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Bridge of Hope's Goals
The Joining Hands Network noted several institutions working with communities where gifted artisans were producing products but continued to live in extreme poverty. They operated informally, producing small, varying quantities and lacked direct access to markets outside their communities. These artisans hoped much more for their children. Joining Hands noticed other institutions working with women living in extreme poverty in the shantytowns of Lima and other cities. These women had no stable income, buying and selling on a very small scale and working in local soup kitchens in exchange for a few meals per day. By recognizing these two distinct populations who could potentially benefit economically and socially from the opportunity of working with the values of Fair Trade, the Bridge of Hope project formed.
We have these general goals:
1) Assist groups of persons living in extreme poverty to form productive groups that can develop sustainable businesses using the values of Fair Trade (solidarity, transparency and self-development).
2) Train the groups so that they become an independent, succesful exporting association of artisans. The association will need to have a minimum of $100,000 annual FOB exports in order to be self-sustaining.
The Bridge of Hope project is member of IFAT, the global network of Fair Trade Organizations and a partner of Partners for Just Trade and SERV International.