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Unique Gifts

Buy textiles, help two villages
Written by Lyman Speckheuer

I’m fairly new to retail –having run a service company for 18 years now, but am proud of my little shop, Via Creativa. We are still trying to get the word out about our store so we take part of it on the road sometimes. You might catch us at local women’s shows and we’ll be at the Fair Trade Fest at Waterside, Dec. 4 and 5.

We took a big road trip to the Green Fest in Washington, DC this past October. We thought it might be a good place to show off the Tribal Textiles which are beautifully handmade in Mfuwe, Zambia. My son, Johannes, and I left town at 5:00am with our booth crammed in the large Fine Art Specialists cargo van. We were travelling early to intercept a large load of new textiles just in from Africa. Dr. John Morgan from Tufts University and Max Galaba of Muchila, Zambia, were arriving at Dulles Airport from Boston with the textiles in tow, which we loaded into the van around 10:00 am.

Dr. Morgan takes part of the Tufts University Dental School on the road to Zambia a couple of times a year to give the students challenging practice as well as to help those in need. Both John and Max are part of the not-for-profit Options for Children of Zambia which is an organization that helps support two African villages—one where the textiles are made and another where Options for Children has helped to get such basic needs as clean water and developed a farm project for food.

Pat Campbell, who is also from Tufts University and a big part of Options for Children, was also able to join us. At the Green Fest we were able to sell some Tribal Textiles and speak of the connection of the sale of the textiles to two villages – Mfuwe and Muchila. Options for Children in Zambia buys the textiles at fair cost from Mfuwe which is how that village supports itself, and then those textiles are sold in the U.S. and the profits go toward aid in the village of Muchila. Via Creativa sells the Tribal Textiles at no profit and our benefit is in knowing we are trying to make a difference. We encourage other shops to retail at least line of merchandise which sponsors a not-for-profit initiative. One line where all of the money made would go back to the people who need it most.

My son and I returned home on Sunday with the new textiles stuffed in the van with our booth and our hearts and minds buzzing. Going on the road to Green Fest and other such conventions is such a great experience. It helps us see other people who, like us, are trying to make a difference for people all across the globe. Dr. Morgan has coined a term Gift Squared (squared is meant exponentially): purchasing one gift that in turn helps two villages. I like the concept. Now we just need to get the word out. We hope you’ll help us.

Tribal Textiles Info
Tribal Textiles’ unique designs are hand drawn onto the cotton in a method like batik. However, instead of wax, they use starch as the resist which comes out without leaving a residue. The textiles are colorfast and washable. They are made in the village of Mfuwe, Zambia.

For more details check out the blog at http://viacreativagallery.wordpress.com/ .