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Ten Thousand Villages News
May 2006
- Ten Thousand Villages Artisans Respond to Earthquake in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- Highlights from Illies Mouhmoud's U.S. Tour
- Ten Thousand Villages Featured by Profiles in Caring
- Illies Mouhmoud, Master Silversmith from Niger, Visits Ten Thousand Villages Stores
Ten Thousand Villages Artisans Respond to Earthquake in
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
May 31, 2006 - A devastating earthquake struck Yogyakarta, a province on the island of Java, Indonesia early in the morning on May 27th,
killing thousands and leaving many people homeless and injured. Read more about how Ten Thousand Villages trading partners Java Ixora, CD Bethesda, Pekerti and Apikri have been affected by the disaster and are leading relief efforts in their communities. If you would like to donate money to support relief efforts in the affected regions, please visit the Mennonite Central Committee Web site.
Highlights from Illies Mouhmoud's U.S. Tour
Nigerien silversmith, Illies Mouhmoud is travelling during the months of May and June to visit select Ten Thousand Villages stores. Read below for updates from his journey.
Ten Thousand Villages Princeton
May 13, 2006 - Ten Thousand
Villages Princeton store manager, Rowena Gross, reports the highlights of Illies' visit to
Princeton, New Jersey:
The night that Illies and Sylvie (his interpreter) arrived we had a informal staff and volunteer gathering at my house. Stacy Spivak (Ten Thousand Villages buyer West Africa) was conveniently on hand giving us a some background information about Illies and Tuareg culture while we waited for Illies and Sylvie to arrive. She told us that Mennonite Central Committee originally made contact with Illies about seven years ago at a large artisan fair in Burkina Faso. Illies used to travel there to sell products made from family and friends in Niger.
Despite the language barrier, Illies was very warm, open and friendly to all (including my dog Max). We had a chance to experience Illies' traditional tea ceremony, which we found out they usually do about 5 times a day. The ceremony involves brewing three pots of tea, each of which gets progressively sweeter. The first pot symbolizes the bitterness of life, the second pot symbolizes the sweetness of love, and the third pot symbolizes the gentle acceptance of death. I had to ask Illies twice, just to confirm, three pots five times a day..15 pots of tea! That was impressive even to our other tea drinkers on hand including Ten Thousand Villages Chestnut Hill manager, Jacqueline (from England), and volunteer Yansong (from China).
As it was getting late, most people left after the first pot of tea. Illies jokingly remarked that the Americans must not care about love. A few of us stayed up well past the third pot, until almost midnight chatting and joking in a mix of limited french, hand gestures and lot of good humor and camaraderie.
We also learned how to write our names in Temajeg, Illies' native language. Illies explained the written language is not taught in school, but by mothers and grandmothers. Illies also shared photos of his house (that took 6 years to build) and his wife and daughter. We learned he was excited about visiting Texas during his trip to see cowboys and maybe even ride a horse. He has never ridden a horse, only camels.
Saturday morning, Illies was did a presentation outside in front of the Princeton store. There were about 15-25 people watching, asking questions and many even purchased the sample jewelry that Illies brought with him.
Ten Thousand Villages Brookline
May 9, 2006 - Ten Thousand Villages Brookline store manager, Charlene Conrad, reports the highlights of Illies' visit to Brookline, Massachussetts:
On Illies' first night in Brookline, Ma. we took him and his interpreter Sylvie Gudin out to Zaftig's, a local Jewish delicatessen. There is a great mural painted on the side of the restaurant with the signature "zaftig" lady in red at a local farmer's market. Illies started imitating her, so we all did and it turned into a fun photo op!
A memorable conversation at dinner involved us trying to teach Sylvie how to pronounce "desert" and "dessert" so that people wouldn't think Illies lived in a sweet food or that we ate sand after dinner!
After Illies finished his presentation, he walked around the store and commented on the leather jewelry box that we sell from Burkina Faso. He told us that his wife creates similar products using leather.
Afterwards, I took Illies and Sylvie on a mini tour of the neighborhood around our store (in the pouring rain). We stopped by a local jewelry store that imports Tuareg jewelry. The manager there spoke fluent French, and it turned out that she and Illies actually knew some of the same people from Niger! They exchanged email addresses to stay in contact.
That day we ate lunch at Shawarma King, a local Middle Eastern restaurant. One of the workers there spoke Arabic and talked some with Illies. Illies found this kind of food closer to what he was used to eating at home in Niger....including fresh mango juice!
Ten Thousand Villages Cambridge
May 9, 2006 - Ten Thousand Villages Cambridge assistant store manager, Matthew Wilder, reports the highlights of Illies' visit to Cambridge, Massachussetts:
Illies and Sylvie (his interpreter) gave a wonderful and informative presentation in our store. Being able to see and hear Illies and his stories first hand really brought home the concept of fair trade for all of us. It was inspiring and energizing to meet one of the people we are helping every day. Making that connection helped us to feel directly involved in the changes we strive to make in our world on a day-to-day basis.
Ten Thousand Villages Featured by Profiles in Caring
May 4, 2006 - Ten Thousand Villages was recently featured in a television segment produced by Profiles in Caring, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing viewers good news about good work around the world! Its television news stories, webcasts, and half-hour programs reflect extraordinary humanitarian projects with a personal, behind-the-scenes emphasis.
Visit the Profiles in Caring Web site to learn more about the program and to watch the recent feature on Ten Thousand Villages.
Illies Mouhmoud, Master Silversmith from Niger, Visits
Ten Thousand Villages
Stores
May 4, 2006 -
During the months of May and June, customers at Ten Thousand Villages will have the
exclusive opportunity to interact with Illies Mouhmoud, master silversmith from Niger.
Mouhmoud will visit several Ten Thousand Villages stores to interact with customers
and demonstrate traditional Tuareg jewelry making.
Illies Mouhmoud crafts traditional Tuareg jewelry in his village of Terhazer, near Agadez,
Niger. Using a lost-wax method to cast the silver, Mouhmoud first creates a wax mold, forms
clay around the mold and pours molten silver into the hardened clay. Using hand tools, he
etches traditional designs and adds ebony inlay or jewels to create the finished piece.
Mouhmoud says, "Our work is very important to us, as it is what enables us to live, to help each other and to meet the needs of our family."
Mouhmoud reported that a Ten Thousand Villages order helped him and his co-workers provide
for their families during a recent famine in Niger. Mouhmoud said, "You have no idea how
important the timing of this recent order was. The artists were able to help their families
in the most affected areas of Niger. And being able to send money ourselves rather than
simply being a recipient of aid builds our dignity."
Contact Juanita Fox, media coordinator, for more information.
Email: juanita.fox@tenthousandvillages.com
(717) 859-8120
