Story and video by Donald Ring, Icon intern
Ever have trouble finding the perfect gift for someone impossible to shop for?

Located at 115 S. Main St., Bluffton, Ten Thousand Villages offers an array of jewelry, art, home décor and sculptures crafted by artisans from around the world, offering a little something for everyone.

Aphaphanh Nussbaum, store manager, says Ten Thousand Villages is different from other local retailers as it is “a very mission-based organization.”  

Nussbaum said that Ten Thousand Villages is a “fair trade” store, a business model that actively supports artisans and farmers overseas.

Some examples include: allowing the artisans to purchase raw materials without taking out exorbitant interest loans, setting healthy environments for the artisans/farmers to work in and establishing a long term working relationship between the artisans /farmers and the buyers.

While other organizations may focus on sending aid money to developing nations, Nussbaum says Ten Thousand Villages’ main focus is “to help artisans in developing countries earn a living.” This is accomplished by purchasing products made by artisans from 38 countries and selling them in the 76 Ten Thousand Village store in the U.S.  

Nussbaum says that the income generated from sales is used to pay for any overhead, the part-time manager and most importantly, to buy more products from the artisans.

Nussbaum says that the Ten Thousand Villages headquarters in Akron, Pa., determines what countries its buys products from, “they have buyers who go overseas and meet with the different people, so they have an idea of what is going on…and where help is most needed. “

For example, one nation no longer working with Ten Thousand Villages is Thailand. That country’s economy has increased dramatically in recent years with its booming tourist industry. 

Nussbaum said that store managers do not have direct contact with the artisans as all the products are stored in Akron and then all the managers place all of their orders from there.

Bluffton’s Ten Thousand Villages is connected to another Main Street business, Et Cetera Shop. Nussbaum said, “The whole business model (behind the Et Cetera shop) was to have people donate thrift items and once those items were sold, the money generated from the sale of those items were used to buy products from the artisans.”

Over the years, “the product line had grown so much and the sales has increased that they decided to go ahead and open up a shop specifically dedicated to selling these products.” Nussbaum said that now about 95 percent of the income generated from the thrift store is donated to

Mennonite Central Committee  (MCC) at the end of the year.
Book Reviews, another Main Street business, merged with Et Cetera Shop, Inc., in 2007 and its proceeds also go to MCC.  A board of directors for these three businesses includes two representatives from each Mennonite Church in Bluffton, Pandora and Lima. Bill Suter chairs the board.

Nussbaum says that some of the more popular products sold from Bluffton’s Ten Thousand Villages include onyx stones, hand-weaved baskets and jewelry. Some of the recently added items include different kinds of dried fruit and coffee.

As manager of the Bluffton store, some of Nussbaum’s responsibilities include handling all the merchandising, purchasing and volunteer recruiting. 

Along with Nussbaum, Bluffton Ten Thousand Villages operates with 12 volunteers, though Nussbaum says that she is currently looking for more. She said that people interested in volunteering must be “comfortable on the computer, enjoy meeting people, and be familiar with the free trade movement and support it.” 

Nussbaum says that volunteers need to explain to the customer “when you buy something here, you are making a difference.”