The Peace Exchange + YogaWorks

On the morning of Saturday, March 21, we spent a wonderful day in Santa Monica partnering with two different YogaWorks studios—the Main St. and the Montana St. locations—to spread The Peace Exchange message and show off our fun and funky yoga mat bags.

In fact, we had so much fun that we will be back at the Main St. studio with even more gear next week! If you're in the Santa Monica area on Friday, April 10, please stop by for a class and to take a look at all the hand-sewn, fair trade products we will be selling, including yoga bags, beach blankets, wine, grocery and sling bags—all handmade in the Congo by some truly remarkable women.

Check back here for updates and shop our collection online—Mother's Day is coming up, after all!

The Peace Exchange + YogaWorks

Friday, April 10—Main St. Studio

2215 Main St.

Santa Monica, 90405

310-272-5641

World Water Day: More Than Half of Congo's Population Still Lacks Access to Clean Drinking Water

A UNICEF report on worldwide access to clean drinking water released today said that while sub-Saharan Africa — the region with the lowest drinking water accessibility in 1990, has been gaining access to drinking water at the rate of 50,000 people per day since the year 2000 —  the region which includes the Democratic Republic of Congo (where The Peace Exchange works with women seamstresses) still accounts for more than 2 out of 5 of those without access globally.

That's 325 million people.

Most countries in the region are not on track to meet the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals' target, which expire this year. 

"There are now only three countries; Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea where more than half the population do not have improved drinking water," according to UNICEF.

• Of the 748 million people globally still without access to clean drinking water, 90 percent live in rural areas and are being left behind in their countries' progress.
  
• On average, nearly 1,000 children die every day from diarrhoeal diseases linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, or poor hygiene.
  
• For women and girls, collecting water cuts into time they can spend caring for families and studying.
  
• In insecure areas, it also puts them at risk of violence and attack. UNICEF estimates that in Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking to collect water. 

Women in Nepal Are Exiled Once a Month

The Peace Exchange recently began working in Kathmandu, Nepal, with a group of at-risk women, many of whom escaped inhumane conditions working for slave wages inside Nepal's notorious brick kilns and factories. Nepali women face many challenges — systemic, economic, and cultural.

According to the New York Times, 

In far western Nepal, many believe that women who are menstruating are impure and bring bad luck. And so they are exiled each month, leaving them vulnerable to rape and other horrors.

Rooted in Hindu and other traditional Nepali beliefs, the practice of banishing women from their homes during menstruation is known as chaupadi. Even though the Nepalese government outlawed it 2005, the practice still persists.

International Women's Day

A year ago to date ~ this is where we were... on the ground in Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo to be exact.  The Peace Exchange celebrated International Women's Day spending time with the women of Eastern Congo.  Women of all ages walked miles, even hours to gather in support of one another.  The day was filled with stories of hope and empowerment.  Allowing the women to gather in community and be heard, there were moments of laughter and tears.  Speakers were brought in to discuss issues of safety, women's rights, sexual violence, education and fair trade.  The meeting was one that will always remain as a powerful image in the mind's-eye.  As the founder of The Peace Exchange, I am honored to travel off the grid and go into parts where women struggle for basic rights ~ things that we take for granted.  DRC is one of the hardest places on the planet to be a woman.  With so many single mothers working for less than $1 a day, it breaks my heart.  This is why fair trade is so important... it is a gateway, an open door to empower women. #Makeithappen www.internationalwomensday.com #PeaceExchange www.ThePeaceExchange.com

www.ThePeaceExchange.com

At The Peace Exchange we believe in helping empower women and children in the most oppressed places.  As we are gearing up for another trip in Spring 2015 to Nepal and then Congo... it's important for us to stay committed to our values of Education, Empowerment, and creating sustainable Fair Trade Jobs.  

Ethical Fashion... with Bead & Reel

Bead & Reel is our new partner in Fair Trade & Ethical Fashion:

As the founder of The Peace Exchange, a sustainable fair trade company, ethical fashion is very important in establishing a solid foundation for the many artisans we serve.  Currently we are working in fabrics and textiles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa.  Next year, 2015, we are blessed to continue our fair trade efforts and grow into paper and jewelry making in Asia, specifically Nepal.  We are continually striving as a grass-roots, non-profit to create ways to empower women through fair trade.  As we work in some of the poorest locations around the world, we are grounded in being a catalyst for positive change through the art of design.  Developing a non-profit from the ground up and creating social enterprise opportunities in remote regions around the globe takes patience, persistence, and commitment.  Doing what is humanitarian and humane is not always easy, but it is so rewarding.  Fair Trade goes hand-in-hand with Ethical Fashion... Fair Trade fits beautifully with the concept of Bead & Reel, an ethical nothing company.  I could not be more happy than to partner with Sica Schmitz (the founder) and unite with her vision to bring quality products that are beautiful and ethically made to the socially conscious shopper.  To check out our fair trade products offered on the Bead & Reel website, click here.

It is in ethical fashion that you know exactly how/where your product was made.  I find comfort in knowing the artisans that hand-make all of the items we sell at The Peace Exchange.  I find comfort in knowing where our fabrics come from and exactly how our products are created.  I find comfort in knowing not only how our items are made but seeing the greater impact of fair trade.  When items are purchased ethically and through fair trade, the buyer knows their purchase makes a difference.  The bag you purchase or the necklace you wear helps support women and children who are in desperate need.  Ethical fashion and fair trade empower not only the shopper but the artisan half way around the globe who hand-made the product.  This holiday season,  give the gift of ethical fashion... every ethical purchase has a story and every ethical purchase makes an impact greater than can be imagined.  Shop Ethical.  Shop Fair Trade.  Make an Impact.  Thanks Bead & Reel for creating a fashion hub and giving us a place to come together.
Happy Holidays,  Katie Bond  - The Peace Exchange

Giving Tuesday

A new shipment has arrived from the Congo.  Filled with new fabrics and fun patterns, it felt like opening a beautiful gift when the package arrived.  Every shipment brings excitement.  There is always something new as our fabrics and designs are every evolving.  This shipment carried new yoga bags, more festive napkins, beautiful aprons, a new shopping bag, and fun makeup bags.  Just in time for the holiday season.
As today is Giving Tuesday, what a better way to help than to buy our handmade items from our fair trade seamstresses working in the Congo.  Your purchase keeps them employed and helps these single women to support their families and send their kids to school.  On Giving Tuesday, we are not asking for a donation, but a tangible purchase that helps women and children in Africa.  Shopping fair trade is a way to give back and helps people on the other side of the world so much more than you could ever know.  Isn't it cool to know that you can make a direct impact this holiday season...   www.ThePeaceExchange.com #GivingTuesday 
(photo of some of The Peace Exchange seamstresses at work)  :)