Siham Craftlink Fair Trade wholesale of handcrafted Fair Trade sourced giftlines

Shipobo artisan from the rain forest making ceramic vessel

Minka , Peru

www.minkafairtrade.com

Minka promotes social and economic development in Peru through support for a range of local handicraft projects. Since 1979, the private non-profit organization Minka has helped Peruvian artisans in 106 self-managed groups. Small organizations in need of assistance with their hand- manufactured items approach Minka from a diversity of regions and distinct cultures. Minka has worked in partnership since 1987 with approximately 10,000 craftwork producers from all over Peru, over three fourths being women struggling with poverty , in 62 self managed groups.

The majority of the craft producers seeking business advice and technical assistance as associates of Minka are groups of women living in marginalized areas. These women want to sell handcrafts to supplement their meagre family income from farming or other traditional occupations. Typically , middle merchants go to poorer Peruvian communities and villages offering artisans unfair prices that fail to cover costs while at the same time , many of the artisans do not know among themselves how to sell to a wider market and attract the prices needed to support their families. Minka is an alternative for them since it pays craft producers in local wages over twice as much per hour as do other middle -merchants. Also once a year, Minka distributes net profits among member organizations at a meeting with two representatives from each group. At the same time proposals for the next year are discussed. At this time also groups describe the use they have made of distributed profits in local projects for community development such as school construction.

Minka is a founding member of two umbrella organizations aimed at promoting fair and alternate trading. The first is Grupo Minka, consisting of 36 Peruvian producer and trader organizations from all over the country and the second is International Federation for Alternate Trade.