Manos Zapotecas is a Fair Trade company that sells handbags woven by talented artisans in Oaxaca, Mexico. Since 2012, Shelley Tennyson, the founder and CEO, has been bringing these colourful handbags from the Zapotec villagers of Teotitlan de Valle to stylish consumers around the world. When Shelley first met the artisans, she was a volunteer offering business training. She realized that business savvy wouldn’t help if there were no customers to buy the striking creations, so she started Manos Zapotecas (MZ Fair Trade), which now supports over 50 artisans in creating sustainable lives for themselves and their families.

As the new owner of Didi Bahini, I returned from Nepal excited to share about my trip. I wanted to tell you about the products and encourage sales so that I could support my partners in Nepal by selling more.

Then CoViD-19 spread across the planet and selling just doesn’t seem right.

But telling you about Fair Trade and the difference it makes seems *very* right. This virus is showing us just how connected we are, and the concept of Fair Trade is based on that connection and the belief that we are all important parts of the whole.