The unique way in which Just-Trade works, selling beautiful artisan jewellery, is to build the design capacity as well as the technical skills of the communities in which they are working. Just-Trade’s work is all-encompassing; it empowers the artisans to have more control over their product and therefore their future.
Laura Cave founded Just-Trade 6 years ago along with Melanie Cave. As a graduate in jewellery design from RCA, Laura decided to use their knowledge and skills to set up a business that empowers artisans in deprived areas of Peru as well as connecting their products to the UK market. They began the business with the clear decision that they wanted to be mentors and educators equally as much as retailers and wholesalers, working collaboratively with artisans living in poor conditions, to help them to help themselves. The main aim was to empower women to have job security and a living wage, thus enabling them to pay for school and medical expenses.
SOURCE contributor Rebecca Damm speaks to Founder Laura Cave about how a collaborative approach to design produces better products and how guaranteeing regular, minimum orders creates stability.
This article explores working with jewellery artisans in Peru and explains how ‘Just-Trade’ has created a business strategy to build design capacity within the communities where they work.
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