Handmade Expressions works in India to create fairly traded, environmentally-friendly products. They partner with artisan groups mostly in the rural areas of India, and work to preserve traditional art forms in the communities they support. Their artisans are proud and skilled, and Handmade Expressions works hard to provide them a route to market here in the West.
The artisans they support have many different stories, and come from many different parts of the country. One of their artisan groups supports a school for physically and developmentally disabled children, allowing many who would otherwise be neglected to pursue an education. Another group works with girls who have escaped child marriages. These girls are shunned by their families and communities after violating the oppressive social norms to which they were expected to conform. When they leave their marriages, they are left with no where to go and no one to help. Making jewelry gives them a chance to stand on their own two feet and determine the course of their own lives.
These stories and others like them make us proud to partner with Handmade Expressions.
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