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Villa Shoppe items offer buyer sense of humanity
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Yasmin Flor, manager of the Villa Shoppe in Villa Maria Community Center, holds a bowl made in Vietnam. The shop sells Fair Trade handcrafted items from Peru, Haiti, Bolivia, Mexico, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Guatemala and Africa, as well as the United States.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
VILLA MARIA, PA.
When you buy a Fair Trade item at the Villa Shoppe in Villa Maria Community Center, the transaction involves more than getting a unique, handmade craft. You help a craftsperson feed his or her family, provide shelter and send children to school.
Yasmin Flor, shop manager, said handcrafted items in the shop are from faraway places such as Peru, Haiti, Bolivia, Mexico, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Guatemala and Africa, as well as the United States.
“They’re made in craft co-ops that are self- sustaining,” Flor said. “They teach a craft ... and the crafter is able to make money to buy food, have a roof over their heads and send children to school.”
Flor added that money from Fair Trade items is divided among the crafter, the craft co-op for supplies and equipment and the community. “In the community, the money is used to provide maybe a well, teacher or new books,” she said.
The weekends of the nativity display, the shop will be open and feature creches from around the world.
The Villa Maria website, www.humilityofmary.org, states that consumers who buy Fair Trade products are “shopping with a conscience ... sharing in a partnership with artisans, workers, farmers and tradespeople.” And the partnership allows for workers to make a living wage in a safe work environment and a humane work schedule.
The unusual and handcrafted items are an option for the hard-to-buy-for family and friends on gift lists. Beaded items from Guatemela are colorful and intricate; sponges transformed into teddy bears and sea turtles are a sure conversation piece; bowls made out of recycled magazines come from Vietnam; and a purse made from a tire, complete with tread as an accent, is from India.
The shop also has a few purses made out of pop-top openers that sell for $65. These are usually priced higher in other stores, Flor said.
For the coffee and tea drinkers, there are organic blends in regular and other flavors such as vanilla and pumpkin spice.
Among its inventory are cards, prayer bowls, books, chocolates and candles, and there is a small religious section.
Regular shop hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Call 724-964-8920, ext. 3249 or 3439, or visit villashoppe@humilityofmary.org