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Ending persistent poverty and providing artisans with a level of economic stability is the most central and important goal of the fair-trade movement. In addition to this, another piece of Revive’s mission is to preserve traditional craftsmanship around the globe.
The globalization of marketplaces has forced producer groups to consolidate and work with large corporations in order to gain access to markets. Unfortunately, this consolidation often leads to a homogenized product–think McDonald’s with food, a BigMac is the same whether it was made in New York, New Delhi, or Beijing. It is similar with textiles. Due to the consolidation and integration in production, traditional fabric making and dying techniques are watered-down and sometimes completely lost.
You may be asking yourself, in our modern globalized world, why is it important to preserve traditional handicrafts? Traditional crafts ways are an essential part of a people’s heritage. Such beautiful, sustainable and ethnic threads are as much a part of a culture as the language or food ways. And for us a Revive this is what makes our diverse world so wonderful. We work with many groups who strive to preserve artisan talent. INTO is a great example. Illuminating Nations Through Offering an opportunity (INTO) works with artisans in Ecuador in places such as Pinsaqui, a small village located in Ecuador’s Northern Sierra province Imbabura. Most families of Pinsaqui no longer weave as their community did for hundreds of years due to the difficulty in accessing markets. People now work in other trades, including construction, to supplement the small income they make from agriculture. INTO works with one of the last three artisans to weave within this village.
We are incredibly grateful for INTO’s efforts and are happy to be partnering with Francesca Barbee to unveil their spring scarf collection handmade in Ecuador.
The scarf event will take place at both Revive boutiques on Saturday, January 21st ‐ Revive on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.) and Revive at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst (10 a.m. – 8 p.m.).
Francesca will showcase INTO’s scarf collection including traditional ponchos, large and small wraps, crocheted and lightweight scarves. Come to the store or visit our webstore to join the movement to preserve traditional craftsmanship!
An interesting example of the decline in traditional craftsmanship in Latin American was discussed today on NPR. The Panama hat, made in Ecuador, is handmade with a indigenous grass however this traditional craft has been largely displaced by a cheap paper version of the Panama hat made in China. This has resulted in adverse effects on artisan communities. This is detailed in Hal Weitzman’s book Latin Lesson.