Nothing tops sitting face to face with someone and getting to know them over a cup of tea. Three of our staffers (Jenni, Heike and Yousaf) along with Ten Thousand Villages Canada Rug Program Manager and Winnipeg store manager Gwen Repeta are currently traveling throughout Pakistan, meeting with rug artisans and seeing the fair trade difference in action. Where do we start first?
I sit beside Rafia Nasir on the loom where she works on a 6×9 Persian rug with her two sisters.
Rafia is a new mom, just like I am. She holds her nearly 8 month old little girl, letting her grab at the taut warp threads as she takes a break from her work. Rafia chuckles as I have to run and change my son’s diaper, tossing him down on her charpai, a rope bed, in the middle of her home and asking if she minds if I change him there. It’s my son’s first trip to the villages of Pakistan and at age 2, he’s taking it all in, including the chicken running into the house from the outside courtyard.