Rwanda Path to Peace: “Trade, Not Aid”

Sometimes special review opportunities come my way, and thanks to my friend Danielle, at Simmoworks Family Blog, I had the opportunity to learn about a wonderful cause, and add a beautiful handwoven basket to my home.

By shopping at Macy’s, you can help support two campaigns very near and dear to their heart and help countries be able to sell goods and become self sufficient instead of having to accept aid. Heart of Haiti and Rwanda Path to Peace are these programs.

Discover new hope and beauty in Rwanda. These exquisite, one-of-a-kind baskets are designed to improve lives and enhance yours, putting real, sustainable income into the hands of the women who weave them. Enjoy as fruit bowls, wall art or table centerpieces.
Naturally dyed sisal coil-sewn over bundled sweetgrass
Hand-woven in Rwanda
12″
Because each bowl is a unique work of art, variations in size and color will occur
Includes a numbered Certificate of Authenticity
Artisans receive half the wholesale price for each item sold

I love sweetgrass baskets, I’ve actually owned a number of them over the years. All of mine came from Charleston, South Carolina, so when I opened the box containing my beautiful basket from Rwanda, childhood memories came flooding back. The familiar smell, the beautiful hand woven basket in it’s tight, circular pattern, the beautiful colors – all of it.

If cared for, this basket will lat for many years, and I’ll be able to pass it on to my children. The story of the artist in Rwanda will continue on when I give the basket to them.

Rwanda Path to Peace is a healing journey and a source of sustainable living that utilizes the incredible skill of weaving that is passed down by generations of Rwandan women. These women have seen their neighbors and their families destroyed by genocide and ethnic cleansing, leaving many of them broken and hopeless, lost in a country where women are considered second-rate citizens because of their gender. Although the genocide was over a decade ago, the recovery from a tragedy of this magnitude is a constant struggle. The sale of the baskets through Macy’s has given these women a source of sustainable income and pride.

The project and the income it generates has improved the lives of at least 18,000 children, providing access to education, health care and more. The weavers are now able to pay school fees, purchase essential supplies and provide shoes and clean uniforms. They can even afford kerosene and candles to provide light in the evening so children can complete their schoolwork.

Weavers are also able to meet their children’s health and nutritional needs, and perhaps most importantly, they now have affordable health insurance and access to medical care when they need it.
Beyond the obvious benefits of scholastic supplies and health care, the children in weavers’ communities are benefiting in a number of less tangible ways. They feel immense pride in their mother’s ability to provide for them, praising them to friends and telling classmates that their mother’s baskets sell in America. The children are also enjoying strengthened relationships with their fathers who look after them while their mothers weave. The strong, cooperative relationships being forged between women and men are providing excellent examples for the future.

These women are warriors and have found a way to restore hope and love among their communities and families with the sale of their baskets. The baskets are a symbol of strength and courage among the Rwandan women who weave them. For more info go to www.Macys.com/Rwanda

Macy’s has been doing interviews with the basket weavers. Here is a link to recent interviews.

Want to read other reviews for Rwanda Path to Peace and Heart of Haiti from the Noise Girls? You’ll find the links below.

Simmworks Family Blog
Fabulous Finds
The Frugal Greenish Mama
Life as Leels
Laughing Lindsay

Disclosure: I received a gift from Macy’s in exchange for this post. I have permission to share information about Rwanda Path to Peace and the opinions here are my own. No other compensation was received.