Buying Fair Trade Jewelry works...A Bead Maker's Story
This is the story of the Acholi people of Uganda and how fair trade jewelry has helped them create a better life. The Acholi people are victims of Africa's longest running war. To escape persecution and death, they fled their homeland in Northern Uganda to the capital city of Kampala. They were forced to live in a hillside slum called the Acholi Quarters, in substandard conditions, essentially refugees in their own country. The only work was breaking rocks in a nearby quarry, where they were making only pennies a day in terrible working conditions. As a result of the AIDS epidemic and war, many are single mothers with several children who came with them to the dangerous quarries. At the end of the day, they had bloody hands and barely a dollar to show for all their hard work.
These same women make beads from recycled paper. They cut the paper into strips, hand roll them and coat them with a strong resin for durability. Then they are hand string to make beautiful and unique jewelry. Because the economy is so bad in Uganda, there is no market for their beautiful creations, and no one had heard of fair trade jewelry, or fair trade wages. They are now brought to the United States by Acholi Beads, and the bead makers earn over and above fair trade wages. Many of the Acholi people now invest in culturally relevant businesses, are rebuilding better homes, have savings accounts,and can pay for education and medical care. They are able to work from home, in a community setting where they and their families are safe. Some have even fulfilled dreams of moving back to their homelands. But most importantly, they have their dignity back. 
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