Annual Women & Fair Trade Festival
The Women & Fair Trade Festival is an annual Austin marketplace that hosts several artisan producers from women’s cooperatives from all over the world. Women who earned a living wage in producing beautiful personal and household items come and sell their products, share their stories, and connect with others who support Fair Trade as an alternative to free trade.
For two days in Austin, people enjoy music, food, dance, and storytelling. Our friends in Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera produce the event annually. They have also sponsored the collaboration between two women’s cooperatives whose goods appear every year at this joyful cultural event and sale. Known as Connecting Threads of Justice/Connectando Hilos de Justicia, the Mayan women of Jolom Mayaetik in Chiapas and the immigrant women of Fuerza Unida in San Antonio, share marketing, technical and cultural ideas.
Note in 2022: Assuming the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, this is a community event not to be missed as it honors the rich cultural diversity of our society and sends a more humane and positive message that in an interconnected world, the exchange of goods can also support the right of people to enjoy a living wage and healthy working conditions from the fruits of their labor.
To see a short film about the women of Jolom Mayaetik, click here.