Mending Afghanistan Stitch by Stitch

From the high mountain valley of rural Darrai Noor to urban Kabul, SERRV’s new partner Rubia has empowered hundreds of women through fi ne embroidery training and production. Embroidery is the heart and soul of traditional textiles in Afghanistan, and the techniques are commonly passed down from mother to daughter. Women stitch at home as time permits, between their domestic chores such as cooking and milking cows.

Rubia, a non-profi t named for a red root used to dye yarn, began as a neighborhood project in Lahore, Pakistan among Afghan refugee women who were desperate to provide economic support for their families. As the women returned to Afghanistan and settled in Darrai Noor and Kabul, the project moved with them. Now all aspects of Rubia’s programs are rooted in Afghanistan, helping to build capacity and the economy in the women’s home country.

(continued on page 2(continued on page 2( )continued on page 2)continued on page 2

Many of the women live without water or electricity and have grown up in a war zone. I have

watched leadership emerge through home-

based sewing circles. I have seen the many

ways women blend sewing and embroidery

with household chores, balancing family and

work as women do all over the world. They

take pride in the quality of their embroidery

and the status their fi ne work has earned

them. Our Rubia women combine their

talents, ingenuity as well as tradition to

improve their lives and the prospects of

their children.

– Rachel Lehr, Rubia Executive Director, after a recent trip to Afghanistan

S U M M E R 2 0 1 0a nonp ro f i t o rgan i za t i on

SERRV’s Work in Haiti

For more than 30 years, we have been working with our partner Comite Artisanal Haitien (CAH). Thanks to the tremendous backing of our supporters, SERRV was able to send supplies immediately after the earthquake. Since then, we have visited Haiti to learn more about artisans’ needs, sent grants for more than 60 artisan families to rebuild, placed a special order for more beautiful products, and shipped more than a ton of additional aid including tarps and tents for the rainy season, and tools to build small houses.

SERRV’s commitment to Haiti precedes the earthquake and will continue into the future. Now more than ever, artisans need employment so they can earn what they need to overcome this tragedy. We are working with CAH to generate more sales and increase artisans’ incomes by collaborating on targeted product design and marketing strategies. These include a new Haitian artisan design center, professional product design assistance, new promotional materials and additional staffi ng within CAH to reach new buyers.

(continued from page 1)Both SERRV and Rubia believe alternative livelihoods are key to Afghanistan’s social and economic recovery. Subsistence farmers who historically supported their families with poppy cultivation are seeking other means of economic empowerment, and embroidery provides a legitimate source of income for families. For most of these women, working with Rubia has been their fi rst opportunity to earn money. Income from embroidery work helps their families obtain food, medicine, clothing, and shelter.

Rubia takes pride in being a community-based group working within the family context, respectful of customs and values in Afghanistan. In addition to the embroidery programs, Rubia provides education and promotes health and well-being for Afghan women and their families. Home-based basic education is offered in Darrai Noor, and women are eager for the chance to join the literacy classes as educational opportunities for them are limited.

At the Sanga Amaj Women’s Drug Treatment Center in Kabul, the only residential substance abuse clinic for women in Afghanistan, Rubia teaches therapeutic stitchery as part of the rehabilitation program. The

work keeps the women’s hands busy as their bodies and minds focus on healing.

Rubia is SERRV’s fi rst partner in Afghanistan, and our role is to help facilitate translating the heritage and skills of Afghan women into sustainable livelihoods and opportunities for

education and better lives. For their part, the embroiderers were excited and proud to receive their fi rst SERRV order. They tell us that our large orders give them the

incentive to aim for international business standards, and provide new teaching and design opportunities.

SERRV’s orders have also opened the door to professional development

for women like Bibi Jahan, who is now managing embroidery production. Jahan, who

learned to embroider from her mother, has been practicing her craft for more than 30 years, and has passed on her skills to her own daughters, some of Rubia’s fi nest artisans.

By increasing awareness of the situation in Afghanistan while empowering women through education, skills training and the promotion of their hand-embroidered textiles, SERRV and Rubia are making a real difference in this region of the world.

a new Haitian artisan design center, professional product design assistance, new promotional materials and additional staffi ng within CAH to reach new buyers.

Chilean Partners Recover from EarthquakeIn late February, a severe earthquake struck Chile south of the capital of Santiago. Both of our Chilean partners, Comparte and Fundacion Solidaridad, have their offi ces in the city and had some damage to their workplaces. Comparte works with artisans near the quake’s epicenter, and have been looking for ways to assist them and increase orders so they can work and rebuild. The team at Comparte says, “Thank you for your continued support in this moment of disaster and tragedy. With strength and unity, we will work together in rebuilding Chile.”

Product Design in Southeast AsiaProduct design specialist Kerry Evans visited our partners in Indonesia and Cambodia in February, then went on to visit two of our largest partners in Vietnam during March – Mai Handicrafts in Ho Chi Minh City and Craft Link in Hanoi. Not only are they among the organizations from whom SERRV purchases the most, they are two of the largest fair trade producer groups in the world. Both groups work with at-risk artisans, including ethnic minorities, physically challenged populations, and people who are socially and economically disadvantaged. Vietnam has a thriving handcraft sector, and Kerry was able to identify and develop many products for future SERRV catalogs.

“Purchases Make a Difference”

MANY WAYS TO SERRVBUY

ENRICHMENT FOR ALL WITH EVERY PURCHASE ONLINE OR IN OUR CATALOG

SELLPRODUCTS IN YOUR RETAIL STORE OR HOST A SERRV SALE

DONATE*

YOUR MONEY TO TRAIN AND ASSIST

VOLUNTEERYOUR TIME AND SKILLS WHEREVER YOU ARE

www.serrv.org 1.800.423.0071*SERRV is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Lucas Caldeira is the executive director of Asha Handicrafts in India, one of SERRV’s oldest and largest artisan partners. He is also a new member of SERRV’s board of directors. While he was in Madison for the biannual board meeting, we sat down with him to ask a few questions.

How and why did you get involved with Asha?

I became involved with Asha in 1987 because I appreciated the organization’s humanistic values. Asha was dealing with actual lives and people. Seeing artisans empowered and changed gave me great strength and a passion for fair trade.

What kinds of crafts do artisans with Asha make for SERRV?

Asha artisans make a lot of textiles, papier mache, decorative pieces, jewelry, and wooden crafts including boxes and photo frames.

What is Asha’s relationship with SERRV?

SERRV begin working with Asha 25 years ago in 1985. SERRV is one of our largest buyers, although we have a number of other customers throughout the world. SERRV truly gives us access to the U.S. market.

Orders from SERRV have funded housing and workplace improvements. Revenue has been used toward projects that help women, health clinics and computer training. We’ve also received disaster relief from SERRV through small grants.

What do you want SERRV’s customers to know?

Their purchases make a difference. Their support of SERRV helps sustain artisans and gives them a decent income which they can live by. It gives them access to health care, education, dignity and self-esteem.

SERRV International500 Main StreetPO Box 365New Windsor, MD 21776

NONPROFIT

ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDWESTMINSTER, MD

PERMIT NO. 874

O U R M I S S I O Nto eradicate poverty wherever it resides

www.serrv.org1.800.423.0071

In March, SERRV sent design and business consultant Frederic Alcantara to work with our partner Delta Survie on new jewelry designs. Joining them were some of Mali’s top jewelry experts, including Amidou Danioko, a UNESCO award-winning Malian jewelry designer; Oumar Cisse, the largest bead and jewelry trader in Mali; and Hamadoum Sangare, an expert in jewelry making. These accomplished professionals and Delta Survie’s staff concentrated on producing fresh, new pieces.

New designs are important to the jewelry makers at Delta Survie because they create product variety that leads to increase sales. At the organization, women who are recovering from obstentric fi stula surgery are able to do the light work of making jewelry comfortably. Delta Survie provides an environment for the women to convalesce, earn some money, learn a skill, and fi nd acceptance in a supportive community.

Thanks to Catholic Relief Services’ Fair Trade Fund for making this work possible.

Frederic Alcantara with Delta Survie staff and jewelry makers