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This is one of the aspects we most value about our PRs and those who generously support us by volunteering to have bead parties. They are not only helping make a beautiful, fair trade product available but are also creating awareness about the power of micro-enterprise to change lives.

Angela sent us a photo of the table she set up for a recent bead party in her home. I have to share it, in part to showcase how handsome the table looked and to introduce Angela, and also to acknowledge the support of her husband, who created the jewelry displays. He obviously knows how to manipulate tree branches also! Thanks so much, Bill.


]]> http://www.papertopearls.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry100503-144924 the bustling market in the heart of Kampala, Uganda's capital, the piles of paper are monitored by women in pocket waist aprons and a look of no nonsense determination. Hour after hour, day after day, they load kilo after kilo of paper onto hanging scales, collecting their asking price from customers who often wait in line for their turn to carry away the city's paper refuse.

This is an extremely busy part of the market, especially since making paper bead jewelry became the way for hundreds of impoverished Ugandan women to offset the harsh conditions of their lives. I often wonder how many kilos of paper were sold before making paper bead jewelry became the rage—at least the rage in Uganda. There were at most half a dozen beading initiatives in Uganda in 2006, when Paper to Pearls began its work in the northern region of the country. I am told there are now 78 and counting. And these don't include the many individual beaders selling their work on a Kampala or Gulu street corner.

Calendars, magazines, posters, waste sheets from the printing process—these are the basic material for the proliferating paper bead market. The fact that the paper is reused to make the bead jewelry is a compelling part of the story. For those of us who "grandmothered" this new industry, we couldn't resist the idea that not only would our beaders be making essential income from their work, but also that they were recycling paper. And when we found a way to replace the initial resin varnish with a non-toxic, non-solvent based acrylic finish, we were there! We could now be fully part of the fair trade movement, supporting the alleviation of global poverty in an ethical, sustainable manner.

I watch the women at Owino selling their paper and wonder if they have even heard the words "fair trade". Do buyers mention to them that they represent such and such organization that is working with x number of women who produce a "green", fair trade product. Unlikely. And what would that mean to them if they did? Probably little. And yet, what we do begins with the paper sellers, who do what they do to help alleviate poverty in their own lives. They collect paper themselves or receive what others collect, ridding the city of much that would become trash. As I hand a seller my shillings, I believe we are trading fairly with each other, and I recognize that our transaction is one of thousands of 'trades' that put in motion thousands of others in the creation and distribution of fairly traded products. The seller doesn't realize she's my fair trade collaborator and that's all right. The paper she provides is enough, for it enables me to bring a fair trade product to a growing market for products that have the power to change lives.
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Shaylas are hijab, the scarf head covering that Muslim women wear, usually as part of the abaya or traditional black caftan. The shayla tends to be larger than the typical hijab; when wrapped over the head, it covers the shoulders and reaches below the bust.

As Fiona explains it, Muslim women in Abu Dhabi love to add bling to their shaylas. They often pile their long hair high on their heads, covering everything with the shawl, which they adjust so that their shoulders are not only draped but sparkle with patterned sequins and small crystals. And, if Fiona has her way, paper beads. Her idea was to commission two shawls to be made that incorporate the beads and use them as samples to show to her Muslim friends. “Who knows”, she says, “this may take off!”

Fiona’s amazing idea has certainly added “bling” to our project, affirming once again the fascinating ways in which women support women everywhere. And we think the addition of the paper beads looks wonderful!



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Since November 2008, Susan Cannarella has made beautiful bracelets and earrings using Paper to Pearls beads. The sale of her work raises money to support the Kiwoko Hospital, a rural bush hospital in central Uganda that is supported by the ISIS Foundation. To date she has raised over $6,800 for ISIS and Kiwoko.

We learned of Susan's story recently when she placed an order for additional bags of beads. Inspired by what she is doing, we asked her to tell us more.

Susan works for Aspen Re America, a company that believes strongly in global corporate and social responsibility and commits to donating annually to the ISIS Foundation's work in Nepal and Uganda. In September 2008 she had the opportunity to visit Kiwoko Hospital and witness the great work being done there to help the children and families of the region. "It was a lifelong dream of mine fulfilled."

Susan also explained how she began working with paper beads. "One day a week a craft group meets at the hospital. This group is comprised of women who are HIV positive. These women make items to be sold at the hospital craft shop to support their families. One of the crafts I saw them making were rolled paper beads using recycled paper. This inspired me to make jewelry incorporating these beautiful and unusual beads."

We salute and celebrate Susan's wonderful work, and how she is not only supporting ISIS's project at the Kiwoko Hospital but the Paper to Pearls' beaders as well.
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When it comes time for market days, the women put the finishing touches on their necklaces and prepare for a visit from the local P2P staff. Each co-operative gathers on a designated day with their completed products and the printed order that was distributed at the beginning of the month.

Our group of child mothers is particularly enthusiastic; they are always sitting joyfully under a large mango tree with their necklaces displayed when we arrive. When they see us arrive we are greeted with shouts of welcome ‘Apwoyoba!’. We first greet all the women individually, as is custom in Uganda, before settling down on bamboo mats to look through their proudly displayed necklaces. Comparing the products to the order from the United States, we go through the necklaces one by one identifying mistakes that can be corrected on the spot and documenting each necklace that is to be purchased. Each beader is considered a separate ‘seller’, is paid independently and signs off on the purchase. During the last set of market days several of the women in this group were so amazed at their success that they cheered and sang when they added their signature to our books.

One of the women in our Women of Ester co-operative was so excited with the amount she earned that she exclaimed ‘I am going to eat CHICKEN tonight!’ Due to the conflict over the past two decades, there is a lack of livestock in the North and chicken has become a prized meal. Her family was able to eat like kings, with enough to spare for school fees and some medication.

As we gear up for another set of market days, the women assure me at every meeting that P2P will be so pleased with their products. I see them swelling with pride as their work continues to improve and gain attention from the international community.

Meghan Ryan
P2P Project Supervisor
Gulu, Uganda


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Although P2P Personal Representatives generally operate as small retail businesses—buying wholesale and then selling retail and retaining the profits—Fiona has generously decided to return the majority of the money she makes to P2P. "The pleasure of this project is knowing the good it is doing for women in poverty, helping them to move from a state of need to one of possibility and opportunity. That's all the payment I need...and besides, this is fun!"

Fiona sent us pictures from one of her events. I particularly love the dancing figures from her sales table; they make me of think of the dancing spirit in all women and how my beaders have reason to dance again because of the open hearts of women like Fiona Fitzgerald.

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Four colorful necklaces draped over a white folded stand, one display among 60 in a handsome exhibit of "Paper Jewellery", a new show at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum. The work of peasant women in northern Uganda thus placed side by side with that of the finest jewelry artists in the world. As I walked the exhibit, I thought yet again of the evolution of our beaders’ work from simple to exceptional and how it came be chosen by the curators of "Paper Jewellery" for inclusion in this amazing show.

During the afternoon press conference, I listened to the Triennale’s Vice-President exhort the “women of Milan” to think about paper in a new way, to consider how this humble medium can be reworked by skilled hands and become fashionable art. “Ladies, will you wear paper jewelry?” he challenged the women in the room and beyond. “Can you accept that it can be stylish, beautiful and fun, and that it creates its own fashion statement?”

From the beginning, the reaction to our beaders’ work has always been, “I can’t believe it’s made of paper.” At the crowded opening of the exhibit, this was a consistent reaction to many of the items on display. Fanciful cutouts, layered cardboard, paper bent, twisted and pleated into dramatic shapes. Our paper beads were not the most creative or stylish in the room, but they fit in perfectly; and among all the stunning, often startling pieces, they are probably the most unique: necklaces that take paper into the realm of fashion while taking women and their families out of poverty. Paper as pearls, paper as beauty, paper transformed and transforming. Northern Uganda―poor and marginalized, torn apart by war and displacement―now has another story to tell.

"Paper Jewellery" will be in Milan until October 25th. It will then travel internationally, returning to Italy in July 2010, where it will be on display at the Paper Museum of Fabriano in Umbria throughout the summer.
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This week is Fashion Week in New York, and I find myself thinking about the fashion aspect of Paper to Pearls. When I started this initiative, I didn't think of this at all. The jewelry, although attractive and interesting was initially too basic, too simple to be a fashion statement. What everyone found compelling was the story...of women in refugee camps beading their way out of poverty and transforming their lives in the process.

Three and a half years later, however, we have a product that is indeed fashionable. The skill of our beaders has increased exponentially both in execution and styling. We have worked hard to teach them what quality means, and the results...well, what better testament to the evolution of their work than its inclusion in the upcoming Milan Paper Jewelry exhibit. (The accompanying photo is one of our necklaces included in the show.) The work of farming women from northern Uganda will be featured side by side with that of some of the major jewelry designers in the world. And in Milan, perhaps the fashion capital of the world!

Our beaders are still beading to improve their lives and the lives of their families. We still are still passionate about supporting them and telling their story as an example of what is possible in one of the most marginalized regions in the world. Meanwhile, we represent a product that is "green" and fair trade and, increasingly, a fashion statement, and that is worth celebrating. It's also interesting to note that the Ethical Fashion Preview will debut this year during New York Fashion Week. This event will spotlight fashion designers who create collections using environmentally friendly materials and processes, and manufacture their collections respecting fair trade and fair wage principles. Clearly, we fit right in!
]]> http://www.papertopearls.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090813-161136 My friend Ann recently returned from East Africa, full of stories about her adventure: wonderful animal safaris in both Kenya and Tanzania, and fascinating encounters with local people particularly in rural areas. Among the highlights were meeting and interacting with members of the Samburu tribe of Kenya and the Maasai of neighboring Tanzania, both well known for their colorful beaded necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Ann wore her Paper to Pearls necklaces frequently during her trip and in doing so caught the attention of women from both tribes who wanted to know what the beads were and where they were from. "Uganda", Ann repeated several times in response. The women fingered the necklaces and apparently discussed them in their language. Ann and I are certain that whatever they said was complementary! Here's Ann with a Maasai woman, both wearing their unique necklaces.

]]> http://www.papertopearls.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090812-194600 Our littlest model is four years old with a magnetic smile and the name of Aber. Aimee Oberndorfer, a great friend of Paper to Pearls, took Aber's picture when she was in Gulu in June doing evaluations for the project. How could I resist posting this picture, especially since Aber is wearing one of P2P's newest necklace styles. Of course we hope that wearing a P2P necklace brings a smile to everyone's face!


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