Build your resume by getting real world experience using your skills and helping low-income communities in India!
AWAZ Voice for Empowerment is a small business based in Portland OR. Our business focuses on expanding the market for handmade Fair Trade goods and textiles from artisan communities in India.
We are currently seeking creative interns or volunteers to help with designing and maintaing our e-commerce website. We have the Magento CMS installed so experience with this CMS or similar is preferred but not required. Potential applicants must have experience with HTML/CSS and graphic design. Knowledge of e-commerce design would be an added bonus.
It would be great for the individual to have both skills, but if you have only one, do not be discouraged to apply.
If interested send a resume and cover letter detailing how your skills are applicable and why you would be a good fit to sarah@voiceforempowerment.com Attachments will not be opened.
Currently this is an unpaid part-time position. Our office is located in NW Portland but most work can be done through Google docs, Skype or through e-mail. As long as you are meeting the requirements we agree upon we are happy to accommodate you.
We are looking for someone to start immediately.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Video of the women at Stree Shakti
Following our post below about Jaya's visit to Stree Shakti, I thought you'd enjoy a great video of Stree Shakti's work that takes you inside the production center, shows you their community and beautiful work. I've lived, worked and shared with these women who I've seen grow stronger and more confident over the years. Chinni and her team are really making a difference!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
AWAZ participates in Northwest Fair Trade Coalition World Fair Trade Day Celebration!
Two Week World Fair Trade Day Celebration May 1-17th to Join 100,000 People Taking a Fair Trade Coffee Break Across the Country “Fun, family packed Scavenger Hunt, Mother’s Day Fair Trade Bazaar and Artisan Tour from Peru”
May 1-17th, 2011 - Portland, Oregon
AWAZ is helping to lead a coalition of local business owners and 
community advocates to help make Portland a Fair Trade Town!
community advocates to help make Portland a Fair Trade Town! Join our community celebration and bring Fair Trade into your daily life through your every day purchases of fairly traded apparel, food, drinks, home decor, fashion items and more!
Starting May 1st, the Northwest Fair Trade Coalition will join thousands of people around the world to celebrate World Fair Trade Day on May 14th with a two week celebration of community events that praises the people who grow our food and produce our goods.
N. Americans will gather from May 1-15, to invite friends, coworkers and neighbors to support economic justice in our trading system by taking a Fair Trade Coffee Break for World Fair Trade Day, the largest Fair Trade event of the year. Hundreds of thousands of people in 80 countries worldwide will hold events to mark World Fair Trade Day to highlight the importance of fair wages and healthy working conditions for producers around the globe.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Hear stories about Stree Shakti's growth after a visit from our Textile Designer
After breaking away from their parent organization, The Purkal Youth Development Society, Stree Shakti has stepped up to the plate.
Stree Shakti - Infinite Possibilities
Jaya Bhatt - Textile Design Consultant
Stree Shakti – is a women’s income generation program which was kick started by The Purkal Youth Development Society (PYDS) with a modest home training given to a few village women in Purkal village, Dehradun. Today Stree Shakti comprises of about 80 women members. The program formally began in the year 2004 and has gradually grown into a successful handicraft enterprise since then. Just this year they registered as their own individual entity apart from their parent organization, PYDS, and are learning to stand on their own.
Stree Sha
kti and Sarah Mitts, the founder of AWAZ Voice for Empowerment share a five year long relationship. Some of the first few products at AWAZ in fact came from the women artisans at Purkal, after Sarah spent 6 months living and working with the society in 2008. The organization has been working towards developing their organizational structure, working methodology, designs and products and AWAZ has been a constant supporter towards these efforts. I am thankful to AWAZ for having introduced me to Stree Shakti, and the women’s organization for giving me a chance to assist and use my skills and experiences to help them improvise on some of their areas of work.
My first visit to Stree Shakti was in the summer of 2010 along with Sarah. The experience was exhilarating. I have had earlier experiences of having worked with similar women’s cooperatives and artisan groups, but there was something fresh about Stree Shakti. The organization is still in a nascent stage and that gives a whole lot of room for changes, improvisations and developments. The people are cooperative and open to accepting new ideas and changes.
The various challenges that Stree Shakti faces at this stage is quite similar across most such organizations. The few problem areas that were discussed were mostly with regards to grou
p structure, monitoring, product development, raw material sourcing and many other day to day issues. Sarah has expressed quality concerns with their products and I've worked with them to improve upon that. Time is always a constraint in such projects, the discussions and debates are never ending, but yet we managed to arrive on various conclusions for design development, structural re-organization, sourcing database, marketing etc. Here, you can see a new sample for a jewelry and make-up organizer and felt Christmas ornaments we worked with the women to develop.
Over time, I’ve had a chance to work with Stree Shakti on most of these issues. Though, some of
the most important concerns included fabric and raw material sourcing, group organization and re-structuring and product development. Today, Stree Shakti has successfully managed to tie up with a few raw material suppliers of handmade fabrics, who specialize in vegetable dye block prints, which has helped them achieve a new and unique look for their products and promise a consistent supply. The women were re-organized into small groups and are led by a group leader, this has increased production capacity, better quality and a healthy competitive spirit amongst the artisans. The last of the many efforts up till now included design and product development, introducing new ideas to the existing product line that would help tap a larger market and increase the interest of returning buyers.
It was unbelievable how a new place and a set of complete strangers became so close and a consistent name on the daily phone call list!!! Even though my stay was short, just for about 5 days each time, the impact seemed large enough to have bonded me with Stree Shakti forever. I hope that all our combined efforts, in the form of discussions and actions will bear fruit for Stree Shakti and that both AWAZ and Stree Shakti will continue to share this close bond and go a long way together.
Jaya Bhatt - Textile Design Consultant
Stree Shakti – is a women’s income generation program which was kick started by The Purkal Youth Development Society (PYDS) with a modest home training given to a few village women in Purkal village, Dehradun. Today Stree Shakti comprises of about 80 women members. The program formally began in the year 2004 and has gradually grown into a successful handicraft enterprise since then. Just this year they registered as their own individual entity apart from their parent organization, PYDS, and are learning to stand on their own.
Stree Sha
kti and Sarah Mitts, the founder of AWAZ Voice for Empowerment share a five year long relationship. Some of the first few products at AWAZ in fact came from the women artisans at Purkal, after Sarah spent 6 months living and working with the society in 2008. The organization has been working towards developing their organizational structure, working methodology, designs and products and AWAZ has been a constant supporter towards these efforts. I am thankful to AWAZ for having introduced me to Stree Shakti, and the women’s organization for giving me a chance to assist and use my skills and experiences to help them improvise on some of their areas of work.My first visit to Stree Shakti was in the summer of 2010 along with Sarah. The experience was exhilarating. I have had earlier experiences of having worked with similar women’s cooperatives and artisan groups, but there was something fresh about Stree Shakti. The organization is still in a nascent stage and that gives a whole lot of room for changes, improvisations and developments. The people are cooperative and open to accepting new ideas and changes.
The various challenges that Stree Shakti faces at this stage is quite similar across most such organizations. The few problem areas that were discussed were mostly with regards to grou
p structure, monitoring, product development, raw material sourcing and many other day to day issues. Sarah has expressed quality concerns with their products and I've worked with them to improve upon that. Time is always a constraint in such projects, the discussions and debates are never ending, but yet we managed to arrive on various conclusions for design development, structural re-organization, sourcing database, marketing etc. Here, you can see a new sample for a jewelry and make-up organizer and felt Christmas ornaments we worked with the women to develop.Over time, I’ve had a chance to work with Stree Shakti on most of these issues. Though, some of
the most important concerns included fabric and raw material sourcing, group organization and re-structuring and product development. Today, Stree Shakti has successfully managed to tie up with a few raw material suppliers of handmade fabrics, who specialize in vegetable dye block prints, which has helped them achieve a new and unique look for their products and promise a consistent supply. The women were re-organized into small groups and are led by a group leader, this has increased production capacity, better quality and a healthy competitive spirit amongst the artisans. The last of the many efforts up till now included design and product development, introducing new ideas to the existing product line that would help tap a larger market and increase the interest of returning buyers.It was unbelievable how a new place and a set of complete strangers became so close and a consistent name on the daily phone call list!!! Even though my stay was short, just for about 5 days each time, the impact seemed large enough to have bonded me with Stree Shakti forever. I hope that all our combined efforts, in the form of discussions and actions will bear fruit for Stree Shakti and that both AWAZ and Stree Shakti will continue to share this close bond and go a long way together.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
2011 Spring/Summer Community Shows around Portland
Come out and see us this year!
Our Spring shipment will be arriving by May 1st and we’ll have loads of new products and stories to share!
Learn more about:
- · 2012 Work Delegation and Volunteer Tour to India
- · Our Fundraising Program for local organizations
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011
10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
11th Annual City Repair Earth Day Celebration
Washington High School Field
SE 12th and Stark
Earth Day in Portland is an annual, daylong fun filled celebration that brings together groups and individuals to celebrate and communicate about our love of the earth and all that live upon it.
Hosted by The City Repair Project and the Buckman Neighborhood Association
http://earthday.cityrepair.org/
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Northwest Fair Trade Coalition World Fair Trade Day Kick-off Celebration
Mother's Day Spring Fair Trade Bazaar
First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave, Portland
The perfect place to find something special for your mom this holiday. Some of Portland’s most unique businesses and organizations gather to share about their work and offer fairly traded food, products and gifts from around the globe for purchase. Fair Trade products that reflect your values. Enjoy fairly traded coffee, tea and snacks and short producer stories and testimonials from around the globe.
Hosted by Northwest Fair Trade Coalition and Economic Justice Action Group of Unitarian Church
Learn more about our fun, packed two week celebration featuring a Fair Trade Scavenger Hunt and Fair Trade Artisan Tour from Peru!
www.northwestfairtrade.wordpress.com
Friday, May 6, 2011
6:00-9:00 p.m.
“Social Justice in The Village”
Multnomah Village First Friday World Fair Trade Day Celebration at Topanien Global Gifts
7832 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97219
AWAZ will have a table and be on hand in support of this great event.
Lend a hand to create a SW Portland Fair Trade Banner at Topanien Global Gifts with fair trade wooden printing blocks from India. Bring the entire family for an interactive evening of fun. Prepare an Amnesty International Mother’s Day Card for our leaders demanding a woman’s right to maternal health. This First Friday learn about Fair Trade and Maternal Health as you enjoy international treats and explore new cultures through their crafts and artisan information while supporting Fair Trade.
Monday, May 9th, 2011
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Fair Trade 101 Panel Discussion
Kells Irish Pub and Restaurant, 112 Southwest 2nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97204
Learn more about the Fair Trade movement and what it means to you at the Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans (OATH) Speaker Series at Kells Irish Pub. Sarah Mitts from AWAZ Voice for Empowerment and representatives from the Northwest Fair Trade Coalition (NWFTC) share the basics to shopping fairly, certification and more about this powerful movement that’s creating solutions to fight global poverty. Fair Trade products will be available for sale from NWFTC members.
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday Parkways East Celebration
Enjoy this annual neighborhood celebration of city streets open to walk, bike, roll, run, jump and skip - without having to watch out for cars! With all the outdoor fun you can imagine in the parks and along the route that include Marketplace, Games, Bike riding, Sports, Art, Music, Food and more!! Over 20,000 people in attendance last year.
This year Sunday Parkways connects Lents, Bloomington, Ed Benedict and Gilbert Heights Parks with a 7 mile traffic-free route that includes a long section of the Springwater Trail.
http://portlandsundayparkways.org/
Sunday, June 26th, 2011
11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday Parkways North Celebration
A 2-way route of city streets open to walk, bike, roll, run, jump and skip - without having to watch out for cars! The 8-mile North Portland Sunday Parkways route will have two loops, connecting Peninsula, Arbor Lodge, Kenton, and McCoy Parks, plus the Willamette Bluff. Food, music, marketplace and activities are located in the parks and along the route. Over 20,000 people in attendance last year.
http://portlandsundayparkways.org/
July 15-17th, 2011
- Friday, 15th – 5 p.m. -10 p.m.
- Saturday, 16th – 11a.m. – 10 p.m.
- Sunday, 17th – 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
55th Annual West Linn Old Time Fair
Willamette Park at the foot of 12th Street
West Linn's home-grown community festival, the Old Time Fair in beautiful Willamette Park will feature great food, musical entertainment, carnival rides, custom car show, games and activities for the whole family.
http://westlinnoregon.gov/oldtimefair
July 25, 2011
11 am to 4 pm
Northwest Sunday Parkways
A 2-way route of city streets open to walk, bike, roll, run, jump, and skip - without having to watch out for cars! The 6.4-mile NW/Downtown Portland Sunday Parkways route will have two loops, connecting Downtown, Old Town Chinatown, Pearl District and Northwest neighborhoods. Activities, food, and entertainment will be in Shemanski Square, Wallace, Couch, Waterfront Parks, plus along the route.
http://portlandsundayparkways.org/
August 13, 2011
11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
14th Annual Alberta Street Fair
20-40th Blocks of NE Alberta Street
Enjoy an eclectic mix of entertainment and craft along the streets of Alberta with this annual, fun family event! Local musicians, artisans, vendors, crafts, games and more!
http://www.albertamainst.org/whats-happening/street-fair
August 20, 2011
4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
St. Mark's Presbyterian Church, 9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd
Portland, OR 97219St. Mark's is hosting a charity fundraiser for Neighborhood House at their church on August 20. AWAZ will be there selling our handmade, fairly traded everyday goods so come on out because some of the proceeds support the cause, a non-profit supporting low-income and other people in need of housing.
http://nhpdx.org/index.html
3rd and Main, Aurora, Oregon
Every Sunday*
11 am - 3 pm
Aurora Sunday Farmer's Market
Aurora Movement and Healing Arts3rd and Main, Aurora, Oregon
*Unless there is a conflicting event - please contact Sarah (sarah@voiceforempowerment.com) if you are planning on coming a certain day
Aurora is the antique capital of Oregon, so head down to the shops, wineries and Movement and Healing Arts Yoga Studio to enjoy local, organic, fairly traded food, treats and gifts.
September 25, 2011
10 am to 5 pm
Green Sprouts Natural Baby and Family Fest
The ReDirect Guide Green Sprouts Festival is a fun, festive and educational one-day event for the whole family that celebrates and promotes the nurturing of life through nature. From pregnancy to childhood, parents can learn about and explore eco-friendly, community-involved, natural, and healthy options to raising their families.
http://www.redirectguide.com/greensprouts/Portland/about.asp
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Hello Spring!! New things Happening for AWAZ
We’re kicking off the Spring with great aspirations for the year – and already good things are happening for AWAZ!
We’ve got a team of Volunteers and Interns who have joined us to help:
• Set up our Wholesale Program
• Revamp and optimize our website
• Promote our Fundraiser Sales to local organizations and Donations for our Indian Partners
• conduct Spring/Summer shows and events around Portland
Thank you Stuart, Christina, Judy and Trina!
The last few months have been busy coordinating our new Spring/Summer collection with the artisan groups in India – our friend, Jaya, the Textile Designer we work with, was in India from Jan – March and spent a few weeks helping our groups with new developments for our order. From the dust and art of Rajasthan, to the mountains of the Himalayas and back to Delhi and Mumbai, she maneuvered the train, plane and bus to visit our groups. We’ve been doing various developments with groups that are ongoing, such as helping to source fabrics and improve products and also help with production planning. (Look for Jaya’s blog post soon about her work!)
This year we developed a product line with collections that focused on the craft traditions from different groups we work with. Our goal was to create a line of beautiful, practical, everyday use items to inspire your home and fashion for the Spring!
Our new Spring collection will feature:• Handwoven Table Linens with matching Tablecloth, Napkins and Aprons
• Natural Dye Block Printed Handbags and Toiletry Bags
• Traditional Indian Batik Wall Hangings
• Khadi and Block Print Men’s Fair Trade Shirts
• Block Print and Embroidered Women’s Fair Trade Skirts
• Silk and Cotton Woven Spring Scarves
• Glass Bead Jewelry with matching sets for Young Girls and Women
• Soft Toys and Embroidered Wall Organizers for Kids
So come out to our shows starting May 1st and shop for the season!
Sunday, May 1st , 10:00-3:00
We’ve got a team of Volunteers and Interns who have joined us to help:
• Set up our Wholesale Program
• Revamp and optimize our website
• Promote our Fundraiser Sales to local organizations and Donations for our Indian Partners
• conduct Spring/Summer shows and events around Portland
Thank you Stuart, Christina, Judy and Trina!
Our Spring/Summer shipment will be here by the end of the month!
The last few months have been busy coordinating our new Spring/Summer collection with the artisan groups in India – our friend, Jaya, the Textile Designer we work with, was in India from Jan – March and spent a few weeks helping our groups with new developments for our order. From the dust and art of Rajasthan, to the mountains of the Himalayas and back to Delhi and Mumbai, she maneuvered the train, plane and bus to visit our groups. We’ve been doing various developments with groups that are ongoing, such as helping to source fabrics and improve products and also help with production planning. (Look for Jaya’s blog post soon about her work!)This year we developed a product line with collections that focused on the craft traditions from different groups we work with. Our goal was to create a line of beautiful, practical, everyday use items to inspire your home and fashion for the Spring!
Our new Spring collection will feature:• Natural Dye Block Printed Handbags and Toiletry Bags
• Traditional Indian Batik Wall Hangings
• Khadi and Block Print Men’s Fair Trade Shirts
• Block Print and Embroidered Women’s Fair Trade Skirts
• Silk and Cotton Woven Spring Scarves
• Glass Bead Jewelry with matching sets for Young Girls and Women
• Soft Toys and Embroidered Wall Organizers for Kids
So come out to our shows starting May 1st and shop for the season!
Sunday, May 1st , 10:00-3:00
Mother’s Day Fair Trade Day Bazaar at the downtown Portland Unitarian Church
Northwest Fair Trade Coalition World Fair Trade Day launch celebration with testimonials, reception and Scavenger Hunt Passport!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Top 10 Reasons to Support AWAZ and Fair Trade in the Marketplace
Top 10 Reasons to Support Fair Trade
1) Fair Trade ensures that farmers and artisans receive a fair price for their products and safe working conditions are met.
- AWAZ partners earn double and sometimes triple their peers for their work that support living wages to care for their families and unexpected needs. Minimum wage standards in India are $2 a day and on average, AWAZ partners earn $4-$6 a day, depending on work load.
2) Fair Trade invests in community development and strengthens people and communities.
- AWAZ partners now have the resources and are more likely to send their children to school, take them to the doctor and purchase more fruits and vegetables. Their families benefit and more money is invested in local economies.
3) Fair Trade provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and artisans to improve production.
- AWAZ pays for textile designers to do week long design workshops and interventions to help artisans develop more marketable products and source higher quality raw materials.
4) Fair Trade promotes environmental sustainability.
- We work with our partners to use eco-friendly raw materials, such as natural dyes, fibers and organic cotton. We do our best to find a natural product that does not harm the environment and work closely with our partners to give suggestions and guide them. Most Fair Trade food items are 100% organically grown.
5) Fair Trade promotes gender equality in pay and working conditions.
- The majority of our partners are women ran handicraft enterprises, ranging from 40 women to 600 in one organization. MESH, our trading partner for over 40 disabled artisan groups, works with both men and women, who often share production tasks. For example, in weaving, the women often spin the thread and help set up the handloom, while the mean tend to do the weaving.
6) Fair Trade promotes economic sustainability through direct and long-term relationships between producers and consumers.
- We buy from the same artisan groups today as we first started in 2008 and have been able to reach out to three more groups since then. They can count on us for continued orders which helps to ensure job security. We foster a healthy relationship with our partners by trading directly and visiting and communicating regularly about their work and needs.
7) Fair Trade mobilizes communities to make collective decisions about how to spend their funds through worker owned and democratically ran cooperatives.
- AWAZ pays living wages to artisan groups that includes a premium which groups use to invest in projects that benefit the community. Groups decide collectively how to spend premiums and invest in building schools, water pumps and needed services for the community.
8) Fair Trade provides equal opportunities for all people and gives producers a greater voice in the international market.
- Most of our groups we trade for had little or no international market presence for their work. Helping them access a larger market allows more people to know about their work, want to help and get involved.
9) Fair Trade enhances cross-cultural understanding and creates a closer link between consumers and producers.
10) Fair Trade is the alternative to ending hunger and poverty today.
- Supporting organizations that are helping communities develop small scale enterprises, helps them develop job skills so they can access good jobs and become self sustainable!
1) Fair Trade ensures that farmers and artisans receive a fair price for their products and safe working conditions are met.
- AWAZ partners earn double and sometimes triple their peers for their work that support living wages to care for their families and unexpected needs. Minimum wage standards in India are $2 a day and on average, AWAZ partners earn $4-$6 a day, depending on work load.
2) Fair Trade invests in community development and strengthens people and communities.
- AWAZ partners now have the resources and are more likely to send their children to school, take them to the doctor and purchase more fruits and vegetables. Their families benefit and more money is invested in local economies.
3) Fair Trade provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and artisans to improve production.
- AWAZ pays for textile designers to do week long design workshops and interventions to help artisans develop more marketable products and source higher quality raw materials.
4) Fair Trade promotes environmental sustainability.
- We work with our partners to use eco-friendly raw materials, such as natural dyes, fibers and organic cotton. We do our best to find a natural product that does not harm the environment and work closely with our partners to give suggestions and guide them. Most Fair Trade food items are 100% organically grown.
5) Fair Trade promotes gender equality in pay and working conditions.
- The majority of our partners are women ran handicraft enterprises, ranging from 40 women to 600 in one organization. MESH, our trading partner for over 40 disabled artisan groups, works with both men and women, who often share production tasks. For example, in weaving, the women often spin the thread and help set up the handloom, while the mean tend to do the weaving.
6) Fair Trade promotes economic sustainability through direct and long-term relationships between producers and consumers.
- We buy from the same artisan groups today as we first started in 2008 and have been able to reach out to three more groups since then. They can count on us for continued orders which helps to ensure job security. We foster a healthy relationship with our partners by trading directly and visiting and communicating regularly about their work and needs.
7) Fair Trade mobilizes communities to make collective decisions about how to spend their funds through worker owned and democratically ran cooperatives.
- AWAZ pays living wages to artisan groups that includes a premium which groups use to invest in projects that benefit the community. Groups decide collectively how to spend premiums and invest in building schools, water pumps and needed services for the community.
8) Fair Trade provides equal opportunities for all people and gives producers a greater voice in the international market.
- Most of our groups we trade for had little or no international market presence for their work. Helping them access a larger market allows more people to know about their work, want to help and get involved.
9) Fair Trade enhances cross-cultural understanding and creates a closer link between consumers and producers.
10) Fair Trade is the alternative to ending hunger and poverty today.
- Supporting organizations that are helping communities develop small scale enterprises, helps them develop job skills so they can access good jobs and become self sustainable!
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