Part 32 "Young Beaders"

Michelle writes:
I'm getting an education about fair trade products. Fair trade is defined as products from third world countries where the people are paid a fair wage for their work. Fair trade is often calculated by the time spent in making the product and materials used, based on the daily wage of the region. 
There are no regulations as to what is truly fair trade, and many products are sold with that labeling but were bought at the markets with haggling and desperate vendors involved. 
     Many of the street vendors here will keep dropping their price in hopes of a sale. Often you realize they can't pay for their supplies and time selling at the low prices they are willing to take, but the economic reality is such that they need some cash to take home after a day of attempting to sell to the few tourists. The tourism industry has been hit hard since 9-11 and the recent housing slump.

These are the young beaders who make necklaces and bracelets (shown below) to sell in the US as fair trade products.

The young beaders who work for "Sharing the Dream" are delighted to have a job where the beads are supplied and they are paid for each piece created, not having to wait until after the sale. A couple of the girls had previously sold their products to a local shop. They found that after they were paid, the money received would only cover the purchase of new supplies. They had not received anything for their time.

Part 13 "Finding Myself"

Michelle writes:

Well, I think I now know why I had to come so far away to find myself. I feel so free here. It's just me and no one else to rely on. It's empowering to be in a strange place, knowing I’m OK and will figure out what I need to know, on my own. Being married for so long, I needed to know I can be okay, and in the States it just isn't the same with my safety network of family and friends. Although by writing and posting, I'm still not alone, because you all are with me.

The people I meet are great. Yesterday, I had lunch with Ginny from Vermillion, South Dakota, who is here for 2-1/2 months. She has been involved with a group that sells products from Guatemala, such as organic coffee and textiles, in a fair trade shop in Vermillion. They have return customers for the coffee, and then hope they will also buy gifts. The chocolate here is pretty good also! 
The originator of this project will be in Guatemala next week. Once again  timing came through for me. I'll meet with them next week at their project at Santiago Atitlan, a village on Lake Atitlan. They have a shelter for older women where I want to volunteer. "Sharing the Dream" is their website at: http://www.sharingthedream.org/

So many people are doing service work, and there is such a great need. Don't know where it will take me, but I'm exploring options. 


Education increases the options we can explore. The Scheel Center (see earlier blog post: Part 12) is in the process of raising $10, 000 to fund their school here.  Their deadline is Easter Sunday, April 24th, and they've already raised $4,000. If you want to contribute, please go to www.globalgiving.org. Type "Scheel Center" into the website's search box, and you'll find donation options that will benefit The Scheel Center.