Empowering Women:
Artisan Cooperatives that Transform Communities
Gallery of Conscience July 4, 2010- May 8, 2011

One Moroccan artist teaches a village of women to read.

An embroiderer from India takes out her first loan.

A Hutu woman from war-torn Rwanda works with a Tutsi to make “peace” baskets.

And a soup kitchen for aids orphans delivers meals because of a folk art cooperative’s success in Swaziland.

From Africa to Asia to the Americas, female artisans are creating grassroots cooperatives to reach new markets, raise living standards, and transform lives. Empowering Women explores the work of ten such enterprises in ten countries. Each has a different motivation: preserving a dying heritage, sustaining the environment, providing a safe haven from violence. Art binds them, but the market drives them. Cooperatives help women survive. They work collaboratively to create products, develop distribution networks, and decide how to distribute or invest revenues. Each cooperative has earned a spot in the coveted International Folk Art Market: Santa Fe» for 2010. Getting to an international market of this caliber takes hard work, but the rewards change entire communities, one village at a time.

In recognition of the great impact of cooperatives in meeting the practical
and strategic needs of communities, the United Nations has proclaimed 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives. As you marvel at the beauty of these folk art objects, take a moment to explore the inspiring stories behind them. Each one represents the transformative power of women working together to provide for their families, educate their
children, steward their environment, promote equality, and give back to
their communities.

 Africa | Asia | Americas | Acknowledgments


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