Around the World Treasures is an unique gift shoppe offering hand crafted Fair Trade items from far flung places! There are items from thirty plus countries. I have been involved in fair trade since the 1980's, when I became involved in Guatemala. A friend was traveling in the northern highlands of Guatemala, the Ixil Triangle, where a lot of military-guerrilla fighting had taken place killing man
y people, in the late 70's and early 80's. These people had no source for their handi-crafts, the ladies did weaving on a back strap loom and the men did crocheting. Everybody said it was unsafe to travel in the area. The state department told me the same, when I called them after my first trip there with the friend, Mike Shawcross, a transplanted Brit. He saw the need for the people to have a source for their crafts, and started the Shawcross Aid Programme. I was the person who got things to the United States. Plus working a full time job. I since have branched out a lot since then. The aid program ended in the 90's when other groups were working in the area. Mike has since passed away.
