Programs: Aid to Artisans
Announced:
July 7, 2010
Category:
Providing Small & Growing Businesses with Access to Financing & Business Services
Fund Amount: $380,000 Grant
Disbursed to Date: $380,000
Above, President Bush visits with a local artisan.
See more in the Aid to Artisans Photo Gallery.
Aid to Artisans (ATA) is an organization that is invigorating the Haitian art sector by providing product development and design consultations to artisans seeking to enter the international market. With support from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, ATA has funded several Haitian artists or representatives from Haitian art collectives to attend American gift shows. It has also arranged buyer trips to Haitian artist collectives where crafts are produced in order to showcase Haitian artisan capacity and boost orders.
ATA has helped artisans participate in trade shows at the New York International Gift Fair, European Buyer Salon, and Atlanta Gift Show, resulting in significant expansion of orders.
Aid to Artisans also sent six international designers to work directly with artisans and managed eight customized design initiatives for North American buyers. These designers have helped exporters such as Caribbean Craft and Metal Art generate new collections for international buyers. These new buyers have included well-known retail chains such as Anthropologie, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm, and Whole Foods Market, directly working with artisan groups to develop marketable designs for local sales distribution.
Why We Invested in Aid to Artisans
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant to Aid to Artisans reflects our commitment to filling near-term gaps that lay the foundation for longer-term reconstruction, by boosting production capacity and demand in this key sector of Haiti's economy.
Transforming Lives and Livelihoods
With support from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund Aid to Artisans has acheived the following accomplishments:
- Showcased and sold Haitian crafts at international gift fairs in Atlanta, New York, and Europe.
- Supplied artisan pieces to U.S. and international buyers, including Anthropologie, Williams-Sonoma, and Coldwater Creek.
- Created more than 1,900 artisan jobs.
- Boosted local retail revenue in Port-au-Prince, Labadee, and Jacmel.
About Aid to Artisans
Aid to Artisans has spent 33 years creating economic opportunities for well over 100,000 artisans in more than 110 countries where their livelihoods, communities and craft traditions were at risk. Over the past ten years, Aid to Artisan's efforts have leveraged nearly $230 million in retail sales. This income has empowered 125,000 artisans (70 percent of whom are women) in 41 emerging regions of the world and has brought lasting economic growth by providing an integrated approach to product development, business skills training, market access, and eco-effective processes. Learn more about Aid to Artisans at www.aidtoartisans.org.
