World Fair Trade Day - May 9th 2009
 Gifts With Humanity is proud to announce that we are a major sponsor of World Fair Trade Day on May 9th 2009. In conjunction with this event we have launched a limited number of World Fair Trade Day pins. The dancing girl, a long-time Fair Trade handicraft product, as the face (and tiny arms and legs) of Fair Trade. Gracing your lapel, backpack, purse, hat or any other item on which she is pinned, the dancing girl will certainly promote conversation and let others know you support fair trade as well as give you an opportunity to educate others about the movement. Wear her with the pride of knowing that she was made by hands that earned a sustainable income in a part of the world where this fact is a luxury.
The dancing girl comes from humble beginnings. In the 1990’s a European development organization created the Kisumu Innovation Centre of Kenya (KICK) and designed products made from readily available, discarded materials including tin cans, wire, tin sheets of misprinted bottle caps, and water hyacinth, an invasive weed growing uncontrollably in nearby Lake Victoria. Holding workshops at the centre, KICK designers taught marginalized Kisumu residents how to make jewelry, paper, and home decor, creating a workforce of craftspeople and artisans. The occupation of “maker of crafts” became prevalent throughout Western Kenya and the KICK products were a novel addition to the traditional Kenya crafts made from wood and soapstone.
Very adaptable, the dancing girl has been made into earrings, pinned to greeting cards, had her body shaped like a heart and a tree, and her head like a star. Her body has been made from scrap tin, tin cans, and most recently ubiquitous scratch-off phone cards that litter Kenya
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