A People United ~ Our Origin
The birth of A People United was an "epiphany" I had almost 20 years ago when I felt I was "dying of comfort." It was my own voice, but with a certainty never before present. "Go work with women doing traditional handicrafts in developing countries, develop their talent for making products using indigenous materials for sale in the US, and thereby help improve their lives and the lives of their children." When one is given a "calling", one is best served by exclaiming "Yes!". And so it began. In much of the developing world, women and children eat poorly or last. Our founding goal was to improve the economics, health, and education of children through a microenterprise project "A People United" is taken from the Chilean folk song- "A People United can never be defeated". Our slogan is "Self Sufficiency with Dignity". We have worked in a win-win strategy with workers in Nepal, one of the poorest nations in Asia and India, paying better than average wages, and sending our Nepal colleagues' children to private schools in Nepal.
To-date we have provided over 1,000 scholarships for Nepali children to private schools. This year, despite downturn, we are sending 100 children to school. It is crucial to sustain these scholarships. The triple win strategy depends on our accounts and customers to value this work and be part of the strategy- buying our product and often retailing it to their customers with the knowledge that it is not only beautiful and value-priced,but is also helping create a better world. (We should wear a white hat, and also sell it). We are enormously proud of the scholarship program and will continue to send kids to school. We are also grateful to all of our customers who help make this possible.
Gratefully, Robert Gruber
