Red Bank becomes a global village

BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff The handicrafts sold at Ten Thousand Villages in Red Bank are made by artisans in Third World countries. The nonprofit company is a fair trade organization that aims to provide a fair income to artisans in thousands of villages in developing countries. Amid the store closings in Red Bank, there is an exciting new store opening. Enigmatically called Ten Thousand Villages, it officially opened last weekend at 69 Broad St. in the heart of the business district.

A unique company, Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit program of the Mennonite Central Committee, a relief service and peace agency of the North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches.

The company is one of the oldest and largest fair trade organizations in the world and connects consumers in North America with unemployed and underemployed artisans in thousands of villages in developing countries through fair trade relationships.

According to company literature, the name Ten Thousand Villages was inspired by a Mahatma Gandhi quote that equated India, not to its cities, but to its villages.

“India is not to be found in its few cities but in the … villages ... we have hardly ever paused to inquire if these folks get sufficient to eat and clothe themselves with,” Gandhi said.

The company purchases hand-crafted gift and home decor items from skilled artisans in 30 countries. Its mission is to provide fair income to Third World people by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America.

Principles of operation include purchasing from craft groups, paying fair prices and promptly paying an advance of up to 50 percent to provide operating capital for artisans to purchase raw materials, offering handicrafts that reflect rich cultural traditions.

Amber Graves Jacobowitz, manager of the Red Bank store, just closed her own home furnishings store on West Front Street but didn’t want to leave Red Bank.

“I love this town and wanted to stay in the community. When I found out what this store was all about, I thought it was a great fit for me.”

She explained that there will be two paid employees — she who will be full time and a part-time assistant manager, who has not been hired yet. The rest of the staff will be volunteers.

“This keeps the expenses down and the volunteers will learn about how the store works,” she said.

This is the third New Jersey store for Ten Thousand Villages; others are in Princeton and Summit.

Jacobowitz feels that the borough is a good place for this type of enterprise.

“I think Red Bank is looking for a balance between high end and affordable. You can come in here and buy quality items for a fair price. We’re just trying to make enough to buy more merchandise.”

She feels that since the area was affected by 9/11, people are interested in giving back, especially women.

“They want to connect with women from disadvantaged countries,” she said, adding that 70 percent of the merchandise is made by women.

“These artisans are women who wouldn’t have anything, and now they can earn a living.”

Juanita Fox, media coordinator for the unique retailer, said the company chose Red Bank because it is a community that will be very interested in Ten Thousand Villages as an organization.

“We hope to invite new customers to become involved in our mission,” she said.

She added that when people begin to shop in the store, they want to become more involved. The company also reaches out to the community by connecting with local groups, churches and synagogues.

Besides selling the handicrafts in the store, the company supports gift festivals put on by community groups and colleges.

“It’s an opportunity for a local community group to host a Ten Thousand Villages sale,” Fox said. “We supply the merchandise and they sell the product at festivals. It’s an opportunity to offer the product to communities that don’t necessarily have a store; universities and college students are very interested in these kinds of festivals,” she said.

As an example, she cited Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa.

“They host one of the festivals as part of their curriculum and pull in marketing and other kinds of business and liberal arts students,” she said.

Lynn Martocci, of Little Silver, was shopping in the store last Thursday. She said as she entered, “I’m so glad you are here. I’ve been in the store in Washington [D.C.].”

Fox said the store is actually in Alexandria, Va.

Walking into Ten Thousand Villages is like walking through a marketplace in Asia, Africa or Central America. Everything in the store is handmade, from paper products to musical instruments made out of wood, as well as cloth items like linens, pillows and purses and home decor items like dishes and pottery.

There are photo albums, photo boxes, journals, stationery sets and frames made of beautiful handmade papers from Bangladesh. They are made of scraps of jute and water hyacinth that are beaten into a pulp, floated in water, collected on a screen and dried in the sun. Sometimes the sheets are tinted using natural dyes.

The story that accompanies the paper products tells of life in Bangladesh, which is extremely hard. The story of the artisans includes Rabeya, the sole income earner for her family because her husband is disabled. Hers is one of the many lives that have been changed by the Shuktara Paper Project.

“Shuktara handmade paper products are crafted by marginalized women who are often widowed, abandoned or divorced,” the company’s brochure states.

There are other handicrafts from Bangladesh, one of the many countries represented by artisans. They include palm leaf rings, star garlands, kaisa grass baskets and place mats, clay Nativity sets, terra cotta candle holders, lanterns, wall plaques and jute angels.

In addition to crafts from Bangladesh, there are one-of-a-kind bamboo pieces from a village in South Vietnam; Kalamkari block printed fabric from southeast India; table and baul drums from northeast India; hand-painted papyrus cards from Egypt; variegated onyx sculpted bowls from Pakistan; wire and bottle cap jewelry from Kenya as well as handmade jewelry from other countries, all at reasonable prices.

Jacobowitz said she thinks the hand-crafted jewelry will a big seller.

The story of the company goes back to 1946 when Edna Ruth Byler, a volunteer for the Mennonite Central Committee, discovered beautiful hand-sewn fabric pieces done by poor women in Puerto Rico. She realized that these women needed places to sell their wares so they could improve their lives. She brought some pieces home to Akron, Pa., to sell to friends and neighbors.

Their popularity inspired her to reach out to other impoverished communities.

The company, which has headquarters in Akron, Pa., and in Canada, started as a nonprofit and has remained a nonprofit.

According to its literature, it was set up to benefit people rather than maximizing profits. The artisans’ income helps them pay for food, education, health care and housing.

Right now there are 180 stores across North America, with many of them in Canada. The company is one of many Alternative Trading Organizations and is a member of the International Fair Trade Association.

CEO Paul Myers said in his annual statement that the company sold goods totaling $15,243,000 during the financial year, which was 4 percent over the previous year. He said that during the next year, plans are to open seven new stores in good locations.

Fox explained that the company had been looking for a store in Red bank for a while. Most of the stores are between 1,200 and 1,500 square feet. The Red Bank space fits the mold and was on the list to be opened in 2005.

“Right now, we’re working on opening stores in 2006,” she said. “The communities have already been identified.”

The company’s vision is that one day all artisans in the developing countries will earn a fair wage, be treated with dignity and respect, and be able to live a life of quality.

Ten Thousand Villages is open Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m to 6 p.m., Friday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.