Profiles

Get to know the artisans who are making these beautiful fair-trade products!  They are from China, Kenya, Indonesia, Peru,  Vietnam, Uganda and Guatemala.  You are helping people across the globe with your purchase, not only to provide for their families, but to improve their communities!

Emayanata in Kenya

Suai Koisamau

Mama Koisamau is a 40 year old mother of 7.  Four of her children have dropped out of school because she cannot afford school fees.  She is the ever smiling mama of the village. Since she is only speaks Maasai and speaks little bit of Kiswahili, her chances to help her family are limited.  She is skilled artisan of the Masai ethnic crafts.




Lucy Naswaku

Nekorionk Lucy Naswaku is well known as mama Lasiti. She is a 54 year old widow who only speaks Kiswahili and Maasai. She is HIV positive but despite all this she is the happiest woman. She sells local brew to afford food. She is well skilled in making ornaments.  A Villager's Hand will help her move away from alcohol sales so she can support herself through her crafts.



Namperiai Meshuko

Mama Maria is a well-known mama in the village. She is 57years old. She has 10 amazing kids. She lives in Suswa village. She speaks Maasai and little bit of Kiswahili. She is a pastoralist and very skilled in making traditional ornaments. 

Persian Suntai

Well known as Mama Patel. She is 37 years old .She is a widow. She has 5 amazing kids and 3 of them have dropped out of school due to the cost. She speaks Maasai and little Kiswahili. She is great artisan. She lives in Suswa.

Nuantoi Ene Selian

She also known as mama Naneu. She is a 38years old widow and a mother to 7 children. She was one of three wives to her husband. Her only source of income is making jewelry in order to provide for her children. She lives in Suswa Village. She only speaks Maasai and little bit of Swahili.

Salaite Sentero

Also known as mama Katatei. She is a 60 year old mother of 13. She has a good head for business and sells her jewelry in the local Maasai market. She has a passion for her art, and lives in Suswa village.

Naitetoi Masiane

 
Also known as Mama Golgol, she is a 50 year old mother of 5. She skilled in making Maasai jewelry. She has no source of income and has turned to alcohol. She hopes that with a steady income from her work through A Villager’s Hand that she will be able to stop drinking. Language is a barrier to her ability to find employment.

Mitau Punyua

 
MITAU PUNYUA is known as entito ole punyua. She 35 years old and a widow. She has 2 kids and is homeless. She speaks Kiswahili, Maasai and little bit of English. She a pastoralist and mainly depends on goat rearing to make a living.






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Ayu Sewing Project in Indonesia

Ida and Lila

 
Ida and Lila are very talented seamstresses. They are the sisters that agreed to pass their skill on and bless these moms by teaching them how to stitch and create the scarves. The finished stitch is their idea and design. They taught the girls everything they know.

 

Novi

Novi was the inspiration for the start of this project.  She is a beautiful mother of three girls ages 12, 5 and 2. Her husband works as the security guard for an international school. Novi stays at home with the girls and walks them to school each morning.  Her 2 year old daughter has recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and Novi has to spend a large amount of money on medicine each month.  She has been through more than we can imagine or even begin to relate to and for that she is incredibly strong and inspiring. 

 

Eka

Eka is the wonderful mother of three boys ages 5, 3 and 1. Her husband works in an organic vegetable green house and also raises catfish to sell at the local market. Eka is quiet and stays at her house with the boys the majority of the time, but once you get her away from the house, she comes alive. She is funny and incredibly sweet with an extremely likable personality. She's doing really well with her hands as full as they are with her active little guys. 

 

Titiek

This picture represents Titiek very well. She is so much fun to be around and keeps the party going. Titiek and her husband have begun their own business grinding and selling corn which now takes up a lot of their time. Titiek has one daughter who is 6 years old and has just started elementary school. Titiek is awesome. If you need something done and done well, she's your girl, and will keep you laughing. She now helps to lead the second sewing group, along with NIrma, below, and does a great job!

 

Nirma

Nirma stays at home with her three daughter ages 9, 5 and 1 and has a small home business sewing uniforms for school children.  Nirma was the only girl with a little experience in sewing but has never hand sewn before. Nirma is passionate about what she believes in and has a soft and likable spirit.  She now helps to lead the second sewing group, along with Titiek, does a fantastic job with them.

 

Yuyun

Yuyun is Titiek's sister and also is a mother of a little 6 year old boy. She stays home while her husband builds houses nearby. She is very much like her sister in that she is a go-getter. She had a beautiful skill from the very beginning. Her first scarf was very impressive and looked as if she had been doing it for years! She is a hard and diligent worker who settles for only the best. Her smile is contagious and you rarely see her without it.

 

 

Susi

Susi is one of the 4 new girls to the Ayu Sewing Project. She is 24 years old and is Siti's sister below. Her husband is 26 and has developed kidney disease. Because of this disease, he is on dialysis 2 times a week and is not able to work. She struggles with her future as she faces the challenge of caring for her husband and her 5 year old child. The sewing project has allowed her to receive an income while caring for her loved ones.  She is an incredibly sweet,  personable, and beautiful young lady.

 

Siti

 

Siti is 28 years old, the sister of Susi pictured above, and also one of the 4 newer ladies to the project..  She is the mother of a 5 year old boy and is a very conscientious worker.  She tends to be more introverted, but is always kind, agreeable, and personable.  She enjoys meeting with the others and listening to all that is said around her.

Narlik

Ju

Ju is 44 and the mother of 3 children, one of which is out of school, one is in high school and one is in elementary school.  Unfortunately, her husband had a bad motorcycle accident about a year ago and was seriously injured. He struggles to work full time now.  Despite this turn in her life events, Ju is very gracious and grateful for the blessings in her life. She is very sweet and has a wonderful and helpful spirit. Ju is also one of the newer members of the group but tends to act as the mother figure to all of them.

 

 

 

Suci

Suci began sewing for Ayu in March of 2015.  She is the mother of three children.  One of them is in elementary school, one is in high school and one is out of school.  She is very quiet but has a wonderfully sweet disposition.  You can't help but like her!  She is very grateful for this opportunity to improve her family's life and has proven to be very responsible and hard working.  She has learned how to sew using a machine and helps to sew placemats, table runners,  napkins, make-up bags and shopping bags.

Ribka
 

Ibu Ribka is a new member of Ayu Sewing Project and began with us in March of 2016. She has a beautiful personality and has been a great encouragement to the other women in the group. She is married and has one little girl.  Ribka's first child tragically and unexpectedly passed away due to a brain tumor at the age of 3.  But the following year, she was blessed with another little girl who was born at the exact time and date that her first child passed away!  Her second little girl is now 3 years old and healthy. Her husband doesn’t make much money so she wants to help provide for her family by sewing scarves with Ayu.  She is a hard worker and we are blessed to have her as a part of our group.

 

 

 

Sutiar

Ibu Sutiar has recently joined the sewing group, and began in June of 2016.  She is very sweet, outgoing, and a hard worker.  She also makes plastic shopping bags for a local factory out of her home but gets paid very little for each bag she makes.  Her husband worked for the government but this past year has had some health problems with his kidney and he has not been able to work.  She is grateful to be able to sew these beautiful scarves to help provide for her family.

 

Ika

Bu Ika is one of the newest members of Ayu Sewing Project, having only been a part of it for about 7 months now. She has such a sweet, loving personality, and is always caring for other people. She is a lovely lady with a precious heart, a hard worker and loves her family. Bu Ika and her husband have just opened a small barber shop, so she needs the Ayu Sewing Project income to be their source of steady income while they are building their barber shop business.