Fair trade case study: Handcrafts from Brazil
From a young age Sivanildo knew hardship. Now life has taken a
different turn for Sivanildo thanks to a World Vision fair trade
project.
Growing up in rural Brazil, there was rarely enough food for
Sivanildo and his nine siblings. As the families' finances went
from bad to worse, Sivanildo's father said good bye to his children
and travelled to Sao Paulo in search of better job
opportunities.
Like so many migrants to the city, he quickly found the promises
of the city were not fulfilled in the everyday reality of life
there. Although he saved hard for his family, some months he was
unable to send any money home. Sivanildo watched his father leave
for the city and return home dejected a total of three times during
his childhood.
With an eye to his future, Sivanildo's parents encouraged him to
go to school. Sivanildo says attending school gave him a sense of
joy that he hadn't ever experienced before. He studied hard, hoping
that his studies would enable him to have a different life to that
of his father's.
After leaving school, Sivanildo looked for employment
opportunities in his village, but found few. So he began working as
a daily labourer on a plantation for a US$1 a day. Drought is
common in this part of Brazil and this meant that even plantation
work was hard to come by, so Sivanildo would go for months with no
employment.
By the time he reached 18, Sivanildo felt he had run out of
options in his village and decided to try his luck in Sao
Paulo.
Just before he packed up to go, World Vision began a fair trade
project in the district training young people in woodworking and
forming a cooperative to market their products. Sivanildo saw this
as his chance to learn a skill he could use to earn a decent
income, so decided to stay in his village to take part in the
training. As an added bonus for Sivanildo, World Vision required
him to reenrol in school to complete his formal education!
Through World Vision, Sivanildo and a number of other young
people are learning the skills they need to produce quality wooden
products for fair trade stores. They are also instructed in life
skills, marketing and book-keeping so their cooperative will be
successful in the long term.
The photo frames, boxes and notebooks produced by the
cooperative are made with recycled or sustainable woods and are
sold to fair trade stores through long term contracts.
Earning a stable income through fair trade, Sivanildo can be
sure he won't have to follow in the footsteps of his father.