Artisans — Nativities RSS

In many parts of Indonesia, rural families have increasingly had to migrate to find work to support their families. Pekerti, the Indonesian People's Handicraft Foundation Marketing Service, has been working since 1975 to preserve traditional Indonesian handcrafts skills and to promote income-generating projects among the rural, enabling them to remain in their villages with their families. In 1978 they founded Pekerti Nusantara, a non-profit trading company to help artisans find markets. The income from craft production that Pekerti has generated over its 30 years of experience has become a major source of support for many families. Pekerti also offers support to artisan groups in the areas of cooperative philosophy, new product development, and financial management. They have had programs that...

Manos Amigas is a fair trade organization that works with small artisan organizations throughout Peru. By supporting artisans through training and finding markets for their products, they help to preserve the variety of handcraft traditions of Peru. Manos Amigas, which means 'hands of friendship', gives twenty percent of its profits of help fund social welfare projects, like school scholarships, uniforms, and a feeding program for poor children. They work with 6 artisan associations and 70 family workshops in the Lima area and outlying rural villages. Artisans affiliated with Manos Amigas benefit from advances on their orders, technical assistance, help with new product design and training in areas such as administration, accounting, and production.