Trades of Hope is a business created by four Christian women who wanted to help woman around the world create better lives for themselves. Trades of Hope partners with artisan groups committed to creating jobs for impoverished or disabled women; these groups are also committed to creating better communities focusing on education for the artisans and their children, child care, and even necessities like water wells and food.
Some of these women artisans were rescued from sex slavery, some are affected by HIV/AIDs or leprosy. Some were kicked out of their families and communities because they are widows or still single. Others are raising handicapped children on their own.
You can read more about Trades of Hope here.
Trades of Hope (ToH) and their partnering artisan groups train women in skills, creating beautiful jewelry, scarves, handbags, and children’s items. This helps them to break the cycles of generational poverty while giving them a safe place to live and work. ToH is a fair trade organization, so they pay fair market value for every item the women artisans create upfront.
Then, ToH sells the goods online and in home parties through Compassionate Entrepreneurs (CEs). There is a regular track for Compassionate Entrepreneurs where the only sales requirement is one sale every six months and there is a career track for CEs that more closely resembles the traditional MLM (multi-level marketing) model.
Read more about how to become a CE with ToH and how to company runs here.
Women in 15 across the world in countries including India, Kenya, Uganda, Haiti, Thailand, Peru, the Philippines, Columbia, Cambodia, Costa Rica, and even the United States are artisans with Trades of Hope. They all work to create better and safer environments for themselves, their children, and their communities, and pulling themselves out of poverty. In some cases, this is the first time any of the women have ever been safe at work or home before, sometimes even getting medical care for the first time ever.
Compassionate Entrepreneurs, Guatemalan artisans, and girls who live in a safe house funded by Trades of Hope
One Catholic woman, Alison McShane, decided to become a Compassionate Entrepreneur with Trades of Hope and she has seen changes in her own family and has been empowered by the stories of the women crafting the goods she sells who are free and safe for the first time in their lives. Follow her amazing Instagram feed to see Trades of Hope in the wild and the impact it makes on one Catholic family’s life. You can also follow Trades of Hope on Instagram.
This Spring, when you’re looking to buy Easter gifts or for some new vacation styles, check out Trades of Hope first and help support American women looking to support their families and women around the world supporting themselves and their children and pulling themselves out of poverty. Who knew a fun purchase could make such an impact!
