Trade As One

Trade as One is looking for summer interns to join our team! Last year we had some fantastic interns (you can read a bit about 2 of them here and here) who brought energy, creativity, and talent to our team. They were sharp, hardworking, and added a bunch of value with their work. That’s what we’re looking for again this year. We’re looking for smart, motivated interns to work on meaningful projects that contribute to the mission of Trade as One (we’re not so much into the whole “interns do busywork” thing).

Here are the areas where we need some help:

1. Project Management
2. Research
3. Graphic Design
4. Video Editing

Here’s what were looking for:

- Hardworking + talented
- Self-motivated
- Passion for providing opportunities for the global poor
- Flexible
- Must be college student/grad

Interested? Email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your resume and we’ll send you an application.

Know someone who might be interested? Send them this link!

Many of you know that every product available through Trade as One is made by someone with HIV/AIDS, escaping extreme poverty, or someone rescued from slavery/abuse. We have partners all over the world who work on the frontline of these crises, and we delight in telling their stories. Today we want to share a short story from Thailand. Rahab, our partners in Patpong, work with the women of the bars of the redlight district. They offer a safe, sustainable way out of prostitution, slavery, and abuse. Today we’re sharing the story of Net, a Rahab success story. Please read and pass it on. To see some of the jewelry that Net makes, click here.

Net’s Story

I came from a very poor family and had little opportunity to learn to read and write.  I had no chance at gaining good employment because of my inability to read. I married young but our family soon struggled financially so we came to Bangkok to work. My husband drank heavily and often beat me.  On one occasion he beat me severely in front of our two sons. He fractured my skull.  The oldest boy got me into a Tuk Tuk and took me to an Uncle who took me to hospital. I could have died. My husband also had another woman and was often with the other woman. He did not provide money to feed the children. My husband threatened to kill me and after the brutal beating, I took this seriously and left him as I feared for my life. Initially I worked in a factory, but the money was inadequate for me to provide for my family. I ended up working in the bars and even here I was victimized by my lack of learning. The Outreach Team at Rahab came to visit my bar, and they invited me to their Christmas party. I then left the bars and have been making jewelry for Rahab. Now I am happy.

We think her story shows the desperate choices many have to make when faced with the realities of extreme poverty. We’re extremely proud of Rahab’s work. To support them by purchasing their jewelry, click here.

For the next few weeks, Chad and Jodi Mulder will be posting about their experiences visiting Trade as One producers in Africa. Their 6 week trip will take them to over a dozen producers in Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya.

This is not what we had in mind. When we started planning a sabbatical a few years ago our focus was pretty clear: take some time off to recharge our life batteries, travel to fun places and be together as a family. As we wandered through Kenya’s largest slum today, a nauseas feeling hit with all the subtlety of a major league fastball to the gut. Yes, there certainly was an unpleasant smell in the air. After all, trash litters the streets, animals roam free and there are no obvious signs of sanitary systems. In spite of this, our reaction was less sensorial and more fundamental, more human, maybe even more spiritual. How could we possibly live in a world that is charting the human genome, has established orbiting space stations, amassed and cataloged millions of volumes of easily searchable electronic information, while at the same time, allowing an incredible number of people (approximately 1 million in the Kibera slum alone) to live in unimaginable filth and dehumanizing conditions where HIV/AIDS runs rampant and extreme is the norm? This, we were reminded, is not what we had in mind.

After spending a month in northern California working with the Trade as One team, we’ve started a 40-day tour of east Africa to visit a number of Fair Trade producers. Throughout the journey we’ll be sharing our experiences through weekly blog posts to tradeasone.com. Here’s the back story that explains how we got here:...

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As many of you will know, our T-Shirts are made from Fair Trade, organic cotton from India. Our partners in India, HAE Now, are doing fantastic work restoring dignity and stability to cotton farmers in the region. What many of you may not know is that the screen printing on each shirt tells a story as well. All of our printing is done by Ashbury Images in San Francisco, a youth development social enterprise that provides paid employment, job training, and supportive services to at-risk youth recovering from poverty, substance abuse and homelessness. They do wonderful work, and we’re proud to partner with them. Today we’re featuring Stephanie’s story, one of many Ashbury Images success stories. We think it’s a fantastic example of what Fair Trade is all about.

Stephanie’s Story

“I said to myself: this is an open door; I need to take this chance and take a shot at it. It was like a break in the struggle - and I just took the opportunity immediately. And I succeeded.”
Looking back at her life before she started working with Ashbury Images, Stephanie can hardly believe how far she has come.
“Before I started working with Ashbury, my life was horribly unpredictable. I had just gotten out of a shelter and gotten on food stamps. I didn’t…

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Our friends at Divine Chocolate have just announced that they’ve begun sourcing Fair Trade cocoa from Sierra Leone. This is exciting news for all of us, and we wanted to share the highlights. You can read the whole article here.

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Divine Chocolate…is delighted to announce that, for the first time chocolate lovers can enjoy premium Fair Trade Certified cocoa from Sierra Leone in all of Divine’s chocolate delights. 

Sierra Leone was ravaged by a decade-long brutal civil war which ended eight years ago. Rebuilding has been difficult.  This first Fair Trade shipment of cocoa out of the country is a sign of hope that the fortunes and prospects of the country’s farmers can be turned.

The first container of cocoa from Sierra Leone’s only Fair Trade Certified cooperative Kpeya Agricultural Enterprise (KAE), was purchased by Divine Chocolate and is of the required quality to be included in the Divine recipe. Kuapa Kokoo, the Ghanaian co-operative that significantly owns Divine Chocolate agreed to include this shipment in their brand as a sign of support for fellow cocoa farmers in Sierra Leone.

Erin Gorman, Divine Chocolate’s CEO in the USA says:

“The partnership between KAE, Divine and Kuapa Kokoo is a shining example…

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