The MIT Western Hemisphere Project is hosting a sale of fair trade art from Ecuador.
Sacha Yaku
Supporting community to community water system development by selling art for water
Sacha Yaku Sale
NEW DATES: Thursday February 19th & Friday February 20th
9am - 5pm
Lobby 10 (map)
Or puchase online at: sachayaku.etsy.com.
The sale is part of the "art for water" program of Sacha Yaku (meaning "jungle water" in Kichwa), an organization founded by Kendra Johnson (1E '09) to provide ongoing support for a community water system community water system in Santa Ana, Ecuador. Sacha Yaku now also supports the newly formed water technical team from Santa Ana, which installed rain water systems in one neighboring community during the month of January and is currently working to repeat the process in a second community.
The jewlery and ceramics are made by women in Santa Ana using traditional materials and techniques. Sacha Yaku purchases the art at fair trade prices, providing a source of income for the women and an incentive for the families to continue their dedication to the water system. All proceeds from sales in the United States go towards supporting the water system in Santa Ana and the community's efforts to spread access to clean water to other indigenous communities.
You can watch a short video and find out more about the work of Sacha Yaku (meaning Jungle Water in the local indigenous language Kichwa) at www.sachayaku.org. You can also find out more about January's trip on Kendra's blog.