A note from AKA Mom Associate Publisher, Wendy Manning:

I was recently invited to my first Trades of Hope home party at a friend and neighbor of mine’s house. I was truly inspired by the idea behind this company. I hope you will read the article below and be inspired to make a difference in the life of another. The uplifting feeling of helping someone will definitely make a difference in yours! Please help spread the word about Trades of Hope.

While attending a candle party, Holly Wehde of Palm Coast, Florida had an inspiration:  If candles and kitchenware can get into every home in America through home parties, why not use a home party business to help women all over the world out of poverty? And that is how Trades of Hope began.  It’s a mission AND a business which creates a market for exquisite handcrafts such as scarves, jewelry, baskets, wall hangings, purses, etc.

Trades of Hope is NOT a typical “party” business where mass-produced items are sold to benefit only the manufacturer and the saleswomen.  Here’s the difference:  the women who create Trades of Hope products are real people with real needs.  They are women who love their children, but who, through no fault of their own, have not been able to feed and clothe those children.

Trades of Hope works through fair trade organizations, ensuring that artisans are paid fair wages, which gives them the opportunity to improve their living conditions and provide for their families.  Women are being rescued from the sex trade, sweatshops, slums and extreme poverty.

The “party with a purpose” and the idea of “women helping women” has been warmly embraced by customers.  Each Trades of Hope item comes with an attached card stating where it was made and telling something about the artisan.  These products make wonderful gifts, as the giver is giving twice….once to the gift recipient and once to the artisan.

The following is a message from a Trades of Hope artisan who lives in Bangladesh:

“My name is Shova. I am 35.  My only son died of a fever when he was four.  My husband did not earn enough money to feed us so he left me and I had to move in with my brother.  Before I started making products to sell we did not have proper clothes or food. Our house was a mud hut. Now I make more than most people in my community and I send my brother’s children to school. I receive respect now and other women ask for my advice. I must give a message to those who buy my baskets and journals. Thank you for understanding our sorrow and situation. You have given us food and shelter and respect.”

Since its inception in September, 2010, Trades of Hope has acquired 90 representatives (Compassion Entrepreneurs) in 21 states, and continues to expand. The company also gives back 10% of sales in Gifts of Hope, buying sewing machines for women Haiti, and chickens, goats and pigs for women in Africa, thus enabling them to further improve their lives and become self sustaining.

 To learn more about Trades of Hope, visit www.tradesofhope.com. 

*Information above was provided by Deborah Adair – Compassion Entrepreneur in Tennessee. Deborah Adair is selling Trades of Hope as a ministry. In addition to the product sales helping women in poverty, Deborah is using her commissions to give to world missions and to organizations such as Compassion International, Samaritan’s Purse and Rafiki African Orphanages to meet the needs of children in poverty around the world. To learn more about hosting a party or becoming a Compassion Entrepreneur, contact Deborah Adair at 931-490-0698, by email at debiadair@gmail.com or visit her Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TradesofHopeDeborahAdair

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