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Q: Are the beaders paid a fair trade price for their necklaces?
A: Yes. Voices for Global Change has created a trading relationship with the beading cooperatives that emphasizes respect for their work and supports their self-sufficiency. The women themselves set the prices for the jewelry they make and are ensured a living wage for their work.
Q: How do the women use the money?
A: The money the beaders earn first goes toward more nutritious food and to pay for medicine and school fees and supplies for their children. Once these fundamentals are taken care of, the women have income with which to acquire new bedding for their huts, buy clothing, and in general make purchases that improve the quality of their lives.
Q: How is the Paper to Pearls initiative unique?
A: The benefits to our beaders from our purchase of their work do not end there. Through savings and cash management training programs and on-going entrepreneurship development we provided, and continue to provide, the knowledge and skills that individuals and families needed to improve their lives both while they were in the camps and as they return to their homes.
Q: Are the beaders continuing to bead now that they are returning home?
A: We asked our beaders this question while they were still in the camps and all responded in the affirmative. As one put it, "Paper to Pearls is part of our lives. We consider it our second garden." Our past and present training programs, which refine beading skills and provide savings and cash management training, help give our beaders a way to make their jewelry "businesses" an income generating activity that can be sustainable over time. Additionally, the income they earn is proving essential as they rebuild their lives, a process that is slow and demanding of time and resources.
Q: What is the finish used on the necklaces?
A: The health and well being of our bead makers and the integrity of our product are of paramount importance to Paper to Pearls. Thus, we have worked hard to identify a finish that is odorless and non-toxic for use by our beaders, while providing the sheen and durability that are part of what makes our jewelry so appealing. The change from a traditional resin varnish to a finish that meets these criteria began with our February 2009 order. The basic acrylic finish is specially produced by a chemist in Kampala based on a formulation first developed by Bead for Life. It contains no harmful solvents. |
