I’ll never forget the day I met Vicenta.  At the time of our meeting, she was 8 ½ months pregnant with her 7th child.  A tiny and unassuming woman with a great big heart, Vicenta served as the president of the first artisan group we visited on my trip to Guatemala, a group based out of her extended family’s home.

I’ll never forget the sights I witnessed while touring the rustic compound in which she worked and lived, one nestled in the remote highlands of Guatemala.  One made up of several small primitive structures fashioned from sheet metal, wood and cinder blocks.  A compound where the family wash hung alongside artful weavings on cords strung from one porch frame to another and where the overflow laundry was carefully laid out upon the metal rooftops to dry in the sun.  One in which the newly built workroom, little more than a lean-to and not very protected from the elements, awaited its new tenants, precious new sewing machines gifted to the group by the organization that hosted my trip.

I’ll never forget stepping into the main one-room dwelling where all aspects of family life took place.  A room with a dirt floor and without electricity that housed the wood stove where most meals were prepared.  A room in which rolled up pallets were carefully stored against the walls each morning to make space for the day’s activities until they were needed again at bedtime.

But most of all, I’ll never forget Vicenta’s parting remark to us upon the conclusion of our time together.  After expressing her heartfelt thanks for the handicraft purchases we made during our visit, Vicenta shared with us her hope that God would allow their group to sell more that year so they could buy food for their families.

Today, more than 2 billion people around the world live on less than $1.00 a day.  And, despite their best efforts to earn a living, many of these individuals cannot afford to put food on their families’ tables, let alone meet other basic daily needs.

While global trade has improved the conditions for some marginalized people, conventional trade often minimizes opportunities for impoverished producers.  Because these producers often face steep hurdles in finding markets and customers for their goods, they do not stand much of a chance of breaking out of the continuous cycle of poverty.

Fair trade, an alternative trading strategy centering around the exchange of goods based on principles of economic and social justice, creates opportunities for economically and socially marginalized producers to earn fair wages.  Through fair trade, producers can earn enough to provide not only the basic necessities, but can afford to cover other expenses, including education that can help their families break the cycle of poverty.

With every fair trade purchase you make, you are contributing to fair pay and sustainable work for impoverished producers.  You are helping to fight child labor, human trafficking and unsafe working conditions.  You are contributing to improvements in housing, healthcare and education in vulnerable communities.  And you are helping women like Vicenta and her family break the cycle of poverty.