SPONSORED: This post is brought to you by the World Jubilee Market

Shop with your heart.  What does it mean? To the vendors participating in The World Jubilee Sale, Saturday, May 21, it means buying beautiful or tasty products that provide meaningful income to the producers of the products. It means that when you chose to buy fashionable jewelry, batik baby clothes, unique baskets, flavorful spices and many other special finds you can significantly impact a families’ well-being and children’s futures in countries ranging from Guatemala to Ghana to Thailand.

Global Mamas is just one of the 18  vendor groups that will be at the sale. Kristin Johnson and 6 Ghanains started the business 20 years ago. Their goal was simple: they wanted to help seamstresses earn reliable liveable income. The company now employs almost 400 women who use their wages to feed and shelter their families, educate their children and access health care. Their ever expanding product line includes batik clothing for infants through adults, jewelry and household goods.

Look also for extra virgin olive oil and za’atar herb mix from Palestine, cards from South Africa, scarves from Tibet, coffee from Guatemala, photos from Peace Corps volunteers and many other products.  And don’t forget the stories. They alone are worth the visit.

The host of the sale is The World Jubilee (TWJ) . It is a volunteer run organization that began quite casually in 1979. Well before the internet and common usage of the term Fair Trade, Laurelle (Mickey) Pearson and Jackie Williams visited an isolated village in Guatemala. Villagers asked them to take items to sell back in the states so they could generate needed income. The Guatemalans wanted a market, not a handout. Initially the women sold the items to friends, then to friends of friends. Others heard of their efforts and joined them with Hmong stitchery, Appalachian textiles, and African baskets. Living room sales became biannual sales held in rented churches. After more than 40 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars earned, TWJ continues to pursue its mission of helping support artisans worldwide.

The World Jubilee Sale, 9-4, Saturday, May 21.  Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis.  theworldjubilee@facebook.com

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