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Ten Thousand Villages is a program of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) started in 1946 that pioneered the concept of \"fair trade\" by buying crafts directly from artisans in the developing world and paying a \"living wage.\" more...

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History

In 1946 Edna Ruth Byler, from Akron, Pennsylvania, visited MCC volunteers teaching sewing in Puerto Rico to those living in poverty. The volunteers were searching for ways to better their program and improve the lives of the students.

Byler brought some of the class's pieces back to the United States to sell to friends and family. The demand surprised even her and she soon found herself selling cross-stich needlework from Palestinian refugees and Haitian woodenware. In the 1970's the small project moved out of Byler's basement and became an official program of the MCC.

The program came to be known as SELFHELP Crafts of the World, and kept this name for 20 years. In 1996 the name was changed to Ten Thousand Villages.

Today

Today Ten Thousand Villages has over 70 stores and 180 outlets across North America and is a member of the Fair Trade Federation and the International Fair Trade Association. Ten Thousand Villages sold $15 million worth of \"fair trade\" goods in the United States and another $3 million in Canada between March 2003 and April 2004 (Garriga, 2004). Ten Thousand Villages sold $20 million worth of \"fair trade\" goods in the United States between April 2005 and March 2006.

70% of the artisans who create products for Ten Thousand Villages are women. The countries they are from include Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, Vietnam, India, Laos, El Salvador, Nepal, Peru and Guatemala.

The stores sell a wide variety of household items, books, toys and personal items such as jewelry and other accessories. They also sell fair trade food items such as chocolate and coffee. Such foods are made with organic ingredients.

The stores run as non-profits because fair trade education is part of its charter. This allows more money to be sent to the developing nations. The stores rely heavily on volunteer workers. Ten Thousand Villages also works with other humanitarian organizations; for example, by selling UNICEF greeting cards in their stores.

In 2006, Make Trade Fair was released, a compilation CD to raise awareness and funds for Ten Thousand Villages.

Ten Thousand Villages uses the slogan, \"Your purchase makes a global difference.\"