Dix Mille Villages stocks fair trade items made by artisans in developing countries.
In 1996, three churches in the West Island of Montreal partnered with Ten Thousand Villages Canada to open a fair trade retail shop in Pointe – Claire. It was called Dix Mille Villages and was the first of its kind in Quebec. Last year St. Columba by – the – Lake Presbyterian, Beaconsfield United, and Cedar Park United, celebrated 15 successful years in business.
Dix Mille Villages sells artisan – crafted items from around the globe. The largest fair trade organization in North America, Dix Mille Villages/Ten Thousand Villages works to provide sustainable income through fair trade.
This outreach enterprise has been an exciting way for the church to be visible in the community, offering a different economic model to the stores that surround it. Through it, we witness to the gospel, which speaks to economics as clearly as it speaks to spiritual growth. A key ingredient of this retail model is that all the sales staff on the floor are volunteers. They are trained to tell our artisans’ stories and explain the principles of fair trade, as well its impact on communities across the developing world. When artisans know their products will be purchased on a regular basis, they can grow their own businesses and, over time, improve their homes and communities.
While the goal was to partner with artisans in the developing world, an unexpected result has been to create a community! Staff, volunteers, and shoppers have made our store a refuge of friendship where the coffee is always on and the welcome is always warm.
“Dix Mille Villages is ultimately not about bottom lines, profit margins, or budgets. It is about people,” a church representative read as the three churches celebrated with a special worship service. “While we are proud of our success, we are even more proud that our store has changed people’s lives in ways that are sometimes small and sometimes large.”
Here are some of the stories we shared at that service:
In the early days, Dix Mille Villages developed a relationship with Clear Point Elementary School. Grade six students spent one afternoon per week in the store for six weeks. The two volunteers that year were retired men who formed strong bonds of friendship with the children, not only teaching them about fair trade, but also about etiquette. Some even learned to play chess from them! Several years later, a parent came into the store to say what a difference that time had made to her son because an older adult had bothered to pay attention to him.
Friendships are made when volunteers work together. And friends aren’t always similar. Often they span age differences. When one of our older volunteers had to give up the work due to ill health, her volunteer partner, many years younger, made sure to stay in touch. She still phones regularly to check that her old friend is managing.
Dix Mille Villages has supported the work of Equita, a project of Oxfam Quebec. Equita provides many fair trade food products, including chocolate. Through our support, Equita is now able to manufacture chocolate here in Quebec rather than in Europe. By doing so, the cost of transportation and the carbon footprint it creates have been significantly reduced.
Dix Mille Villages represents artisan groups in many countries. One group is Prokritee, in Bangladesh. It works with women making handmade paper, palm leaf garlands, terracotta items and many other products. A representative from the group who was visiting Canada spoke about the impact the work made on her and others. Her husband had rejected her, leaving her destitute until she found work with Prokritee. “I’m glad to be treated like a human being,” she said.
Jesus came to transform lives. In small and greater ways, this project we are doing together is helping to serve that purpose, to make our world a more just and compassionate place.
