Enter
HOLIDAY
GIFT GUIDE
THIS PAGE AND PREVIOUS: COURTESY OF SERRV
Q&A
H
ANDMADE, FAIR TRADE gifts might help you
avoid the monotony of mall buys this holiday season, but few give much thought to the skilled artists who craft these unique gifts—the Ghanaian
woman who intricately wove and twisted your
basket into a colorful pattern; or the Haitian artisan who cut, perforated and painted that piece of recycled metal wall
art you've been eyeing. Sushila Ashok, from Ahmedabad in western
India, is one such artisan, whose crafts—created in collaboration with
other artisans—are sold by fair trade companies each holiday season.
Ashok works for St. Mary's, a local division of fair trade nonprofit SERRV,
which employs marginalized artisans worldwide and sells their goods at
prices that create livable wages. Ashok, who speaks Hindi—and her translator and St. Mary's co-director, Sister Silvia Aranha—spoke with Huffington about the story behind the gifts you love to give. — Jessica Prois
Sister Silvia
Aranha and
Sushila
Ashok at the
Madison,
Wis., SERRV
office in
October.