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Founded in 1976, Aid
to Artisans (ATA) changes the lives of thousands of artisans
each year through its empowering programs of product design,
business skills training, and marketing. Historically, handmade
crafts are legacies of cultural traditions. In developing countries,
handcrafts continue to provide an important source of income,
especially for women who have limited options and resources for
productive employment. Working one-on-one with artisans, ATA acts as
a catalyst to encourage artisan commerce in local, regional, and
export markets in the U.S. and Europe, and to promote product sales
and strengthen artisan businesses. ATA helped artisans generate $25
million in retail sales of handmade products in 2004. In human
terms, self-sufficiency increases, jobs are created, household
incomes are improved, and most importantly, hope, pride, and
optimism grow.
Aid to Artisans is a nonprofit organization whose staff, design
and business consultants, volunteers and an active board of
directors helps handcraft-based businesses compete in the global
marketplace. Their work is made possible by support from government
institutions, foundations, corporations and individuals and by the
participation of importers and retailers.
By sending consultants who have long experience in designing
products for the the marketplace to work directly with artisan
entrepreneurs, they accomplish a transfer of knowledge to which most
artisans would never otherwise have access.
Bamboula Ltd. is a member of the ATA Trade Network, a group of
socially-conscious businesses whose interests lie in the world of
decorative arts, textiles, home furnishings and fashion.
January 2005, BAMBOULA LTD. and TRIBALINKS merge their lines
of Ghana glass chandeliers and interior accessories.
Jasperdean Kobes, owner, Bamboula Ltd., and Phyllis Woods, owner,
Tribalinks, have just announced their new collaboration. These
veteran importers of African handmade products have merged their
collections of colorful Ghana glass and iron chandeliers, and other
glass interior accessories.
Going forward, the merged collections of Ghana glass will be sold
exclusively by Bamboula Ltd. Phyllis Woods will continue to design
all of the translucent glass products being offered by Bamboula Ltd,
and to work intensively with the artisans in Ghana who produce them.
The collection will include an expanded line of Ghana glass for the
home and garden – from chandeliers, wall sconces, and
candleholders to wine accessories, garden stakes, and metal
furniture.
Phyllis Woods, a nationally known jewelry designer and African
importer, brings to this collaboration 20 years of product
development experience in West Africa. She will also continue
Tribalinks, her own company that features her unique jewelry
designs, beads, and other West African interior accessories. Phyllis
Woods and Tribalinks can be contacted at Studio F, 267 S. Stone,
Tuscon AZ 85701 520/623-8654, 520/623-8654
Most importantly, the merger will bring a broader assortment of
Ghana glass to the US market more quickly and more efficiently. At
the same time, it will employ more Ghanaian artisans living in rural
areas, and create income for them and their families. Bamboula Ltd.
and Tribalinks both share a common commitment to providing economic
opportunities for African artisans by developing and marketing their
craft traditions.
Sales of the decorative and functional Ghana glass pieces give
bead makers the opportunity to prosper, while honoring and keeping
alive their ancient tradition of bead making. The many colors of
broken window glass, plates, and bottles are today being creatively
recycled by the Krobo bead makers of Ghana. Small bits of glass are
put into newly designed molds to be fired out of doors in wood
ovens. Fused together into the various shapes needed for each style,
the recycled, reinvented bead shapes are assembled with wire and
metal into stylish products that fit into any room in the home or
garden. Although each piece is unique and handmade, the molds and
the styles are consistent, making it possible to reorder the
selected items.
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