2024 Canvas Home Small Grants Awardees

The Canvas Home™ Small Grant program is a long-standing funding program sponsored by Creative Learning Inc. (CL) and Canvas Home™, a retailer and wholesaler of artisan furniture, ceramics, and textiles. The program provides artisan businesses with direct and immediate financial assistance that can lay the groundwork for sustainable incomes for artisans and their community. These grants are designed to allow artisan groups to acquire materials, tools, equipment, training, and marketing services in order to expand employment and generate income.

As a division of CL Aid to Artisans (ATA) is proud to announce the 2024 Canvas Home™ Small Grants Program awardees. The program sponsored 11 artisan groups from Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Madagascar, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Tanzania.

Cover photo courtesy of CHAKO

Please meet our Awardees:

Cojolya – Guatemala

Founded in 1983, Cojolya was established to support the traditional weaving craft of the Tz’utujil Maya artisans in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala offering a sustainable source of income while preserving their cultural heritage. By providing essential resources such as raw materials, design support, and market access, Cojolya promotes economic independence through fair trade principles. Their initiatives, including the Mano a Mano program, focus on professional development, gender equality, and worker rights, while addressing key issues like high school dropout rates among indigenous children. With their grant, Cojolya will purchase professional leather skiving machines and yarn. By having their own skiving machines, Cojolya will no longer need to outsource this process of their production which add 10 days to the process. This will also allow more money to go back to the artisans themselves.

Website: online-shop.cojolya.org.gt

Instagram: @Cojolya

Facebook: @Cojolya

Earth Heir – Malaysia

Earth Heir is an ethical enterprise in Malaysia that empowers marginalized communities, including refugees, indigenous women, rural women, and disabled artisans, by producing well-designed, handmade products that provide sustainable income. Guided by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and in partnership with UNHCR/MADE51, Earth Heir promotes gender equality, decent work, and conscious consumption, with a focus on ethical production and fair labor practices. Their mission is to foster economic growth for artisans while advocating for a more equitable and sustainable lifestyle. With their grant, Earth Heir will implement training workshops for 12 new refugees from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Pakistan or Palestine for a period of 6 months. The training on jewelry making will help to provide the 12 women and their families with a means of income.

Website: earthheir.com

Instagram: @EarthHeir

Facebook: @EarthHeir

Eat Radiantly – Ghana

Eat Radiantly is a Ghanaian handmade ceramics company that produces African-inspired serve-ware and cookware using traditional, sustainable pottery techniques with a modern touch. Their mission is to preserve ancient pottery practices while empowering women artisans to reach their full creative potential. In under a year, Eat Radiantly has successfully stocked its products in several popular shops in Accra and at Kotoka International Airport. With their grant, Eat Radiantly will receive customized One-on-One Coaching Sessions with ATA through its Artisan Business Lab platform. The trainings will focus on Marketing, Product Development and Costing & Pricing, supporting Eat Radiantly’s goal of selling their products to a regional or international market.

Instagram: @eat.radiantly

Fundación Hilo Sagrado – Colombia

Fundación Hilo Sagrado is a transformative organization dedicated to improving the well-being of the Wayuu indigenous communities in La Guajira, Colombia, by preserving their ancestral legacy and strengthening the social fabric. Through empowering productive capacities, promoting the local economy, and fostering essential life skills, Hilo Sagrado works to break cycles of poverty and enhance cultural development. Their impactful work has been recognized with various awards, including the IMPAQTO Lab | Google for Startups and the Young Leaders of The Americas Initiative. With their grant, Fundación Hilo Sagrado will purchase 3 Lenovo IdeaPad Laptops. By acquiring laptops, the leaders will gain digital literacy skills, enabling them to use tools like Google Suite, Canva, and ChatGPT, which will modernize the organization’s operations, enhance communication and marketing, and strengthen leadership capabilities.

Website: hilosagrado.org

Instagram: @hsagrado

Facebook: @HiloSagrado

Himalayan Naari – India

Himalayan Naari, founded in 2013, improves the livelihoods of women in the Kumaoun region of India through woolen crafts. Formally organized as a Women’s Trust in 2017, the initiative empowers women by providing economic independence and strengthening the community, with artisans producing high-quality goods for local and international markets. In addition to their craftwork, Himalayan Naari supports women’s health, nutrition, and well-being, and has built a Women’s Center, a local store, and a dye workshop. With their grant, Himalayan Naari will implement advanced dyeing and sewing training for their artisans. The training will improve the dyeing skills of the artisans and allow Himalayan Naari to hire 2-4 new artisans.

Website: himalayan-naari.com

Instagram: @himalayan.naari

Facebook: @himalayan.naari

Pomegranate Seeds – Pakistan

Pomegranate Seeds is dedicated to empowering Afghan women refugees by harnessing their artisanal skills to provide them with income while celebrating their cultural heritage. Founded after a successful exhibition in 2019, the organization partners with UNHCR/MADE51 to bring refugee-made products to global markets, helping displaced women secure financial independence. Committed to sustainable fashion, Pomegranate Seeds emphasizes eco-friendly materials, ethical production, and fair labor practices. With their grant, Pomegranate Seeds will purchase a camera, laptop, fabric, chairs, iron, tables, embroidery hoop stands, shelves, sewing machines and mannequins. The new materials will allow Pomegranate Seeds to conduct additional trainings for their artisans on making eco-friendly products and establish a material bank to improve their operations.

Website: pomegranateseeds.com.pk

Instagram: @pomegranateseedspk

Facebook: @PomegranateSeedsPk

Sepali Madagascar Women Artisan – Madagascar

Sepali Madagascar Women Artisan (Sepali) is a non-profit organization focused on conservation and sustainable livelihoods in the border forests of Makira and Masoala, Madagascar. Since 2006, they have introduced native silk farming, promoting reforestation with silkworm host plants while providing alternative income for local communities through the production and marketing of silk cocoons. Sepali has developed a women’s artisan cooperative that processes silk into finished products, generating income for 360 farmers and 60 artisans, with products sold internationally and locally to support their conservation efforts. With their grant, Sepali will purchase display shelves, signs, a video projector, and printing for catalogs, labels and other marketing materials. The supplies will support the development of their gift shop in Maroantsetra to attract more tourists.

Website: sepalim.org

Instagram: @cpali_conservation

Facebook: @cpali.madagascar

Tally Assuit Women’s Collective – Egypt

Tally Assuit Women’s Collective (TAWC) is a collective of artisans in Cairo who specialize in the unique metal embroidery technique of tally, blending geometric patterns with pharaonic motifs on Egyptian cotton tulle to create a soft, liquid metal effect. Formed in 2019, TAWC aims to bring tally into the contemporary fashion world while providing sustainable income for its artisans. They have successfully showcased their work at prestigious events, including the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe and MIDA in Florence. With their grant, TAWC will purchase Egyptian cotton tulle roll, metal stripes, and needles. A small grant would enable their artisans to bulk purchase tulle and metal at a reduced cost, resulting in significant savings that would be reinvested to sustain future bulk buying. This would not only provide more work opportunities for the artisans, preserving the traditional craft of tally, but also directly benefit their families and help bring this cultural heritage to a wider audience.

Facebook: @TAWC-Tally-Assuit-Womens-Collective

Womencraft – Tanzania

Womencraft, based in Dar es Salaam, is dedicated to empowering rural women artisans by connecting their craftsmanship to the global marketplace and facilitating their growth. In 2021, they pivoted to target Tanzania’s hospitality sector, and in 2023, they launched their first handwoven furniture collection in collaboration with international designer Emmanuel Babled. They specialize in producing handwoven basketry, lighting, and furniture for both home décor and the hospitality sector, serving both domestic and international markets. With their grant, Womencraft will purchase ugwafu grass, farm rent, fertilizer and other materials for the WCAC demonstration farms. The rent and materials will allow for the creation of three new artisan farms for the self-cultivation of ugwafu grass. The grant would ensure consistent production year-round by securing raw materials, stabilizing production costs, and reducing price fluctuations.

Website: womencraft.org

Instagram: @womencraft

Facebook: @womencraft

WomenWeave Charitable Trust – India

WomenWeave Charitable Trust, founded in 2003 by Sally Holkar in Maheshwar, India, is dedicated to reviving traditional handloom weaving and empowering rural women and young artisans. Their goal is to equip students with the knowledge, competencies, and ethical grounding necessary to thrive in the global marketplace. Their Handloom School offers a comprehensive education blending creativity with practical skills to prepare students for the global marketplace, while their CDEM program provides structured support from training to business development. With their grant, WomenWeave Charitable Trust will purchase booth space for a Buyer Seller Meet and be able to pay for their accommodation and food expenses while at the event. Buyer Seller Meet is an event organized by WomenWeave to provide a platform for recent graduates of The Handloom School to showcase their handwoven collections to potential buyers. During the event,  the graduate artisans will showcase their work and generate revenue while raising awareness about the importance of context-based education for artisans among textile enthusiasts in key Indian cities.

Website: womenweave.org

Instagram: @womenweave

Facebook: @womenweave