by Jennifer Svetlik
The Ten Thousand Villages store in the Souderton (PA) Shopping Center has its origins in a project called SELFHELP Crafts. More than 25 years ago, a few shelves within the Conference-Related Ministry Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Care and Share Thrift Shoppes gave shoppers the opportunity to purchase fair-trade artisan goods.
SELFHELP Crafts was an effort by Edna Ruth Byler, originally in 1946 under a different name, to ensure that artisans who could not access a marketplace received fair wages for the textiles they created. In 1962, MCC began supporting these efforts to bring sustainable economic opportunities within under-resourced communities.
By 1996, the program was called Ten Thousand Villages and had a network of stores across the U.S. and Canada to connect shoppers to artisans through long-term fair-trade partnerships in more than 20 countries.
“At the time, there were no other fair-trade options,” said Martene Histand (Blooming Glen [PA] Mennonite), Assistant Manager and long-time board member of Ten Thousand Villages in Souderton.
“MCC helped identify the artisans, train them, and helped them organize co-ops so they could all benefit from the sales of these goods. Women were the primary beneficiaries, and one of the primary outcomes is that they could send their daughters to school.”
When Ten Thousand Villages places an order for an artisan’s crafts, the artisans are paid a fair wage, receiving half up front to cover the material costs. Once the order ships to the U.S. they are paid in full.
Histand has worked in the Ten Thousand Villages store in Souderton for 22 years. She was first invited by her neighbor who was a volunteer. The store’s overhead costs are kept low by relying heavily on volunteers to inventory, stock, and sell the items.
As interest in the project outgrew the shelves within the Care and Share Thrift Shoppes, Ten Thousand Villages moved to its own storefront within the Shopping Center and hired the first manager, Bonnie Moyer (Zion [PA] Mennonite) in October 1996.
In 2009, Ten Thousand Villages in Souderton became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with its own board of directors. As such, it is considered a “board store,” part of the Ten Thousand Villages network, rather than a “company store.” In 2014, the store moved locations within the Souderton Shopping Center and became a sublessee of the Care and Share Shoppes. Care and Share is the primary tenant of the Souderton Shopping Center with seven units in the center.
The store has been a beloved place for many Souderton-area residents to purchase fair-trade coffee, rugs, and gifts, with the assurance that the products were produced by artisans in safe working conditions and who were receiving a just wage for their work. However, the location has also been a challenging place to attract enough retail traffic to sustain the business.
“Stores like World Market now offer products that look like what is produced by fair-trade vendors, but are made in Chinese factories, without the assurance of safe working conditions or a just wage for producers,” explained Keith Heavener (Salford [PA] Mennonite), Vice President of the Board of Directors.
“Since the COVID pandemic, in-store sales have become an even bigger challenge. People are a lot more comfortable buying online than they once were.” he continued.
Unless online shoppers indicate the Souderton store on their order, the store does not receive a percentage of the proceeds.
In an announcement on Facebook on October 25, 2024, it was shared, “Dear friends and supporters, it is with heavy hearts that we announce our Ten Thousand Villages Souderton store will be closing by December 21. We are deeply grateful for your decades of support in helping us create opportunities for artisans worldwide. We hope to see you in the store over the coming weeks as we continue to offer our handcrafted, fair-trade products.”
Bunyaad rugs are currently priced at 35% off, and all merchandise is 50% off in preparation for the store’s closure. “Come get a bargain,” Heavener encouraged.
About a year ago, the Ten Thousand Villages store on Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia closed. There are still other locations in the region including Center City Philadelphia, Media, and Intercourse, PA.
Jennifer Svetlik
Jennifer is Editor & Development Coordinator for Mosaic. She grew up near Houston, TX and spent a decade living in intentional community in Washington DC, before moving to Lansdale, PA with her spouse, Sheldon Good. She is a graduate of the University of Texas and Washington Theological Seminary. She serves as Children’s Faith Formation Director at Salford Mennonite (Harleysville, PA). Jenn has two elementary-school-aged children and loves biking, camping, gardening, and vermicomposting with her family.