Salt Lake area humanists will want to know about and undoubtedly patronize a new store in the city, Ten Thousand Villages, at 2186 South Highland Drive. The Grand Opening will be Saturday, September 9, 2000. What is it that makes this store unique and worthy of attention in this space? Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit network of over 200 stores in North America featuring quality handicrafts from more than 30 Third World countries and benefiting over 60,000 craftspeople annually. Artisans are paid a fair price for their work rather than being exploited by large commercial ventures which pay a craftsperson a pittance and then charge exorbitant prices at retail outlets. Thanks To Ten Thousand Villages sales, thousands of unemployed or under employed artisans are able to support their families and participate in health and educational programs in their communities. Such sales go a long way in Third World countries. For instance, on average, $1,200 in Ten Thousand Villages retail sales provides the equivalent of full-time work for an artisan for a year! Furthermore, in addition to financial support, other humanistic life values are fostered by the Ten Thousand Villages network. To quote from one of their brochures:

For craftspeople in the Third World, "village" is where one's heart is: where family and tradition and culture reside. In our mass production world, villages are still a setting for the individualized creation of authentic handicrafts. Making handicrafts is a way to pass one's culture and skills to the next generation. But as the outside world pushes at the village, taking its natural resources and often its children, it becomes more and more difficult to live the village way of life. By selling their handicrafts, Ten Thousand Villages helps crafts people provide food and education for their families and helps these threatened villages survive.
Each village represents a unique, distinctive group of people. Multiply the village idea by ten thousand and it represents the world that our program is working to build. We invite you to join us in making our vision a reality.

In addition to your purchases, the local store would welcome financial donations to offset startup costs as well as your volunteer time on an ongoing basis to handle sales, restock shelves, tidy up, etc. Here is a venture we can all heartily support. Do stop by the store soon to see the amazing array of beautiful and fair-traded items from around the world.

--Hugh Gillilan