2751 North Center Street
Hickory, NC 28601
828-328-5595
Store Hours:
Monday through Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Email: fairtrade@uniqueworldgifts.org
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Fair trade provides under employed and unemployed artisans with an opportunity to earn vital income and improve their quality of life by establishing a sustainable market for their handcrafted products. When you purchase fair-trade products, you help these craftspeople - the overwhelming majority of which are women - become self reliant and encourage social reform.
Ten Thousand Villages Partner Sana Hastakala
Sana Hastakala, is a nongovernmental, nonprofit export organization based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Sana Hastakala works to preserve the rich artistic skill and traditions of Nepali artisans, and provides interest-free loans, training and marketing assistance to artisans. The group represents some 1,000 artisans from more than 100 groups in rural areas outside Kathmandu. Eighty percent of the artisans are women; most artisans are uneducated. Sana Hastakala strives to increase its export sales so that additional disadvantaged artisans can improve their economic and social conditions. Profit from sales is used for producer development programs, staff welfare and organizational strengthening.
The artisan group was established in 1989 with the assistance of UNICEF.
Its objective was to help market the handicrafts of producers, operating on a small scale, usually from their homes. In 2003, it became a full member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFTA) and is a founding member of Fair Trade Group Nepal (FTG).
Pictured: Ganga Chakradhar fashions unique ceramic gifts and home decor like the ceramic lotus candleholder and lotus birdbath. Chakradhar works with Everest Pottery, a small workshop with Sana Hastakala. When you shop Unique World Gifts, you may find pashmina and silk scarves, ceramics, bags, carved mirrors, games and garlands from Sana Hastakala.
Ten Thousand Villages Partner OTICART International Limited
In 1995 Claytone Ombasyi, a Christian businessman in Nairobi, Kenya, started OTIC, a privately held export and marketing company. With his professional experience in exporting and marketing, Ombasyi wanted to help local artisans connect with export markets. He operates his business with the utmost integrity and expects the same of others, encouraging artisans to consider their products a reflection of themselves and to use the products to share their vision with customers. OTIC provides export, packaging and quality control support for a number of small workshops in and around Nairobi. Depending on their 
circumstances, these small groups provide a variety of advantages to their artisans. Some offer training in wood carving, while others provide short-term, no interest loans.
Pictured: Samuel Macharia and his neighbors craft galimotos and other wire crafts from wire and bits of fabric in Samuel’s home workshop. You may find a variety of OTIC push toys, carved wooden animals, carved bone items, ceramic pots, pop-up animals, musical instruments and nativities at UWG.
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