Printable Version Tell a friend

Bringing New Color to Artisan's Lives

Bringing New Color to Artisans’ Lives

Ramlal Khatri was a very talented artisan in India who had won prestigious awards for his wood-block printing work, a handmade process in which patterns are stamped on cotton using a wooden block. As part of an artisan community who has been practicing this art for generations, Ramlal followed environmentally friendly processes and only used natural dyes. However, these were not very marketable products. This group started struggling, and the colors of Ramlal’s art began to fade away.

On the other side of the world, Manish Gupta was working for a technology corporation as an operations manager in Austin, Texas. He was very successful and, while it enriched his professional life, he felt there was something missing in his heart. During this time, he first heard of Fair Trade and decided to make a trip to his homeland to see how he could help artisans. He met several communities who were going through hardships similar to Ramlal’s. He noticed that their lack of knowledge and access to a market was allowing others to exploit them. It was hard for the artisans to make even $1 a day, and Manish refused to accept this situation as their only option. He decided to start a fair trade organization now known as Handmade Expressions and partnered with several grassroots NGOs and artisan cooperatives to help them create high quality, hand-crafted goods. Later, he promoted them in international markets as a means to provide the artisans with economic sustainability and employment.

To help Ramlal and his community, Handmade Expressions adapted their age-old techniques to develop modern, functional products. The company researched information on what products were selling in international markets, relayed this information back to the artisans, and designed a re- usable shopping bag and a laptop bag. As these new products became successful, the colors of Ramlal’s art came back to life, as did the smiles on the artisans’ faces, because the whole community now has sustainable income. The artisans are also glad that their traditional art stayed alive, and was able to evolve into modern times.

This was not an exclusive case. As the company grew, so did the number of partner artisans. Handmade Expressions was quick to develop a mission statement that would encompass a broader relationship with producers: “To improve the economic and social standing of underprivileged people in the world by reinforcing local economies and creating self-sustainable employment through just and responsible practices.”

In order to make the organization more efficient and to keep a direct relationship with the artisans, Handmade Expressions divided into two teams: one in the USA and one in India. The US team, based in Austin, markets fair trade products in North America. They also provide guidance for the design and development of products to serve Western tastes, market products all over North America, and promote fair trade at a local and national level. In Austin, Handmade Expressions helps the University of Texas Chapter of Oxfam, by setting up informational booths on campus, serving as speakers for meetings, and helping them organize fair trade awareness events. The US team also promotes fair trade by educating conventional stores, sending fair trade posters and flyers with every order, and including tags that explain social responsibility to buyers. Finally, their website contains information on fair trade, and their blog is a reservoir of fair trade information, opinions, and artisan stories.

The India team manages the artisan relationships and production. They make sure that fair trade practices are upheld and that the market and product information from North America is successfully relayed to the artisans. The organizational structure ensures that a true relationship exists with the artisans, which makes them more enthusiastic about their work. It also gives rise to great flexibility in product development, allowing Handmade Expressions to customize the products for their customers. This business model makes Handmade Expressions a truly global, socially responsible endeavor.

As Juan Portillo of Handmade Expressions’ Austin staff says, “We have definitely learned a lot during our journey, and there is still more to learn. Every fair trader definitely has the opportunity to connect with more organizations to provide more opportunities for more artisans, and to promote fair trade in general.”

A fair portion of the proceeds goes back to the artisan communities to develop the education and health systems, among other social projects. For example, the Vidya_Archana (worshipping knowledge) program focuses on collecting used books and stationary from donations and raising funds. These items are then redistributed to economically disadvantaged children who want to study, but lack the resources to continue their education. Scholarships, merit awards, and sponsorship for higher education are also given to students.