24, January 2013
Aid to Artisans was the subject of a piece this month in the Financial Times.
Crafts: Artisans turn their hands to entrepreneurship
By Sarah Murray
When undertaking an internship with a craft development project for Mayan women weavers in Chiapas, Mexico, participants are not only acquiring weaving skills. Treated as young entrepreneurs, they must specify career choices – from production supervision and retail management to international marketing – and their curriculum is structured accordingly.
The Mexican weaving internship – part of a project funded by the Kellogg Foundation – is run by Aid to Artisans, a US-based charity that recently merged with Creative Learning, an economic and social development non-profit group. Since it was founded, Aid to Artisans has helped craftspeople around the world to raise their standards and designs to meet the demands of western consumers and to improve their sales and marketing techniques.
“Young people need access to market-driven product development, business training and linkage to markets,” says Monika Steinberger, director of programme management and development.”
