Connecting artisans to global marketplace

In Laos, women who run weaving businesses can remain in their villages and support their families, avoiding low-skilled labor in rice fields or factories in Thailand. But they need to expand their customer base to succeed. Through collectives like Ma Te Sai we connect Lao artisans to a larger, global market to expand their small businesses. A delegation of Lao women weavers recently traveled to the prestigious Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and gained access to 20,000 new buyers. The Market also provided training on adapting to the global marketplace. The delegation then traveled to San Francisco where they sold their products at a pop-up shop in a local gallery.