Photograph courtesy of Kristi Hewitt

Keep the Rhythm: A young shopper tries out a balatone from Burkina Faso at a previous International Gift Faire.




WG gift faire to assist Third World artisans

By Amy Jenkins

The 13th annual International Gift Faire, coming to Willow Glen on Oct. 19 and 20, will provide customers with unique handmade crafts from Third World artisans and in return benefit the artisans.

Visitors to the faire will find baskets, toys, rugs, ornaments and brassware among many other items made by people in developing countries like Bangladesh, El Salvador, India, Thailand, the Philippines and Kenya.

Ten Thousand Villages is the parent organization of the International Gift Faire and specializes in fairly traded handicrafts from around the world. It is a nonprofit organization that provides fair incomes to Third World people by selling their handicrafts in stores and faires across North America.

"Their mission is to help people help themselves," said Frances Schroder, a member of the committee for this year's faire. "Giving them proceeds gives them some hope."

Last year the Willow Glen committee raised $54,000 during its two-day faire. Aside from the faire's operating expenses, such as publicity and shipping, all proceeds went to Ten Thousand Villages so it could purchase more crafts from artisans, Schroder said.

"The unique thing about fair trade organizations like Ten Thousand Villages and the International Gift Faire is we eliminate the middleman, who usually gets most of the money," said Norma Voth, another committee member for this year's fair.

The organization cuts out the middleman and wholesale company--thus paying the artisan much better--by using local volunteers to find artisans and selling their work directly to the public.

"A representative from Ten Thousand Villages visits small cooperatives in Third World countries to find crafts that can be sold on an American market," Voth said. "The artisan is paid half before they make the product. Then, once the order is complete, they are paid in full."

More than 150 people from local churches, students at San Jose State University and former customers will volunteer at the gift faire this weekend. Last year more than 1,000 visitors took advantage of the unique shopping experience and visited the faire in Willow Glen.

Proceeds from the faire will help support 50 Third World artisans with year-round, full-time jobs and provide better nutrition, housing, education and health care for their families. Last year, Ten Thousand Villages benefited more than 60,000 crafts people and raised $3.9 million dollars for artisans.

Artisans who make a living from selling crafts at the faire include refugees, spouses of "disappeared" human rights workers, illiterate villagers and landless peasants.

"They either have the God-given talent to make these crafts or they are taught some skills by Ten Thousand Village representatives," Schroder said.

Ten Thousand Villages began 55 years ago when a single Mennonite woman sold Filipino embroidery in her basement, and it grew into a program of the Mennonite Central Committee. The first International Gift Faire was organized 13 years ago by seven Bay Area Mennonite women. In addition to selling crafts and food, the faire will feature Adaku Davis from the San Jose Multi-Cultural Artists' Guild and Mark Giannuzi demonstrating African drumming and folk instruments.

"Things that sold well last year, like coffee and Christmas ornaments, will be sent to the faire this year," Schroder said. "There will also be a very wide selection of gift items."

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The International Gift Faire takes place Oct. 19, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., and Oct. 20, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Lincoln Glen Church Fellowship Hall, 2700 Booksin Ave. For more information, call 408.264.1662.

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