Felt Penguin Purse
Availability: In stock
Item #: 108681
This fuzzy felt cutie will hold your stuff and steal your heart. Measuring approximately 7.5" wide x 7.5" tall, the adorable black and white felt pouch purse features a zippered top opening and an interior fully lined with black fabric. Each bag was handcrafted by at-risk and rescued artisans in Nepal, and your purchase contributes to their safe, sustainable means of income, as well as their empowerment.
Where this product came from
Nepal Cafe & Crafts
Nepal
Another girl had disappeared from the village. Reena had seen too many impoverished families fall prey to offers from foreigners promising schooling or jobs abroad for their daughters. She knew traffickers targeted the poorest and most vulnerable—and that the best way to protect them was to provide a means of income. Reena and her husband opened a small café and bakery to employ at-risk men and women in their village, and when some expressed a desire to make and sell bracelets and necklaces, they branched out into the jewelry market. Together, these sustainable microenterprises not only provide employment but also help fund a safehouse, counseling services, scholarships, and vocational training, as well as classes in literacy, health, and trafficking awareness. Reena’s program also provides micro-loans to at-risk women and families desiring to launch their own businesses. Once a small microbusiness, Nepal Café & Crafts has blossomed into a thriving, multifaceted organization that attacks trafficking at its root cause and breathes hope into an entire community. When you purchase these beautiful products, you invest in the lives of those at risk and empower visionaries like Reena to keep dreaming and doing.
Kumari
Kumari had never known a family. Orphaned as an infant, she was lured at age seven by the lies of those who promised love and protection. Instead she found betrayal and abuse, as those she had trusted sold her night after night to strangers. After years of repeatedly being raped and beaten, Kumari attempted suicide. When she came to Nepal Café & Crafts at sixteen, she trusted no one and had lost any semblance of hope. Our partners took her in, providing a safe home away from those who had owned and controlled her. They taught her how to make jewelry, offering the hope of a different and better future. Just as importantly, they listened to her stories of suffering and whispered words of worth to her. As Nepal Bakery & Crafts formed a circle of protection around Kumari she found, for the first time in her life, hope, healing, and a true family.
