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A project of Partners for Just Trade and Green America

This is a dream come true,” Ayde Riveros repeated various times during her first few days in the states. She and fellow Peruvian artisan, Evangelina Pizarro, toured throughout the Midwest and Colorado, accompanied by Carrie Hawthorne, PJT’s director and Yochi Zakai, Green America’s Fair Trade Program Coordinator. Resonating Change: Connecting Communities through Fair Trade visited 11 cities and spoke to over 1,300 individuals.

The message the artisans delivered was powerful: Fair Trade empowers individuals to overcome cultural, social and even personal barriers and improve their lives. Ayde and Eva's stories resonated with the audiences and helped people comprehend the imbalances that most Americans realize exist but haven’t necessarily digested. Audiences were particularly surprised to hear tales of labor abuse, such as Ayde working two weeks to knit four sweaters and never being paid, and Eva working 12 hour days, 6 days a week in a jewelry factory to be paid only $75 a month.

Ayde and Evangelina told crowds how their lives have changed for the better under Fair Trade. Ayde, who explains herself as always have been timid and afraid to speak in groups, is now not only able to participate in small groups but also proved to be an eloquent public speaker to large audiences on this tour. She and the other 45 knitters in her group, El Mercurio, are now able to tell their husbands “Men and women are equal and I have a right to make decisions in my household,” Ayde said. Eva spoke of the importance of being one’s own boss, “No longer am I exploited by someone else. I set my own hours and now have time to be a mother to my two daughters.”

And while audience members were affected by Ayde and Evangelina’s stories, the artisans were also transformed by the tour. “Watching the artisans grow both personally and professionally in such a short time was remarkable,” Hawthorne said. Their first time out of Peru, the artisans continually repeated throughout the visit, "I have something to tell my grandchildren about."

Hawthorne, who has lived and worked in developing countries for over four years in the past decade said, "It’s hard for us as Americans to grasp all of the new things that Ayde and Eva experienced for the first time during this visit. I had forgotten that even the smallest things, like figuring out how to get soap of the dispenser in public restrooms or using a seatbelt, could be so foreign and such a challenge to figure out." Some of the highlights of “firsts” that occurred during the tour include: public speaking, reading a book and writing in a journal (PJT gave Ayde and Eva each a book and journal at the start of the tour), riding a bike, riding on a boat, being the 77th floor of a building (Ayde had never been higher than the fourth floor), visiting the zoo…and so much more.

“Everyone was so kind and generous. They listened to us and treated us so well. It was an unforgettable trip,” Eva said.

Biographies of the Artisans

Evangelina Pizarro and Ayde Riveros will leave Peru—and their families—for the first time this spring to travel across the U.S. with Resonating Changes: Connecting Communities through Fair Trade, a three week tour sponsored by Green America and Partners for Just Trade. In diverse venues, the women will share how dignified work has changed their lives.

Evangelina Pizarro
Upon leaving her village in the Andes at age 17 in search of a better life, Evangelina Pizarro found a job in a jewelry factory in Lima and worked nearly 80 hours a week (earning only $115 a month). She was raising two children alone and was locked in the factory each day until the managers decided it was okay for the workers to go home. Evangelina had no choice when she could leave to care for her children or when she would get paid – which was often not for 6 months at a time.

After seven monotonous years in the factory, Evangelina decided that she deserved better. She convinced several other workers to break off and form their own business. Their first attempt failed and most of them ended up back in factory jobs. But shortly thereafter, Evangelina heard about a Fair Trade project in Peru and went to see if she could be involved. Evangelina and her colleagues formed Munay Rumi and after a year spent working on improving design concepts, they produced their first jewelry items for export.

Ayde Riveros
Ayde Riveros grew up in a rural village in the Andes that was destroyed by the many years of terrorism that plagued Peru. The violence became so bad that Ayde and her family fled to the closest city, Huancavelica. There life proved to be more peaceful but making ends meet was a constant struggle for Ayde and her husband, a construction day laborer. Ayde knitted, a skill passed down through the generations, to help provide for their three children. But she was never paid more than $5 for a sweater that took weeks of time to make.

Ayde joined together with several other women in Huancavelica facing similar challenges and formed the group, El Mercurio. They learned of Fair Trade through a local organization and soon began selling their hand knit finger puppets for over 5 times what they were previously making. Many of the knitters’ husbands were disgruntled about the idea of the women leaving home but upon realizing what a steady and improved income this provided, they learned to accept these changes.

The stories of both Evangelina and Ayde represent that of so many women around the world. Both were forced to relocate – in search of a better life earning more money or escaping violence – and despite their move, still found life difficult. Yet since they have become a part of Fair Trade, opportunities have opened and horizons have expanded.

Partners for Just Trade works with Evangelina, Ayde and over 15 other artisan groups in Peru through a Peruvian non-profit organization named Bridge of Hope. Bridge of Hope has trained the groups in bookkeeping, computer literacy, design, quality control and much more. Thanks to Fair Trade, the artisans involved have been able to improve their life through dignified work.

Media inquiries should be directed to Leslie Anderson at 703/276-3256, or landerson [at] hastingsgroup.com.