Inovis and Africa April 25, 2008
Posted by Meg Sewell in News.Tags: Fairwinds Trading Company, Macys.com, Rwanda Path to Peace, Trade not aid
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Rwanda Basket featured on Macys.com
Patricia Deneen, a member of Inovis’s Education Services, e-mailed this to me while she was at the Inovis Educational Roadshow in Dallas this past week. What a truly inspiring story!
When you think of Africa, do you think of Inovis? I never have. That is, until recently at our Educational Services Roadshow in Dallas when I met an Inovis Catalogue customer, Fair Winds Trading Company, who in conjunction with Macy’s—another Inovis customer—are in partnership for the Rwanda Path to Peace.
I read this on the Fairwinds Trading Company Site: “Rwanda Path to Peace was founded in July 2005. In less than two years the project has achieved unparalleled success in bringing economic security to the women of Rwanda. Just two years after its first collection, the Path to Peace project is larger than ever, employing more than 2500 weavers and impacting tens of thousands of lives. Each basket in the collection is inspired by a traditional Rwandan design and entirely handmade by weavers using a centuries-old technique.
Baskets woven by the women are exported to the US and sold exclusively at macys.com/rwanda are the number one export out of Rwanda under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Focused on trade, not aid, the Rwanda Path to Peace project puts the power of opportunity into the hands of the women of Rwanda, providing not only income, but also the chance to take an active role in the shaping of their future.”
I went to Macy’s website and found pictures of the unique handmade baskets and a description of the project.
I am touched and proud. Two of our customers are making a real difference in our world.
