Bunyaad Artisans

Bunyaad Artisans | Empowering Women | Fair Trade Difference

Jared Rug Training Centre Empowering Women in Remote Region of Pakistan
ByBunyaad July 23, 2015December 18, 2017

One gentleman came into the Centre asking “Is there still room for my two daughters to be recruited? They have just finished their high school and now have no job opportunities in this area.” He is is a local night watchman for many nearby shops at night. He told the Center’s supervisor that he wants his daughters to be able to work and to have a source of income for life. His daughters are now enrolled in training at the Center. Once they are trained, a loom will be installed in their home, easily multiplying their income potential and empowerment and increasing the financial stability of their family.

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Bunyaad Artisans | Empowering Women | Fair Trade Difference | Learning Tour

Juggling Family, Household and Work
ByBunyaad June 29, 2015December 18, 2017

Let Me Introduce: Arshad

Arshad, usually called by her nickname Bebe, and her family live in the village of Darianwala located approximately six miles from the Indian border in Northeast Pakistan.

Arshad and her husband Mustaq have been working for Bunyaad for the past five years (since 2009). Prior to joining Bunyaad the family had been drifting from place to place in hopes of finding work that would support the entire family. As a woman working outside the home would not have been acceptable for Arshad and so the challenge of providing for the entire family rested on Mustaq’s shoulders.

How does a family in rural Pakistan make ends meet when jobs are scarce and mostly seasonal?

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Bunyaad Artisans | Fair Trade Difference | Fair Trade Federation

World Fair Trade Day – Why Should We Care, What Does it Mean for Us?
ByBunyaad May 8, 2015August 17, 2022

World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) recognizes and celebrates the impact of fair trade relationships around the world. The first World Fair Trade Day was established by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and celebrated on the second Saturday in May, 2002. Since then fair traders all over the world, including Fair Trade Federation (FTF) members, have celebrated WFTD on the second Saturday in May each year. This year, WFTD is on Saturday, May 9.

Bunyaad is a recognized leader in fairly traded handmade rugs from Pakistan and we’ve been practicing fair trade since the 1960’s when Chaman Masih began working with just a few rug making families. Fair trade was not even part of the language back then. As time went along, Bunyaad joined forces with Ten Thousand Villages and the business of fairly traded rugs grew substantially. Just this year, Bunyaad became a member of the Fair Trade Federation and officially joined the North American and worldwide family of fair trade.

So, why should we care about World Fair Trade Day? I think there are four main reasons:

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Bunyaad Artisans | Learning Tour | Rug Events in Canada | Year-round Stores

Peoples Lives are Entwined in each Bunyaad Rug
ByBunyaad February 23, 2015December 18, 2017

Gwen Repeta, manager of the Ten Thousand Villages store in Winnipeg, MB and Rug Program Coordinator for Ten Thousand Villages Canada, joined us on our two-week trip to Pakistan this past January. This is Gwen’s second trip to visit the Bunyaad artisans (her first in May 2005). Gwen’s long-term commitment to the program showed in her interaction with the artisans and deep interest in wanting to learn more about how Fair Trade really works.

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Bunyaad Artisans | Learning Tour

Hot Steaming Water Buffalo Milk served by Fauzia
ByBunyaad January 27, 2015February 9, 2022

When you come to any of our rug rooms and during all of our rug events across the US and Canada you get a glimpse into the world of rug making and see the artisans at work in the video “Introduction to Oriental Rugs” that is shown throughout the day. As staff I have watched this video hundreds of times. My work in the Bunyaad office also involves working with lots and lots of artisan photos. So when visiting Pakistan this year it felt almost surreal meeting these same artisans for the first time and yet feeling like I have known them for a long time.

It is with great pleasure that I get to introduce two of these young women to you who have both been rug knotters with Bunyaad for the past eight years. Fauzia and Sofia live with their parents in the small village of Halwan about two hours north of Lahore. After finishing their schooling, they both started knotting rugs as this allowed them a good income and the ability to stay home with their parents.

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