Here are some blue treasures from Ten Thousand Villages. It's such a great source of handmade items from around the globe, and best of all product sales help pay for food, education, healthcare and housing for artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.
All this while using environment friendly resources and processes. Isn't that wonderful?
The whole thing started in 1946 from the trunk of founder Edna Ruth Byler's car, and now has 156 retail outlets in the US. Ten Thousand Villages is one of the world's largest fair trade organizations representing the diverse cultures of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Craftspeople from 38 countries benefit from this wonderful project. You can only imagine how many different kinds of crafts that would be.
Here'a a small selection, but do check out their website.
The pictures are all lined up instead of the little montages I wanted to make, but I hope you'll enjoy them!
Mexico:
Southeast Asia; Phillipines, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam:
Egypt:
Bangladesh:
And India:
Enjoy!