Artisan Stories - Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark International Exports is a fair trade handicraft marketing organization in Moradabad, India. Most of the artisans are women, who benefit from the fact that they can work from home and maintain their responsibilities for children and household. Noah's Ark provides benefits such as education and medical treatment for artisans and their families. As artisan businesses become more self--sufficient, Noah's Ark takes on new families. Since the company's inception, about 20 artisan workshops have become independent.

Noah's Ark started in 1986, in one room of a family house in Moradabad. Businessman Samuel Masih observed that exporters and middlemen were taking advantage of handicraft artisans, exploiting them as if they were bonded laborers. He started Noah's Ark to promote these artisans and their crafts. Masih invested the earnings into infrastructure and equipment for underprivileged artisans, into training and into marketing their products. Noah's Ark is a member of IFAT, the International Fair Trade Association. Ninety percent of their sales are to IFAT members.

Ten Thousand Villages purchases jewelry and brass items from Noah's Ark.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Noah's Ark
• Ten thousand villages
• ttv
• 10000 villages
• india
• ifat
• moradabad