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Terra Experience's Commitment
to Fair Trade & Environmental Responsibility
- "We strive to support sustainable development, fair trade, local artisans,
their communities and environment"
[Note - this page badly needs to be
updated.
Its on my New Years Resolution list for 2012 - thanks for your understanding.
Lynn]
As owner of Terra Experience my goal is
to grow and continuously
improve Terra Experience as a socially and environmentally responsible
for-profit small business that is able to provide a fair wage and empower the
artisan families with whom we work. I believe in and strive to meet the goals of fair trade and the commitments
to fair trade of Fair Trade Federation members
http://www.fairtradefederation.org.
Terra Experience is not a formal business member of the Fair
Trade Federation at this point. We hope
to become so in the future. Some of Terra Experience activities to support
this commitment to fair trade are summarized below. You can click on each commitment to
learn more about what Terra Experience is doing to support Fair Trade and be a
"Green Business"
In January 2007 I retired after 32 working
in Water
Resources Management and Pollution Prevention for the State of Wisconsin. I am
looking forward through Terra Experience have to more time to share my love of
and respect for the Mayan people and culture and as well as the earth we all
share.
For more information on how Terra Experience
started, please check out the Capital Times article
"Fair Trade Friends". We welcome your
questions, comments, and suggestions (as well as your purchases)
Fair Trade Federation's Definition of Fair Trade
http://www.fairtradefederation.org/memcrit.html
Fair trade means an equitable and fair partnership between
businesses and organizations in North America and producers in the
developing world. Fair trade businesses foster long-term and direct
relationships with producers, because they know these connections
are a highly effective way to help producers help themselves.
FTF
wholesalers, retailers, and producers are fully committed to:
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Paying
fair wages in local context;
-
Doll Clothes, a fun product selected to
provide a fair wage and support cultural traditions
---- Terra Experience was started in 1999 as a very small, socially
responsible business to help Mayan friends in Guatemala earn some additional
income for school supplies and other needs of their families. Hand-woven
Mayan doll clothes seemed like a good idea because they would take less time
and materials for the weavers to make than the women’s traditional huipiles
(over-blouses) that I collected that often took a woman 3 or more months to
make. I had a Girl Scout troop at that time and had been amazed by the
number of 18" dolls and doll clothes they had and the interest in American
history that evolved. I hoped there might also be a market for fine hand-woven ethnic doll
clothes that would allow me to provide a fair wage to Guatemalan weavers and give
children in North America kids a chance to experience and support the
living Mayan culture. An initial sale at a local school (http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/shorewood/shop.html
) was successful and so Terra Experience began and engulfed my spare time.
- Initial Focus, Supporting
Children's Education --- When I first
visited Guatemala in January 1997 it was the beginning of school year and
the families I met were struggling to find the money for school supplies.
The cost of pencils, paper, books in Guatemala was similar or more than that
that in the USA. I talked to weavers whose husband made 3 or 4 dollars per
day working in the fields who were trying to find $10 to $25 for each
child's school supplies. Often their children dropped out at or before 6th
grade because of the cost and need to earn money to support the family. Also
many villages had no schools above 6th grade. My initial aim
with Terra Experience was to be able to buy enough doll clothes and other
products at a fair price so that the weavers I knew would have enough profit
to buy school supplies and keep their children in school. It wasn't a lot,
but it was what I knew I could do. I worked with the weavers to design
and to find a price that I could pay for their products that left us both smiling (that we both felt was fair)
and we hoped would leave Terra Experience customers smiling.
Terra
Experience's Doll Clothes were sold on eBay, at local events and eventually on the Terra
Experience Web Site (
http://TerraExperience.com ).
- Fair Wages in A Local
Context ---
2007 --Today in 2007
like many other businesses that strive to support fair trade, I
am struggling to define what that actually means in terms the artisan and
their families who make the doll clothes and other products that Terra
Experience purchases and also compete in a world-wide market. Terra Experience will be experimenting with the
new Fair Wage Guide (http://www.fairtradecalculator.net/about.php ) during the coming
year to get a better handle on the time and materials it takes to make Terra
Experience's Doll Clothes and what the average wage weavers are making for
these products. We hope to use this tool to continuously improve the
products we offer our customers and the wages the Mayan weavers receive for
these products as well as keeping Terra Experience a viable and growing
small business in a world market.
2008 - - We had limited time in Guatemala this year. We did work with
several of weaving families to try get a better handle on the time and costs
that went into weaving doll outfits. As a result we worked with
several of the weavers to modify designs of the doll clothes for future
years.
2009 -- Got more information in use with the fair wage guide.
We are still processing this information
I was never sure, but I hoped that I was
paying the weavers who usually spend 4 to 6 hours a day at their work at
least equal to what their husbands might make in a full eight hour day of
agricultural field work. Generally this was the close to the $5.18 per
day usually given as the minimum wage for Guatemala (International Labour
Organization). According
to the US State Department the legal minimum wage in Guatemala for agricultural work has
risen from $3.98/ 8 hour day in 2000 to $7.17 in 2006, but over 75% of
Guatemala workers do not receive that wage (more
information on Guatemala's Minimum Wage).
Supporting participatory workplaces;
By buying from artisan
families, fair trade wholesalers and nonprofit organizations Terra Experience
supports participatory workplaces. We do not buy artisan products that are made
in large factories or sweatshops.
Ensuring environmental sustainability;
Having
worked in
Water Resources Management and
Pollution Prevention for the State of Wisconsin for over 32 years "Sustainable
development” and “environmental protection” are part of my core values. They are
reflected in the name, Terra Experience that I chose in 1999 for my "spare-time"
business. Terra in Latin
means earth. Now, having retired in January, 2007, I am working to grow and
continuously improve Terra Experience as a socially responsible and green
business that strives to provide a fair wage and empower the artisan families
with whom I work and to share with others my love of and respect for the Mayan
people and their culture and as well as the earth we all share. Some of
the ways Terra Experience has already done so are:
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In
Guatemala:
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Try to increase
awareness and understanding of environmental issues and the need for natural
resources protection among individual artisans and their children. I am friends
with many of the artisans I buy from and have known them for many years. We
talk about our families, our work and things that are important to us. As such
I sometimes talk about my work for the Department of Natural Resources in
Wisconsin and we discuss the importance of clean water and clean air and
protecting natural resources air Guatemala. Some of the books I gave artisans
children have had environmental themes.
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Try to support
environmental and public health awareness and education among some of the
artisan communities that I work with and will continue to strengthen this effort
in the future.
2007 -- Terra Experience has funded a $500 environmental
education project with Maya Traditions and is helping financially two young
Mayan women from Chajul become public health nurses through Foundations for
Education’s Scholarship program. Terra Experience has also helped out a
group that is working to protect Lake Atitlan , Prolago (http://prolagoatitlan.org/pub/bin/perform.fcgi on several occasions (when it was in need of start up money and
after hurricane Stan).
2008 --
2009
-
In
the United States:
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Use paper with
30% or more post-consumer waste whenever available. Reuse backside of paper and
don’t have my laptop computer networked to my printer to make printing an
inconvenient and conscious choice.
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Drive a hybrid
Prius (50 mpg) and organize trips to minimize driving time and miles.
Occasionally use a minivan (20 mpg) when required to do so to carry inventory to
shows.
-
Take advantage of
Wisconsin’s wonderful recycling program and Green Valley Disposal’s service (http://www.greenvalleydisposal.com/index.htm
) to recycle all plastics labeled 1 through 7, glass containers, steel, aluminum
cans and all grades of paper including cardboard.
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Work from home
much of the time and home worksite has over 1/3 of lot in natural area including
a major wetland restoration area that acts as natural rain garden. Have
improved energy efficiency at the home worksite by installing a high-energy
efficient furnace, hot water heater and energy efficient light bulbs. The need
for air conditioning is minimized by architectural design (roof overhangs that
primarily let sun in during winter), shade trees and use of fans and simple
things such as closing curtains during sunlight hours.
-
Continuously
looking for ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
Have a goal to set up a system to formally track progress in minimizing energy
use and become carbon-neutral by the end of 2007. Sept 2009 Update:
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Our web site is hosted
by a service that is powered by 100% Wind power.
http://www.purehost.com/green/index.bml
Supplying financial and technical support;
-
For the Artisans Families that Terra
Experience Buys Directly From
- We always offer to provide “anticipo” (prepayment) for items we order
directly from an artisan.
- All items are paid for in full, immediately when they are received from
the artisan producers.
- We have ongoing relationships with many of these artisans and their
families and now their children’s families and over the years have
helped out with school supplies, books, reading glasses, and
occasionally other needs (school and health costs) during difficult
times.
- We have worked informally and cooperatively with the artisans discussing
product design, material costs, artisan time and other factors to
determine a fair price for the work that leaves both of us smiling and
helps keep their children in school.
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Supporting
Community Capabilities in Artisan Villages
Terra Experience
has supported the ongoing work of selected fair-trade and nonprofit
organizations that have an ongoing presence in Guatemala and the communities
that the artisans from whom Terra Experience buys live. Our focus in on groups
that empower and increase capabilities of Mayan artisans and their communities
especially through education, family health care and environmental protection.
For more information check our "Ways to Help" web page.
o
Maya
Traditions: (http://mayatraditions.com
) In 2007 Terra Experience provided Maya Traditions (a fair trade
wholesaler that works with several women’s groups in Guatemala from whom Terra
Experience buys many products) a $500 scholarship for students involved in an
environmental project in their communities. In the past Terra Experience has
given books, dolls, reading glasses and general scholarship money to the group.
In 2008 Terra Experience provided
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Clinica Maya (
http://www.clinicasmaya.com ):
This non-profit works with indigenous midwives in the Lake Atitlan area of
Guatemala (where many of Terra Experience’s artisans live) to increase their
capacity and has a clinic and several other projects. We have information about
the clinic on the Terra Experience web (http://www.terraexperience.com/la_casa_de_luz.htm
- to help out before they had their own web) and have found and brought/shipped
diabetes and other medical supplies, rechargeable flashlights, reading glasses
and books to the clinic routinely over the past several years. We have also
encouraged friends and individuals to volunteer at the clinic.
o
Foundations
for Education (http://www.geocities.com/foeduinc/
): This nonprofit finds sponsors for middle and high schools students that
are committed to returning to their communities and working as teachers for at
least 2 years. Terra Experience has supported a high school student from Chajul
for the last three years. She graduated in 2006. This year my husband and I are
funding Elena and Manuela Caba Zuniga, two sisters from Chajul, El Quiche. They
graduated from the Foundations program in 2003 and 2004 and have worked for
several years in the rural areas of Quiche empowering women’s groups. The
sisters decided this year to study weekends at the University to become public
health nurses so they can bring these skills to the women’s groups with whom
they continue to work.
o
Collegio Maya
(http://www.terraexperience.com/options_to_help.htm
): Sandra is a friend of mine who originally was from Guatemala and has
lived for many years in Madison, WI. She has informally adopted an elementary
school "Colegio Maya" in a small aldea outside Cantel Quetzaltengo and a nursing
home in Mazatenango. Sandra works with her friends (including Terra
Experience’s owner) to get school supplies, books, building materials to the 104
students in the school and basic clothes and supplies to the nursing home.
o
Prolago
(http://prolagoatitlan.org/pub/bin/perform.fcgi)
: This is a Solola Guatemala based group that is working to protect
Lake Atitlan. Terra Experience has provided financial assistance to this
organization on several occasions (when it was in need of start up money and
after hurricane Stan). As Terra Experience’s business grows we hope to be able
to grow our support of this organization.
o
Wisconsin Nicaragua Partners: (http://wnp.uwsp.edu/news/postings/postings.htm
):
This nonprofit group has fostered partnerships between Wisconsin
cities and groups with communities in Nicaragua since 1968. They have
established over 78 learning and sewing centers throughout Nicaragua. Terra
Experience supports their efforts by purchasing Chica Nica doll dresses and has
donated Spanish language Singer Sewing books, sewing kits, and other things to
the group.
o
Pueblo to Pueblo:
http://www.puebloapueblo.org /
: Terra Experience
chose this group to help after Hurricane Stan in 2005. Pueblo to Pueblo is a
US non-profit that works with Asociación K’aslimaal a Santiago Atiltan based
Guatemalan nonprofit focused on re-establishing 24/7 health in the Mayan
community at its “Hospilito Atitlan”. After the mudslide, the group did a
tremendous amount to help weaver and artisan families whose homes were destroyed
as well as re-establish medical health-care in the area. Terra Experience
helped create a Madison-Guatemala Network (see below) managed to raise $1000
that went to Pueblo to Pueblo hurricane relief efforts. Terra Experience
continues to support Pueblo to Pueblo efforts.
Respecting cultural identity;
Terra Experience's Doll Clothes, Arts and Crafts
and Books and our web site all indicate our love of and respect for the Mayan
Culture and "Our goal: to give kids (of
all ages) the chance to experience other cultures while playing with the dolls
and toys they love."
Offering
public accountability; and, Transparency:
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Artisan
Families ---
Our goal is to pay the artisans who weave and make products a fair price
for their fine work. We always offer to provide “anticipo” (prepayment) for
ordered items. All items are paid for in full, immediately when they are
received from the artisan producers. We have ongoing relationships with many
of these artisans and their families and now their children’s families and over
the years have helped out with school supplies, books, reading glasses, and
occasionally other needs (school and health costs) during difficult times. We
have worked informally and cooperatively with the artisans discussing product
design, material costs, artisan time and other factors to determine a fair price
for the work that leaves both of us smiling and helps keep their children in
school. In the coming year I will be gradually working with artisans to
evaluate our product payments using a new tool, the Wage Guide (http://www.fairtradecalculator.net/index.php
) to insure that we are providing a fair price in the local context.
In the few cases where
Terra Experience is not
able to buy directly from artisan families because the specialty item is made in
a remote area of Guatemala that we do not travel to, we work with a local
shopkeeper or wholesaler to order the item. We try to work transparently, asking
the shopkeeper what he or she will pay the artisan producer and telling the
shopkeeper what Terra Experience will sell the item for, trying to insure fair compensation for
all. In the future we hope to find a way to meet the artisans and verify these payments.
In addition to Doll Clothes,
textiles and arts and crafts Terra Experience sells books about Guatemala. Our
primary purpose is to share information about the Mayan culture and Guatemala
with children and the purchasers of Terra Experience products. When available
Terra Experience tries to buy books that are produced in an environmentally and
socially responsible manner, but they are often not available. Some of the fair
trade and socially responsible books that Terra Experience does stock are
Marilyn Anderson’s “Mayan Arts Coloring Book”, the NISGUA “Guatemala
Arte Maya Calendars”, Foundation for Education’s
"Threads Breaking the Silence"
and numerous textile and children’s publications of the Museo Ixchel in
Guatemala City.
- How much does
the Artisan Receive when I buy a Terra Experience Product?
We strive to pay a fair wage for the
products we buy (see
Paying
fair wages in local context).
The amount an artisan receives for a specific
product varies. On the average, approximately 1/3 of Terra
Experience's net income from sales goes to the artisan, 1/3 goes to the cost
of doing business (travel, shipping, and selling) and 1/3 is profit that has
been reinvested in the business. This average includes both retail and
wholesale sales.
|
Year |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
|
Items |
$ |
Approx. % |
$ |
Approx. % |
$ |
Approx. % |
$ |
Approx. % |
|
Payments to Weavers
and Artisans for cost of goods sold |
7,904 |
33 % |
6,867 |
30 % |
7,010 |
31% |
8,794 |
31% |
|
Donations to
Guatemala, Nicaragua and other NPO (*doesn't include donations
received from others) |
856* |
4 % |
1,442* |
7 % |
2,707* |
12% |
1,923* |
7% |
|
Cost of Shipping &
Customs |
759 |
3 % |
876 |
4 % |
660 |
3% |
600 |
2% |
|
Cost of Travel to
Guatemala (**estimated) |
1,000** |
4 % |
1,000** |
5 % |
1,000** |
4% |
1,000** |
4% |
|
Cost of Selling
(web site, show and consignment fees, Paypal fees, advertising
costs, computer and office equipment and supplies, displays...) |
6,153 |
25 % |
4,119 |
18 % |
10,396 |
45% |
8122 |
29% |
|
Cost of Shipping to
Customer |
891 |
4 % |
1,218 |
6 % |
1,433 |
6% |
2,001 |
7% |
|
Net Ordinary Income
from Sales (reinvested in business) |
6,740 |
28 % |
6,838 |
30 % |
2,215 |
10% |
8,644 |
28% |
|
Total Income from
Gross Product Sales |
$24,300 |
100% |
$22,360 |
100% |
22,989 |
100% |
28,084 |
100% |
We are small, but we are growing and as we
grow we will share the benefits of that growth with Terra Experience's
artisans and customers.
|
Year |
Total Income from
Gross Product
Sales ($) |
|
1999 |
701 |
|
2000 |
5,894 |
|
2001 |
8,688 |
|
2002 |
4,657 |
|
2003 |
11,704 |
|
2004 |
20,622 |
|
2005 |
24,320 |
|
2006 |
22,360 |
|
2007 |
22,989 |
|
2008 |
28,084 |
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Educating consumers
-
Terra Experience Website
(http://TerraExperience.com):
We are working to build a website that contains fun and educational
information and pictures about the artisans, Mayan villages and life, and
opportunities to help support and empower the artisans. Our web site is a
work in progress, but a number of students, teachers and others have taken
advantage of our desire to share information about the Mayan Culture as
indicated by the website statement: “Copyright
© 2002-2007 Lynn Persson, Terra Experience. All rights
reserved. Contents not to be used without permission. But
formally ask us, let us know how you plan to use (non-commercial), give us
credit and we will be glad to share.
-
Support Local Groups that Share Interests:
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Madison-Guatemala Network: (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MadisonGuatemala/
) This is a group of people that live in the Madison Wisconsin area and have a
common interest in Guatemala, its people and issues. We initially got together
in October 2005 to coordinate our activities to help our friends in Guatemala
who were affected by the floods and mudslides associated with Hurricane Stan.
We held a potluck and over 200 people attended and we raised $3,500 for
hurricane relief. We continue as a network for sharing information and working
with groups in Madison and Guatemala.
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CALA (http://www.calamadison.org/index.shtml
):Community Action
on Latin America (CALA) is a Madison, Wisconsin-based student and community
organization, founded in the early 1970s as a group committed to pursuing issues
of social justice and U.S. accountability in Latin American affairs. Terra
Experience participates in and supports many of the activities of this local
group including advertising and supporting its local Holiday Fair Trade festival
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Wisconsin
Coordinating Council on Nicaragua (http://www.wccnica.org/
): This is a Wisconsin based non-profit organization that
works on Nicaraguan social justice issues and also runs a successful micro
credit loan program. Terra Experience is a member of the organization and also
invests in the micro-credit loan programs.
-
Local Fair
Trade Festivals: --- We have
participated in the Madison Fair Trade Fair for many years and have advertised
and participated in other similar local events. We also encouraged the
development of a similar event in Burlington Wisconsin and hope to do so
elsewhere in Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
We welcome your comments, questions and
suggestions.
lynn@terraexperience.com
For More Information on Fair Trade check out the links below:
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