Fairloom
Submitted by Fairloom on Thu, 04/19/2007 - 13:15.
Last updated on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 13:02.
Vital Stats
ongoing project
12/01/2008
People Impacted:
40Money Raised: 63,309.
Project Photos
The Problem
Seventy-nine percent of adults Terra Prometida, located in the second largest favela (slum) in Brazil, do not have an education past the fifth grade and 83% of adults earn less than US$250 per month. A vast majority of women are unemployed, while there exists a unique, cultural art in the community that is quickly dying. With the guidance of Fairloom, artisans from Terra Prometida are learning and preserving cultural arts and producing marketable textile items. They are creating just employment and returning funds from international sales to develop and operate community education programs.
Why It's Important
We are forming a community of artisans that support each other in day-to-day difficulties and celebrate the day-to-day joys. We focus on every individual involved in our programs—and keep the organization small enough so that every board member, director, artisan, and child can feel connected to each other. An essential piece of our mission is to help the spirit of Terra Prometida penetrate the borders of their neighborhood so that it may reach the international community. Annie Doran, Founder and Director of Fairloom lived with the community of Terra Prometida as an exchange student in 2002. She returned to the community a year after graduating from college and in cooperation with a small group of women, founded Fairloom.
The Plan Of Action
We are enabling artisans to restructure their own communities to be sustainable, helping them develop and support community education programs, promote reinvestment in their children’s education, while in the process preserving endangered cultural arts. Fairloom also provides children across the globe with access to various world and generational cultures through a program of communication. Fairloom is developing a women’s fair-trade handicraft group in the community of Terra Prometida, Brazil and selling their goods internationally.
Project Updates
06/17/09
Update: 9/8/07-The Do Something grant funds were spent on purchasing design supplies and on wages for a design coordinator/instructor from the artisan group. This enabled the lace maker artisans to express their own creativity and design on their own without the influence from a “professional” designer. The artisans created several cell phone case designs and 2 different bikinis! The cell phones are ready to be produced and sold, and the bikinis need slight work for functionality. The bikinis will most likely be ready for production in the spring. They are beautiful and unique! We will see the financial returns from the cell phone designs after the holiday shopping season. Thank you for the means to make this happen!
Location
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