Sales Help Bring Peace & Stability to Pakistani Artisans

Provided by Global Gifts

Global Gifts, a non-profit fair trade store located on 86th street in Nora Plaza, is hosting a fair trade rug sale featuring rugs that provide opportunity and security directly to adult artisans in Pakistan. From May 22 to May 26, more than 300 luxurious hand-knotted Bunyaad rugs will be on hand and available for purchase. 

“We’re thrilled to host the Bunyaad Rug Show,” says Alissa Head, Global Gifts Executive Director. “Fair Trade offers not only a fair wage for the labor-intensive work that goes into hand-knotting these beautiful rugs but also preserves a long cultural tradition of Pakistani textile artisans. The purchase of one of these rugs creates a quality heirloom that will be treasured by families for generations in their home.”

Every Bunyaad rug is unique. Some rugs can take more than a year to produce. The intricate designs alone require months to plot out on graph paper. Some rugs are dyed the centuries-old way using hand-gathered roots, tree bark, nut shells, fruit skins, vegetable skins and dried flowers. Some rugs are made with wool handspun with a drop-spindle.

“Being at a Bunyaad Rug Event is like visiting an art gallery,” Head says.

Since the 1960’s the Bunyaad project has helped cultivate peace and spread hope to 850 families throughout 100 villages in Pakistan.

The name Bunyaad means “foundation” in Urdu. The program works with both Christian and Muslim men and women, giving people the opportunity to work together, transcending differences of religion, gender, custom and tradition.

Shoppers will be able to select from hundreds of hand-knotted rugs and runners in several different sizes, colors & designs including Tribal, Bokhara and Persian rugs from 2’x3’ to 10‘x14’. Each rug is made of 100 percent wool or silk knots, most with considerably high knot counts. Representatives of the Bunyaad organization, who have close ties to the artisans who’ve been masterfully crafting rugs for generations, will be on hand to share stories about the rugs and answer customer questions.

“Regardless of what level of instability surrounds them, our artisans always know they have a job that pays them a living wage, a wage that allows them to send their kids to school, eat proper food and plan for the future,” says Yousaf Chaman, Bunyaad director. “That’s stability.”

Global Gifts is a nonprofit. fair trade organization specializing in ethically made gifts and accessories from more than 40 countries around the world. Their mission is to empower marginalized artisans and producers by providing vital fair trade income and employment for people of limited opportunity, by educating the public about the cultures and traditions associated with the items for sale, and by helping consumers spend their shopping dollars in ways that benefit disadvantaged people around the world.

For more information, visit globalgiftsft.com.

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