Store sells ethnic goods

Mahatma Ghandi once said, "I have believed and repeated times without number that India is not to be found in its few cities, but in the 700,000 villages."

In an age where sweat shops and slave labor dominate the means of trade, it is difficult, if not impossible, to save the cultural goods of the Third World countries. International agencies have developed outreach programs designed to deliver the amenities of the so-called First World to the traditional villages, but few have thought to enrich the lives of the developed with those of the developing. Ten Thousand Villages, a project of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), challenges this very notion by providing fair income to Third World artisans by selling their handicrafts in North America.

Founded in 1946 by Edna Ruth Byler, the wife of MCC volunteer Joe Byler, Ten Thousands Villages now has more than 200 stores in the United States and Canada, including one in Brookline and another in Cambridge. Each shop is piled high with goods from over 30 countries created by some 600,000 craftspeople. The objects range from ceramics and carved woods to intricate beading and weaved fabrics.

Each piece of merchandise is displayed with a story and map of its origin, making the purchase a truly educational experience. Silver rings from Indonesia, wood masks from Africa, and detailed ceramic pots from Vietnam share the space creating a collage of otherwise hidden handicrafts. Prices, set by the craftspeople themselves with help from export service organizations, are surprisingly low considering each item is hand made.

Ten Thousand Villages employs a very organized process to see that all artisans are fairly compensated for their work. Fifty percent of the retail value of the piece is paid to craftspeople at the time of order. This allows for the purchase of materials needed to produce the objects and helps to ensure that secure income is established.

When the goods leave port on their trip to North America, artisans are paid the remaining half of the cost of the object. This way, all workers are paid in full before the goods even reach the North American shores. The process helps to guarantee that if anyone suffers from debt it is the American company, not the village craftspeople. In addition to this favorable system, Ten Thousand Villages directly monitors working conditions and how workers are paid.

Through the success of their partnership with Ten Thousand Villages, many artisans have made contracts with many Alternative Trade Organizations (ATOs) around the world, allowing them to receive income from a variety of sources. Entire villages have been saved by the productivity. Moreover, millions of people from the developed world have come to better understand the traditional gifts of the world's lesser known cultures.

Mary Ann Trulli, assistant store manager at Cambridge location, said that support from the politically aware students of the community is always strong. "A store like this promotes cultural understanding, and in this post September 11, I think it's important to promote a Tran global community," she said.

She shares her sentiments with the thousands of volunteer employees who make the work of Ten Thousands Villages possible. The business model exists as a guiding light to a world terrain otherwise impossible for one to navigate.

In addition to their everyday operation, Ten Thousand Villages runs monthly programs in diversity and cultural awareness at their store locations. They also organize an effort to package school kits for disadvantaged youth of developing nations. All of this information is available at their stores or through their on-line site www.tenthousandvillages.org.