Benefitting People & Communities

Fibres of Life handicrafts are the result of a creative partnership between a local community developer and the Association for Craft Producers (ACP) in Nepal, which supports low income artisans.  The organization works with 90% women, and a range of castes in Nepal.  There is also targeted support for ethnic minority communities which can face additional economic and social challenges within the country.   ACP is a member of IFAT, the International Fair Trade Association, which links and supports fair trade organizations around the world. Membership in this organization helps to demonstrate that ACP operates with fair trade principles.

For further information on fair trade principles, see the IFAT website:
www.ifat.org/ftrinciples.shtml

Benefits to artisans as a result of our product sales include:

  • A fair wage, one which improves personal and community standard of living

  • A medical allowance - a 7% addition to the artisan's salary

  • A household allowance - a 7% addition to the artisan's salary

  • Paid maternity leave of 52 days for one child

  • An education allowance with extra emphasis on girl children
    (who can be disadvantaged in the mainstream education system)

  • Training in handicraft skills

  • Material sourcing, product development and marketing support

  • A producers' alliance which protects artisan's rights

  • Financial loans to group producers

  • Producer reward schemes

  • A foresight fund to assist producers in retirement

  • Counselling services for those experiencing hardship

  • A subsidized work cafeteria in Kathmandu with healthy food and clean drinking water

To learn more about the Association for Craft Producers, see:
www.acp.org.np

For further information on fair trade in Canada, and what you can do, see the Canadian Fair Trade Network at:
www.fairtradenetwork.ca



We plan to contribute a small portion of our annual sales to the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS, or Bachpan Bachao Andolan). This is an organization dedicated to preventing child labour in South Asia and around the world, and to rehabilitating and organizing former child labourers to improve their own and other children's lives.

For further information on SACCS, see:
www.bba.org.in/aboutus/index.php3