Faire Features Gifts From Around the World

In April, my wife and I were visiting family in the Washington,
D.C. area.
 While strolling the streets of Alexandria, Va., we spotted a
small store with an unusual name: Ten Thousand Villages. Inside we
discovered an amazing assortment of unique, hand-crafted items from
some of the most economically-challenged people in the world.
In April, my wife and I were visiting family in the Washington, D.C. area. While strolling the streets of Alexandria, Va., we spotted a small store with an unusual name: Ten Thousand Villages. Inside we discovered an amazing assortment of unique, hand-crafted items from some of the most economically-challenged people in the world.

But readers of this column won’t need to travel to the East Coast to purchase this intriguing merchandise. For the 19th consecutive year, the Bay Area Mennonite churches are sponsoring The International Gift Faire, an opportunity for local residents to make an impact on world poverty while learning more about folk arts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. It will be held Oct. 12, from 9am to 8pm, and Oct. 13, from 10am to 4pm, at Lincoln Glen Church Fellowship Hall, 2700 Booksin Ave., San Jose. Admission is free.

This event features hundreds of unusual gifts and home decor items in bamboo, wood, natural fibers and ceramics, such as baskets, ornaments, musical instruments, toys, rugs and brassware from 30 developing countries, including Bangladesh, El Salvador, Thailand and the Philippines. There are many gift fairs at this time of year; what makes this one different is the direct contact and long-term relationships with actual crafts people who need work.

These handicrafts are imported by Ten Thousand Villages, a nonprofit marketing and job creation program established in 1946 by the Mennonite Central Committee. Its mission is to create economic opportunities that help people in developing countries earn a decent and fair living, enabling them to afford improved health care, nutrition, housing and education.

All proceeds from the faire are donated to Ten Thousand Villages, which allows the purchase of more crafts from an increasing number of poor people. It is the oldest and largest fair trade organization in the country with 60 years of experience and an annual trade volume in excess of $20 million.

Morgan Hill resident Jo Margherita saw an exhibit of items from the faire last year at the Morgan Hill Library. Intrigued, she attended the faire.

“I was in awe from the diversity of merchandise available,” she said. She points out that there is “a wide price range of merchandise, everything from trinkets to show pieces, and the money goes to a good cause.”

The San Jose exhibition was started 18 years ago by two local Mennonite women who felt the need to help disadvantaged women in Third World countries; it has grown into one of the largest such fairs in the United States, with more than 150 volunteers. For more information, call (408) 264-1662 or visit www.internationalgiftfaire.com.

The Mennonites trace their origin to Anabaptism, a Reformation movement begun in Switzerland in the 16th century. The Anabaptists were persecuted by both Roman Catholics and other Protestants because of their distinctive beliefs: Only adults could be baptized; they refused to take oaths of allegiance to governments; accepted only the Bible as authority; and refused to serve in the military.

Among the religious groups today which are descended from the Anabaptists are the Huttites, Amish and Mennonites (the largest group, named for Dutch Catholic priest Menno Simons, who converted to the Anabaptist faith and helped lead it to prominence). Today there are about half a million members of these groups in the U.S., and about a million worldwide.

A notable part of their faith relates to serving others. This is especially apparent in the functioning of the Mennonite Disaster Service. Mennonites have always helped each other: the famous barn-raising scene in the Harrison Ford movie “Witness” (although featuring Amish) is a good example, symbolizing “the love of Christ and the advantages of mutual community helpfulness.”

But in the in 1950s, the Mennonites began to further organize and expand this mutual aid beyond their own membership. As a people of peace opposed to military participation, the Mennonites find disaster relief another opportunity to serve the nation as a whole. Each year more than 3,000 volunteers participate in post-disaster cleanup and repairs, at no charge to victims. Many served in the Gulf Coast region, aiding victims of 2005’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita.