Ten Thousand Villages
Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products produced by artisans in more than 35 countries. It is among the earliest organizations involved in the fair trade movement, and it facilitates the sale of gifts, accessories, and home décor created by artisans participating in fair trade supply chains for their work.The organization is a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation.
History
[Image:Self help.png|thumb|left|Logo of SELFHELP Crafts of the World, later to become Ten Thousand Villages.]Edna Ruth Byler founded the organization in 1946 following a trip to Puerto Rico.
With support from the Mennonite Central Committee, She began selling handcrafted products from her car. By 1958, she expanded to a storefront called Self Help Crafts. Her goal was to create a marketplace for artisan products that could provide income in developing countries. The original philosophy of Ten Thousand Villages drew inspiration from Mennonite values: compassion, service, mutual aid, and peacemaking.
In the 1970s, the project moved out of Byler's basement and became SELFHELP Crafts of the World, an official Mennonite Central Committee program.
In 1994, the company became a member of the Fair Trade Federation.
In 1996, SELFHELP became Ten Thousand Villages. The new name was inspired by a quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “India is not to be found in its few cities, but in the 700,000 villages”.
From 2006 to 2007, the company increased its purchases from artisans by more than USD 1 million. In 2007, Ten Thousand Villages redesigned its stores to minimize environmental impact and meet its "triple bottom line" of economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
By 2008, the company's sales had surpassed 25.5 million USD, of which one-third was paid directly to artisans. The other two-thirds covered importing, storage, marketing, retail costs, and administration.
In 2012, Ten Thousand Villages and the Mennonite Central Committee entered into a partnership agreement. Ten Thousand Villages is no longer wholly owned by MCC.
In 2019, Gordon Zook became the company's CEO.
In June 2020, Ten Thousand Villages Canada closed corporate operations. Four stores using the Ten Thousand Villages brand remained open thanks to a licensing agreement. A few other stores rebranded and continued operating independently.
In May 2022, Dan Alonso was appointed as the new CEO of Ten Thousand Villages, succeeding Gordon Zook.
In January 2025, it was announced that the 13 company-owned US retail locations would close. This will leave 21 independent, non-profit board-run stores as their brick-and-mortar channel. Ten Thousand Villages will continue e-commerce retailing and wholesaling to its fair-trade affiliates.
Artisan partners
Ten Thousand Villages encourages artisans to employ environmentally sustainable production methods and to use recycled and natural materials whenever possible.Ten Thousand Villages establishes long-term trade relationships with groups that work with craftspeople who need work and who produce crafts that are likely to be sold in North America. Most of these groups are found in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The company often selects artisan partners that provide training and employment to those who have virtually no chance of securing employment in the mainstream labor market. Many of these artisans are disadvantaged because of disability or gender.
Artisans are paid 50% of the agreed-upon price up front to cover the cost of raw materials; the remaining 50% is paid upon completion of the products. Payment is made in full before their products are sold in North America, even if they never get sold.
Ten Thousand Villages’ marketing director Doug Dirks estimated that market prices abroad are up to five times what is paid to the artisan. He said the company is willing to take that risk because it is important to their mission. Most artisans in these countries cannot obtain business loans from local banks.
Operations
The Ten Thousand Villages USA headquarters is currently located in Akron, Pennsylvania. The organization operates as both a wholesaler and a retailer, which sells various home goods and baked items.Media
In 2005, Ten Thousand Villages released a DVD titled The Power of Trading Fairly, discussing artisan partners from Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Kenya.In 2006, the organization released Make Trade Fair, a compilation CD created to support of Ten Thousand Villages.