Programs: BrandAid Foundation
Facts
Announced:
August 9, 2010
Category:
Promoting Job Growth & Economic Opportunity
Grant Amount: $48,000
Disbursed to Date: $48,000
Grant Objective:
To rebuild nine artisan workshops in Jacmel that were destroyed by the earthquake and supply resources to help them fulfill orders for Macy's "Heart of Haiti" collection.
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A Haitian artisan prepares the base layers of paint for a handcrafted project.
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An artisan works on the final details of a handcrafted dollhouse.
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Artisans create large numbers of vases to meet the demand of vendors abroad.
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A young woman works on a quilting project which uses recycled fabrics.
The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund awarded a $48,000 grant to BrandAid Foundation to help local artisans in Haiti who urgently needed assistance to stabilize their businesses. The fund also enabled them to fulfill an important order from Macy’s, as a part of Macy’s exclusive "Heart of Haiti" collection. The "Heart of Haiti" collection is inspired by the courage and culture of the Haitian people. One local artisan involved with this project, Gerard Dume, lost his workshop during the earthquake and had been living out of a tent in the ruins of his house and workshop. Despite these conditions, he still managed to deliver his order for this collection and now employs 15
Through the BrandAid grant, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and key partners have helped rebuild artisan workshops in Jacmel that were destroyed by the earthquake. The project also funds short-term warehouse rental space in order to provide storage for production materials and finished handicraft products. Macy's "Heart of Haiti" collection, is a 20,000 piece collection sold online at macys.com and in 25 Macy's locations nationally. Already, this order is ensuring livelihoods for more than 200 Haitians who now know that they will be able to provide food, shelter, clothing, and education for their families. The collection was met with wide popularity, selling out in many Macy’s locations.
Why We Invested in BrandAid
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant to BrandAid reflects our commitment to creating economic opportunity by restarting, creating, and expanding new small and growing businesses.
Transforming Lives and Livelihoods
With support from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, BrandAid will:
- Increase global demand for Haitian crafts.
- Collaborate with Aid to Artisans, another Clinton Bush Haiti Fund grant recipient, to aid long-term development of the Haitian arts and crafts sector.
- Assist artisans on multiple levels of the supply chain to translate their skills into successful businesses by providing assistance in branding, marketing, and distribution.
About the BrandAid Project
The BrandAid Project is a global initiative to provide world-class branding, marketing, and distribution support to artisans in developing countries. Its co-founder, Cameron Brohman, has lived and worked in Haiti for over 25 years. Jacmel, which was hit particularly hard by the earthquake, is a traditional center for Haitian papier-mâché crafts. BrandAid Foundation, in partnership with other organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the Association pour le Développement de l'Artisanat du Sud-est (ADASE) a Haitian NGO, seeks to brand Haitian crafts produced in Jacmel and the Croix de Bouquet section of Port-au-Prince under the name "Carnival Jacmel."
