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Meet the Artisans

Ten Thousand Villages partners with artisans who depend on the international market for sustainable employment. Meet the artisans of Ten Thousand Villages, read their stories and join us in sustaining culturally creative pursuits and promoting fair trade the world over. Click on the map to find artisans by region or country.

Featured Artisans

Come back often to read new artisan stories.

A Journey with Artisans
As anyone who has met him knows, Michael Muchilwa, founder of KICK Trading in Kisumu, Kenya, is someone full of ideas. Also a development consultant and the former monitoring coordinator with the World Fair Trade Organization, Muchilwa joined Samuel Macharia, founder of Chuma Wires in Kenya, for a two-week visit to Ten Thousand Villages in June, presenting at National Workshops, visiting several stores and participating in media interviews.

In Search of a Dream
Portal arrived in Lima when he was 16, with a relative who had brought him to teach him the trade of cabinetry. Portal struggled to acquire a taste for the trade, and eventually decided to make a change. Without warning anyone, he left the carpentry workshop to find his uncle and to learn jewelry making, which had always been his dream. He went to the Jiron Chancay Street and sat with his shoeshine box. He slept in the street, shined shoes and asked people whether they knew where he could find the workshop of Eladio Portal.

Read more artisan stories by clicking on the map to find artisans by region or country.

Find Artisans by Region or Country

Ten Thousand Villages. A Fair Trade Retailer.
Your fair trade purchase of handmade jewelry, home decor and gifts helps improve the lives of thousands of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.