Abraham Lotha
Of late there have been a number of handicraft exhibitions in Nagaland and the Northeast to create a market for the various tribal handicrafts. Sales during the trade exhibits alone will not sustain a good business for the craftsmen to make living out of it. Fortunately, besides national markets, tribal artisans from the Third World can also sell their products globally. One such possibility is through an organization called Ten Thousand Villages.
What started as a small venture from the trunk of Edna Ruth Byler’s car, since 1964, Ten Thousand Villages has grown to over 160 outlets in North America now, and works with tens of thousands of artisans in many Third World countries including India.
The mission of Ten Thousand Villages is to provide “vital, fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America.” The organization does this by working “with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.”
As a business, one of their principles is to “choose handicrafts that reflect and reinforce rich cultural traditions, that are environmentally sensitive, and which appeal to the North American consumer.” The caption on their website prominently reads, ‘Fairly Traded Handicrafts from Around the World.” By selling the handicrafts at a fair price, the organization helps the artisans get a good price for their work and thus “bring dignity to their lives.”
One afternoon during a conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, I took a walking tour of the city. Looking to buy some memorabilia I ventured into what looked like a native handicraft trade store. There were items everything from folk art, ceramics, Native American wild rice, textiles, jewelry, baskets, musical instruments, and CDs from different parts of the world including items made by tribal women from north India. I ended up buying a $25 necklace that was made by a woman from Kenya. The store was owned by Ten Thousand Villages.
“Naga handicrafts have the quality to compete well,” I thought to myself. Sure, but they have to be available in the Ten Thousand Villages stores first.
For more information, readers can go www.tenthousandvillages.com
