skills-former-sex-workers-bangladesh

09.25.10 *FOUND

There are three very obvious things evident in Bangladesh:

1.) Bangladesh is a country of rural-based villages.

2.) Millions of people are in desperate need of opportunity. 

3.) Bengalis are natural artisans. 

Logic would therefore go as follows: 

Develop creative opportunities for the rural population of Bangladesh.

BRAC— Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, now the world's largest NGO understands this. In 1972, Sir Fazle Hazan Abed (recently knighted for his contribution to humanity), birthed BRAC in to existence to help rehabilitate the thousands of war refugees who were returning to their ravaged but liberated country. Their mission is described as one that "tackles poverty from a holistic viewpoint, transitioning individuals from being aid recipients to becoming empowered citizens in control of their own destinies. Over the years, BRAC has organized the isolated poor and learned to understand their needs by piloting, refining and scaling up practical ways to increase their access to resources, support their entrepreneurship and empower them to become active agents of change. Women and girls have been the central analytical lens of BRAC’s anti-poverty approach; BRAC recognizes both their vulnerabilities and thirst for change. BRAC always strives to find practical and scalable approaches to eradicate poverty wherever it is."

Recognizing Bangladesh's strong heritage in handicrafts and textiles, they develop village-based business hubs for training and industry. Basically providing a way to utilize, empower and fund the talented human-power of the country by keeping it indigenously focused. The opposite of what the modern-day garment industry has done— exploit cheap labor to produce garments exported for western consumption. Another issue entirely. So what you have is villages tucked away all over the country with little hubs of artisans turning out products then sold nationally (and in London) at a chain of emporiums called Aarong's. The remarkable thing is that when you walk in to an Aarong's you are immediately aware that this is not just a handicrafts store, no this is a carefully curated collection of items utilizing Bengali traditions but modernizing the effect with a distinctly designerly feel. The colors are intense, the details are intricate, and somehow the items are magically relevant at once to both nationals and western girls like me. It's quite mystifying actually. When you travel outside of the cities here in Bangladesh you cannot help but wonder— where is everyone? Because it is poor and rural, the roads are barely maintained or even developed. The villages are true villages, many cook over outside fire, fetch water from a well, and electricity rolls in and out on an undetermined basis. So how does BRAC do it? How do they find all these villages, figure out what they are gifted in, train them, keep them producing high quality goods, transport the goods and then sell them? If you could see Bangladesh, the whole business would have you scratching your head as well. 

I was able to see one of these creative hubs first hand...

About three hours south of Chittagong lies the riverside village of Malunghat.
There's not much there.

The only reason we got off the bus is because there is a missionary hospital there that also rents guesthouses— only known because my traveling companion Christa lived in Bangladesh for a good chunk of years, so she knows of these welcoming places. The hospital in and of itself is a true feat. Especially in comparison to the misery of the public hospital in Dhaka that I mentioned in a previous post. Set down a small path off of the main road, the compound houses a full-service hospital, a fistula clinic, a school, several homes and several guesthouses (with AC!). Memorial Christian Hospital is situated in the midst of the village and is for anyone in need of care. No one will be turned away and all will be treated with compassion. People come from far and wide as it is one of the best hospitals along the south east bay of Bengal. We witnessed and experienced their care as several of us were in need of some medical TLC ourselves. The doctors and staff are salt of the earth people, coming from all over to serve the people of Bangladesh. Many villagers find employment at the hospital as well. It does not look like a hospital in the traditional sense. Instead it is a sprawling set of house-like buildings that have a distinct "in the jungle" feel, connected by mossy paths and rice patty views. Down one path lies The Heart House.

Heart House is a BRAC creation developed in partnership with the hospital to provide income for widows young and old— a very marginalized slice of the population. Inside this little house are 40 women of varying ages making Bengali dolls. They are very detailed and each woman seems to be an expert on her part of the doll. It's like Santa's workshop. One makes the arms, one sews them on, one paints the faces, one sews the clothes. And on and on until there stands the doll all ready to go off to be sold at Aarong's. And that's how it happens.

Many NGOs have taken their cue from BRAC's Aarong's. They have set up village job creation programs lead by a creative vision in conjunction with the innate talent that Bengalis seem to be born with. Some NGOs create programs and products largely for export because a higher price can be demanded outside of the country. True. But, it is refreshing to see the products also staying in the country to be purchased by the nationals, boosting their own economy and proudly keeping their creative legacy alive. The result is that Aarong's has developed sort of a cult-following. It is THE place to shop. If you carry the orange Aarong'sAarong's in my town. 

BRAC: www.brac.net

Aarong's: www.aarong.com