Alberton UCW hosting Ten Thousand Villages sale
Baskets are always among the first items to go when the Ten Thousand Villages sale makes its annual stop in Alberton, says Leona Lane.
Lane, a member of the sale’s Alberton-Elmsdale United Church Women’s host committee, has several items in her possession, including baskets, from previous sales.
Aside from selecting merchandise not otherwise available in Alberton, Lane says she likes the whole concept of the 10,000 Villages sale, which is fair trade in support of artisans from developing countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
“That’s what hooked me,” Lane said.
This is the 14th consecutive year for the AlbertonElmsdale UCW to host a Ten Thousand Villages sale. It will be held at the Alberton United Church Hall from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 21.
Handcrafted giftware and home décor items, including jewelry, pottery musical instruments and hand-loomed textiles, made by artisans from around the world will be available for sale.
Lane shares the story of Rawshan Ara, a single mother from Bangladesh.
“She had no income whatsoever. In those countries, unless you can pay the school tax, your children can’t go to school.”
She was accepted into a three-month training program for making paper products and a design team helped her perfect her crafts.
“Now, she provides for her family, has earned enough money to send her children to school and her plan is to have enough money to send her children to higher education. She wants to own some land and have a house of her own,” Lane said on Ara’s behalf.
The concept, adds Judy Cotton, one of the Alberton sale’s volunteers, helps artisans get established. The Ten Thousand Villages program pays the artisans up front, which enables them to obtain the raw material.
Many volunteers are needed to stage the annual sale. Area youth groups help with the setting up and dismantling and the AlbertonElmsdale UCW provides many of the volunteers for the sale hours.