History Ten Thousand Villages

logo of selfhelp crafts of world, later become ten thousand villages.

the original philosophy of ten thousand villages inspired mennonite values including compassion, service, mutual aid, , peacemaking. founding of ten thousand villages in mid-twentieth century marks beginning of movement later called fair trade. edna ruth byler moved take action poverty witnessed during trip puerto rico in 1946.

byler began grassroots campaign among family , friends in united states selling handcrafted products out of trunk of car. sought provide sustainable economic opportunities artisans in developing countries creating viable marketplace products. on 30 years, byler worked connect individual entrepreneurs in developing countries market opportunities in north america.

in 1970s small project moved out of byler s basement become selfhelp crafts of world, official program of mennonite central committee. in 1996, selfhelp became ten thousand villages, retail company has on 100 stores in united states , canada. new name inspired mahatma gandhi said “india not found in few cities in 700,000 villages.”

by 2008, company’s sales had surpassed $25.5 million, 1 third of paid artisans directly. other 2 thirds covered importing, storage, marketing, retail costs, , administration.

in 2012, ten thousand villages , mennonite central committee entered partnership agreement. ten thousand villages no longer wholly owned mcc.