A Butterfly Story
This morning I went out running because I am trying to force myself to get some sun and exercise during these hard times. I put a bright yellow shirt on and black shorts. I found the yellow shirt buried way deep in my closet and it is a shirt I have maybe only ever...
Missional Purchasing. The Value In Handmade.
MISSIONAL PURCHASING... We aren’t unfamiliar with the concept of using our purchases for good. Buy American. 🇺🇸 Buy Local. 🏷 Support Small Businesses. 🦋 Eat at your local Ma and Pa Diner. 🍽 Support the Girl Scouts. 🍪 Buy...
Empowerment – Hope & Opportunity
My heart is heavy. All of the things I care about most seemed to be both crippled and yet also highlighted by this sinister convergence in our world right now. The virus, the economic landslide, and the outrage over George Floyd’s murder have my head spinning and my...
Hindsight is 20/20, but we see clearly what lies ahead.
Hindsight is 20/20 and had I known about the political devastation that would wreck Haiti in 2019, I still don’t think I could have done much differently.
Thanksgiving – Gratitude & Good Memories
Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I can’t help but reminisce on the many Thanksgivings that were held in my dining room in Haiti over the years. A wonderful friend whose wife was sick with cancer made a huge pallet table for me that was about 16 feet long in exchange for...
What happened to all the money? (The story of aid money in Haiti)
This is how charity and aid also work by nature. People are dependent for a time and the resources get used up quickly and are needed again and again. Unless something changes to make them independent.
Less Jobs + Less Tourism = More Suffering in Haiti
I just walked across the street from the production house to the cafe. The roads are blocked both ways with a dump truck full of sharp splintered rocks. I can’t get a picture as it is too dangerous. There are about 50 men outside yelling and throwing green glass...
![It Takes a Village [How Wholesale Jewelry Orders Change Lives]](https://shelleyinhaiti.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Papillon-Haiti-Village-1080x675.jpg)
It Takes a Village [How Wholesale Jewelry Orders Change Lives]
Our business model might be a little upside down at times, but if you could see what we see when a hundred people or two hundred people get called in to work every day because the orders are flooding in, you might also be scratching your head thinking of how you can maximize your labor costs and build a business that is based on lives being saved and changed instead of solely focusing on profit margins!
A Stumble Is Not A Fall
I first heard this proverb in Haiti and it struck a chord with me. I did some research on it and it has been attributed to several different countries and people, but the wisdom remains. Another similar proverb says, “A stumble is not a fall, but rather to move...
An open letter to my fair-trade partners and friends wanting to do sustainable work in the developing world.
When I first moved to Haiti, I had my heart and my head set on trying to create jobs for parents who were at risk for relinquishing their children. What I didn’t really know when I went down there in 2008, was how exactly I was going to accomplish that. My first year,...