Erica in Mexico

Dear Friends and Supporters,

2014 was a year of growth for Aid to Artisans. We kicked off the new year with the February NY NOW show and we trebled our sales from last year. In March, Aid to Artisans (in collaboration with our sister organization in Colombia—CREATA) launched its SME (Small and medium enterprises) Development Pilot for Sustainable Tourism and Handcraft project in La Guajira, a remote, ecologically and culturally interesting area in the northeastern part of Colombia, funded by the JP Morgan Foundation. This innovative program is helping the Wayuu Indians manage a growing tourist presence in ways that enhance their communities and preserves their culture.

In April, ATA, completed a series of Small Business Market Readiness Training and product development workshops for over 90 Belizean artisans as part of the “Making Tourism Benefit Communities Adjacent to Archaeological Sites” project. Later in the year, we launched the new Unique Belize brand through an exhibition in Belize City attended by over 250 guests and exhibiting over 200 products.

In June, 30 Haitian HIV-positive artisans graduated from ATA’s Bamboo Workshop 2, with skills in harvesting, cleaning and cutting bamboo, and producing fashionable hand painted bangles for the tourism industry. Also during the summer, ATA hosted a 3 week U.S. tour for 5 Tibetan potters from Yunnan, China. The potters shared their unique black pottery traditions and sold their wares across the US to American potters and the general public.

Later in the summer, ATA completed its craft assessment in Yemen as part of 5 year ongoing program, Competitive Agriculture Systems for High Value Crops (CASH). We also assisted 8 artisan groups from around the world through our canvas home™ Small Grants program.

ATA’s signature artisan training program, the Market Readiness Program™ was held in August for over 20 participants from Myanmar, Mongolia, Mexico and many other countries. The MRP session introduced our newly revised, and bilingual, MRP manual which embodies the latest ideas on artisan training. Crafts from Pakistan, Mexico, Myanmar, Haiti and Tibet were available at our trademark orange booth at the NY NOW show. With sales totaling $54,000, the booth was a smashing success. Also for the first time, ATA sold dried sachets of lavender grown by ATA’s president, Bill Kruvant, at his La Paz (Peace) Farm in Virginia. Proceeds from the lavender sales were contributed to ATA and will help fund ATA programs and projects around the world. These wonderfully aromatic sachets can be purchased year-around from ATA for $5 per sachet so let us know if you would like to have some. Our annual Holiday Craft Sale in December was extended to a week-long showcase and sale of products from Burkina Faso, Mali, Egypt, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, Gaza, Haiti, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Tibet. The sale was a success, with total sales reaching $6,000. All proceeds contribute to our efforts to provide economic opportunities for artisans.

As ATA embarks on its 3rd year at Creative Learning, I would like to thank you all for your continued support as we look ahead to growing our programs and initiatives to assist the international artisan community. If you would like to support our work financially and build the international artisan community, please visit http://www.aidtoartisans.org/how-to-help/.

Peace,
Bill