Lightening our load at Asha and training in trends

Everywhere we have gone we have picked up product samples from our producer groups and new inventory. So our last day in India we had to figure out how to get some of these treasures home due to the new security issues. No carry on luggage, when Susanne and I had two each. Asha came to our rescue, as we headed over to their office with two suitcases of stuff to ship home. We spent the afternoon with our friends at this businesswho are working with hundreds of NGO’s and artisans in India to design, market and export internationally through Fair Trade practices. Their work is expanded into self help groups that work with the artisans to improve their lives through education. They are helping to supply them with gas stoves to reduce the hazards of wood fires, starting backyard gardens using drip irrigation and lots of hygiene and health classes. The products range from jewelry and wood boxes, to beaded purses and leather goods along with wrought iron and environmentally friendly items like bone and horn. The work is intricate and detailed with vibrant colors and mixed materials. We have modeled our work after their model and help them with design and trend issues. We saw the possibilities for doing something similar to this in Africa. Asha has set the bar high for quality, integrity and social responsibility. Susanne spent some time with the head of their social work and took alot of notes on how they operate while Debbie lead a design trend training. We are excited to use this model to bring sustainability to the artisans in Africa. Big surprises and ah-ha moments when Debbie did the design and trend training with the two new designers, Joanne and Mithily pictured here with us. We made them understand that in the US and UK we would have a market for more tribal and traditional designs. Susanne modeled her top she bought for this trip from Old Navy and they could not believe us that it was from the US. They giggled and thought we were fooling them until they realized we were serious and showed them the tags. We designed some new handbags for spring and a few for fall and checked on our order of Christmas ornaments. The Warli designs and Bidri were also reviewed and with only so much we could do in a day we came home with photos and disks to design from.