Our Suppliers
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Be sure to check out products from each of our countries. Click the flags below for links to the products!!
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Baskets!!
Of course since we are highlighting our trip to Nicaragua we need to highlight the baskets as well! 
In addition to the baskets currently on the website, while we were in Nicaragua we ordered more of the Oval (smooth-edged) Candy Dish. Look for those by the end of this month! | |
Something old...
Something new...
No wedding bells or anything like that! But our "old" newsletters are now available in our "new" archive!
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So if you'd like to browse some of our history or find an article that you thought you remembered, they're always available to you! On the website, use the "News/Events" link or you can get there by clicking this link:
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Reminder!
For the month of March, use the Birthday Special code (HAPPYBDAY) to get free domestic shipping on a $20 order. Otherwise you'll receive the default of free domestic shipping on a $40 order. | |
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We welcome your comments! | | Glenn:
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The (ad)Venture
April 2011
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Greetings!
T | | Rebecca & Glenn Fadner |
Back Home Again!
I just couldn't resist drawing on another song metaphor! For those of you who remember this John Denver classic.. "Sometimes this old (home) seems like a long lost friend!" With the Boston Gift Show behind us, we're spending the WHOLE MONTH of April at home!
We have a report on our Nicaragua trip in this month's newsletter along with a link to a longer version on the website. This is the first of several "installments" that will go on the site, so while we may not post all of them, we'll remind you next month that they've been posted.
Last month when we mentioned important "happenings" we forgot to say that Hagar International was celebrating their 17th birthday. We're profiling founder Pierre Tami as an example of a Social Entrepreneur.
Have a great month!
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 Nicaragua!
The deeply rutted dirt "road" that gave new meaning to the term "off road"!
As we slowly climbed our way up the mountain to Las Minitas, each twist and turn delivered breathtaking views of magnificent scenery!  Hours later we arrived at "the end of the road" where it was time to "saddle up those horses" for the next leg of the journey! We were also grateful for the cooler mountain breezes! Las Minitas does not have a central location. It is a "community" simply defined by the mountain on which these particular families reside. We had made arrangements for us to be the ones travelling to the artisans, visiting each of them in their homes, which is also where they produce their baskets. Our first visit was with Erlinda and her family. Both Erlinda, who is also the treasurer of the cooperative, and her daughter Yerling create exquisite baskets. Erlinda was gracious in explaining the procedure to us ~ from start to finish. Our visit to Erlinda's home gave us a wonderful opportunity to experience gracious Nicaraguan hospitality. We met each of the family members, learning first-hand about the significant impact that selling her pine needle baskets has had upon the well-being of her family. Erlinda's family, like all of the families in these mountain communities, are subsistence farmers. Each year the family plants their crops with the goal of harvesting enough to feed the family throughout the coming year, having seed for the following year, and (hopefully) having a bit extra to sell at the market.  However for the past two years every family has experienced devastating crop failures. First it was too dry and nothing grew, followed by a year of torrential rains that rotted what seeds didn't simply wash away. For these past two years, the sale of Erlinda's baskets made it possible to purchase beans and rice to feed the family as well as seed for the upcoming growing season. As we continued visiting the other women artisans within this community, we experienced recurring themes: gracious hospitality, pride in the baskets they had crafted, their simple lifestyle, a genuine gratefulness for KVI's involvement in the basket project, and amazement that we would travel such a distance to visit THEM! |
"The world is over-managed and under-led.
We need vibrant leaders who go out with great passion. My advice:
if you have an idea, if you have a dream,
be passionate about it.
Don't talk about it, just go and do it!"
~ Pierre Tami ~ Founder - Hagar International
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 So...........
What IS a Social Entrepreneur?
As we mentioned in our intro, last month marked the 17th anniversary of the founding of Hagar International by Pierre Tami - a true Social Entrepreneur who created an innovative response to the plight of poverty, injustice and hopelessness. Pierre calls for a holistic and empowering approach that puts values-based social concerns alongside economic issues. But rather than us telling you, we'll let Pierre tell you himself in this YouTube video:
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