Десять тысяч деревень: история справедливой торговли и поддержки ремесленников.

Nonprofit fair trade organization
the China Africa Cooperation project which aims to reduce the digital divide in African rural areas

Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 35 countries. As one of the world’s largest and oldest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages cultivates long term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to gifts, accessories, and home décor from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF).

Edna Ruth Byler was moved to take action by the poverty she witnessed during a trip to Puerto Rico in 1946. Byler, with the help of the Mennonite Central Committee, began selling handcrafted products out of the trunk of her car, eventually expanding to a storefront called Self Help Crafts in 1958. She sought to provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a viable marketplace for their products. The original philosophy of Ten Thousand Villages was inspired by Mennonite values including compassion, service, mutual aid, and peacemaking. Over the past 30 years, Byler has worked to connect individual entrepreneurs in developing countries with market opportunities in North America. In the 1970s, the small project moved out of Byler's basement to become SELFHELP Crafts of the World, an official program of the Mennonite Central Committee. In 1994, the company became a member of the Fair Trade Federation. In 1996, SELFHELP became Ten Thousand Villages. The new name was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi who said, “India is not to be found in its few cities but in the 700,000 villages”. Ten Thousand Villages is no longer wholly owned by MCC. In 2019, Gordon Zoo became the company's CEO. In May 2022, Dan Alonso was named as the new CEO of the company.

Ten Thousand Villages encourages artisans to employ production methods that are environmentally sustainable and to use recycled and natural materials whenever possible. The artisans are paid in full before their products are sold in North America, even if they never get sold.

The Ten Thousand Villages USA headquarters is currently located in Akron, Pennsylvania. The company uses sales profits to increase purchases from artisan partners and to expand its domestic distribution channels. Ten Thousand Villages is a wholesaler as well as a retailer.

Ten Thousand Villages offers handmade home décor and gifts from around the world, including baskets, sculptures, jewelry, instruments, toys, tableware, planters, linens, stationery, various holiday items and other accessories. Most Ten Thousand Villages stores also sell fair trade food items such as chocolate, tea, rice, dried fruit, and coffee.

In 2005, Ten Thousand Villages released "The Power of Trading Fairly," a DVD highlighting artisan partners from Bangladesh, Guatemala and Kenya, and how their lives have been improved by fair trade. In 2006, Make Trade Fair was released, a compilation CD to raise awareness and funds for Ten Thousand Villages.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Ten Thousand Villages has had life altering effects on its artisan partners. Its fair trade practices directly support tens of thousands of artisans around the world. Also, some of the generally small artisan groups or families have transformed into full fledged businesses that employ hundreds to thousands of people. However, little research has been conducted to determine the quantitative impact of Ten Thousand Villages and its worldwide fair trade partnerships.