The Gitzelli artisans work in Kenya and Ghana to weave beautiful, traditional baskets in many designs and colors. Artisans live in low income areas and make their living off selling their crafts or taking daily temporary labor for minimum wage. In Kenya, the artisans come from wide parts of the country. Most weavers come from the Eastern region where the climate is dry and conducive to the production of the sisal -- this is their main source of income. In Central Kenya, most artisans have small pieces of land where they practice subsistence farming. They subsidize their income through weaving products with banana leaf. Gitzelli Imports has helped connect these artisans to bigger markets and enhance their low income.

When you visit Croix des Bouquets, the area of town known for Haitian metal art in the capital of Port-Au-Prince, you are met with a cacophony of tink, tink, tink as ball peen hammers strike sheets of steel. The sheets are cut from steel drums colored by oil and other liquids the drums at one time held. The process of turning sheets of metal into beautiful wall art is all done by hand, from cutting holes that become edges of trees and leaves, to accenting each lizard with a texture of scales, to painting or lacquering the final design. The artists are proud of their work, signing the pieces on the back side, leaving a raised, reversed signature on the front.

dZi Inc. has been working with artisans in the Tibetan exile community in India since 1990, and with Nepali artisans involved in traditional Tibetan style crafts since 1995. Their products are marketed as part of dZi’s ‘Tibet Collection’ line. Authentic cloth prayer flags printed on hand-carved woodblocks are specially made for dZi by The Gu-Chu-Sum (9-10-3) Movement of Tibet, established in 1991 and based in Dharamsala, India. Gu-Chu-Sum was first organized by ex-political prisoners from the Tibetan freedom movement; monks, nuns and lay people who had escaped from Tibet due to political persecution. Its purpose is to provide employment and support to Tibetan refugees needing help in India, and to educate about human rights abuses in Tibet. You can try to visit www.gu-chu-sum.org, but the Chinese Government regularly sabotage their site! dZi’s screen printed prayer flags are made by the Tibetan Nuns Projection (TNP), also based in Dharamsala, India. TNP’s mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment and education for Tibetan nuns who have fled Tibet for reasons of religious and political persecution. Visit tnp.org to learn more. dZi’s Paper Prayer flags and incense are made by Tibetan Handicraft in Kathmandu Nepal, a member of Fair Trade Group Nepal and leader among the handmade paper export community. This business supports hundreds of people in the local community through it's income generation enterprise, and runs an elementary school providing free and low cost education for local children