Ten Thousand Villages provides exotic shopping experience Nov.27/28

Wilfred Allan has personal connections with one of the items sold at the event - Vietnamese goldfish paperweights. The rocks are gathered from local rivers, sealed with sap, coated numerous times with natural black lacquer, etched with foil, painted, and polished underwater to create a beautiful lustre.

“I have one on my desk, sometimes it becomes my "worry stone"—a few rubs and stress seems to be relieved,” said Allan.

Recently, he learned he had a direct connection with these paperweights. In the late 1960s the YMCA employed him in Vietnam for two years. During that time, one of his activities was with a group known then as the Saigon shoeshine boys—scores of homeless kids, many with disabilities, who had no place to live but on the streets. A young American actor, Dick Hughes, began a project to provide at least a place for the boys to sleep.

“I remember vividly Dick and I going a few times to local jails to bribe the jailers to release four or five boys who had been arrested for vagrancy,” said Allan.

Hughes and Allan had many discussions about how the youths could become involved in an enterprise that would provide a continuing income—something sustainable, something with greater dignity than shining the boots of American soldiers who were on a break in Saigon.

From their initial idea, MAI Vietnamese Handicrafts was instigated in 1992 by two social workers working with that same project. Its goal was to provide the ongoing income Hughes and Allan had talked about.

An early emphasis was providing opportunities for literacy education. When universal schooling was instituted in Vietnam, MAI expanded to include women's groups and ethnic minorities.

“MAI now has over 1,600 artisans working in 26 product groups making numerous items including textiles, palm leaf weaving, toys and, of course, the wonderful paperweights,” said Allan.

At least 200 were sold at last year's Yarmouth sale. Years later, Allan volunteered in Sri Lanka for over a year and visited at least 100 villages, each with at least one artisan's group, most run by women. Many were operated in conjunction with a village-owned day care and community centre.

The 2009 Yarmouth sale will likely include Sri Lankan woodworking and weaving products.

“While my stays were shorter I visited similar programs in Nepal and Cambodia both of which will be represented at the sale,” said Allan.

The program supports and has helped start, local indigenous coops and groups, controlled by the artisans themselves. All proceeds go to Ten Thousand Villages and artisan cooperatives in 36 countries in the developing world.

Not only are artisans paid a fair price for their work, Ten Thousand Villages has helped establish cooperatives, the majority run by women, that have become independent after that initial helping hand.

The largest team of volunteers (100) ever will be working at this year’s sale, which runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

“Last year Yarmouth sales totaled $25,000. Our goal this year is $30,000. This would be the equivalent of providing an annual income for eight families of four,” said Allan.

For more background on Ten Thousand Villages visit: www.tenthousandvillages.ca