Our Pledge: People, Planet, Preservation
I spent the first few weeks of the new year thinking about my goals, hopes and dreams for 2017. When it came to AMERICAN NOMAD, I found myself starting to think about run of the mill business objectives. But, while spending some time in silence (which is a necessity for me) I realized I never want my vision for AMERICAN NOMAD to turn into merely dollar signs. When I'm tired at the end of a 12 hour day I think about the women of BASHA and how the kantha throw I'm photographing has helped save them and their children from a life of exploitation. I think about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (yes, read about it here) and how it's choking the Pacific Ocean. And I think about how art forms I cherish are on the verge of being forgotten, taking with them the history of their cultures and people. THESE are the things that push me through my day and why I refocused the mission at AMERICAN NOMAD for 2017 - #planetpeoplepreservation.
1. BE A PATRON FOR PEOPLE
AMERICAN NOMAD advocates for fair trade and social change. Our partners ensure artists receive a fair wage, safe working conditions and empower each one with programs that will truly help to break cycles of poverty through education, healthcare, business training and community improvement. We believe our actions are our personal signature and we want to ensure our signature says a person is valid regardless of their social status, poverty level, physical ability, race or sex.
2. PROTECT THE PLANET
3. PRESERVE ARTS FORMS + CULTURES
I am an artist. Well, I like to think I am anyways! Before starting AMERICAN NOMAD, I was a graphic designer by trade. While in graduate school I studied the history of various art forms and began feeling discouraged with the realization many of them have disappeared. Why? They were no longer valued.
Many of these art forms are the root of a persons culture. For example, in Kyrgyzstan nomads have been felting wool for thousands of years to craft their clothing, blankets and household items. With the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan found independence, but had no established economy leaving most individuals, mainly women, struggling to earn an income. A small group of women took matters into their own hands and started a cooperative handcrafting items using a skill they had been using since they were children - felting. Our partner, Craftspring, is now a thriving felting business in several villages in Kyrgyzstan providing employment to over 30 women.
I also think of the the young women in Bangladesh that are at great risk of being sold into trafficking and are often discarded by husbands or families when they are deemed "expendable." Our partner, Basha Boutique, works to help these women rediscover their dignity and inherent value through dignified work using the centuries old tradition of kantha stitching. Kantha, which means “patched cloth”, is a straight-lined stitch women throughout Bangladesh have been using for centuries to bring new life to fabrics and create clothing, gifts and baby items. The women at Basha create one-of-a-kind kantha items and slowly mend the wounds of the past, replacing them with moments of hope and peace.
In our fast fashion society, speed and cost overshadow quality and craftsmanship. It is now quicker and cheaper to produce items by a machine than by a person. But, the downside is when we stopped valuing the handmade item, we stopped valuing cultures and the people that work to preserve each unique art form.
Join us this year as we pledge to shop ethically and work towards #peopleplanetpreservation!
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