While there are plenty of opportunities to shop for local produce this holiday season, World Market Holiday Shop offers fair-trade artisan products from as far away as Haiti, Uganda and Nepal.
Held at the Capawock Theater in Vineyard Haven until Christmas Eve, the market is an offshoot of World Market Mondays, a summer staple at Grange Hall. The vendors are made up of six different global empowerment projects that share one mission: connecting artisans in economically disadvantaged countries with an international customer base.
“Fair trade basically means that the worker earns a living wage,” said Carolyn Stoeber, one of the World Market organizers and an Economic Empowerment leader in Haiti.
Linda Cohen from Olive Branch Fair Trade with her produce from the market. — ray ewing
In addition to Economic Empowerment in Haiti, Capawock’s vendors include Ama Nomad, Invisible World & Her Future Coalition, Maasai Partners, and Olive Branch Fair Trade. Also part of World Market Mondays, but not in Capawock, is the African Artists Community Development Project, which this season takes place at founder Marsha Winsryg’s home, located at 20 Road to Great Neck in West Tisbury, every Friday. and Saturdays until Christmas.
While shops must be certified to be considered fair trade, small independent artisans often don’t have the resources to receive the official label, Stoeber explained, making it a useful but not necessarily complete label.
“Many of these small farmers are also completely organic, but it’s not like they have the ‘organic’ label on their products,” he said.
Ms. Stoeber’s nonprofit organization sells a variety of sustainable handmade Haitian products, from beadwork to metal art. Each item goes towards “orphan prevention”.
“Most of the children who are in orphanages in Haiti are abandoned because their parents cannot afford to support them,” Ms. Stoeber said. “Our mission is to provide parents with a source of income so they can support their children.”
Ms. Stoeber’s favorite product, hand-chiseled metal wall art, is made from steel oil drums that had been smuggled into the country during the 1990s oil embargo.
Marsha Winsryg is displaying the African Artists Community Development Project on her porch. — ray ewing
“Haiti doesn’t have a steel drum music culture like other Caribbean countries, but they do have a very artistic culture,” Ms. Stoeber said. “They turned what was essentially accumulated trash into this beautiful work of art. It’s remarkable, really.”
Judy Lane, founder of the non-profit organization Maasai Partners, first connected with the Maasai community during a trip to Tanzania. She met a local Maasai man, she kept in touch with him and eventually returned to visit his village. Her experiences in that community led her to found Maasai Partners, which provides educational opportunities, microfinance support and economic agency to Maasai women through the proceeds of their fair trade products.
“Before the pandemic, I was going to Tanzania at least twice a year,” Lane said. “If I stayed away too long, people would start to worry.”
Over time, she joined a community of Maasai women and sought ways to support their economic agency even beyond artisan products. Her microfinance loan program gives Maasai women access to capital with high-interest loans, but that interest stays entirely within the Maasai community.
“We originally used that interest to cover the administrative costs of the women who run the program, but they ended up using it for community projects,” said Ms. Lane. “These women ended up having a lot of influence.”
The sale of fair trade items creates a living wage for workers. — ray ewing
The pandemic had led Ms. Lane to adjust her programs so they could function more independently within the local community, but she plans to return to Tanzania soon.
“I once had a baby that was born in the back of my Land Rover,” she said. “I am very close to the community. I will definitely be back within the year.”
The World Market Holiday Store is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm at the Capawock Theater in Vineyard Haven through December 24. For more information, visit worldmarketmondays.org.
