Meet Aloyo Concy

Meet Aloyo Concy, one of our best tailors. She joined One Mango Tree in 2008, when we sponsored a training in Unyama Camp, and internal displacement camp on the outskirts of Gulu. Concy has a great smile, and loves to laugh. She's totally serious about her work - at our first workshop, Concy pulled her sewing machine onto veranda every day so that she could have total focus on her work, quietly humming to herself while she churned out Market Totes all day long.

Concy's intense focus is because of her daughters - keeping them all in school and making sure they have a comfortable and safe environment to come home to. She hopes to save enough money from her work at One Mango Tree to buy land and build her own home.

Check out the tag on your One Mango Tree product - did Concy make your bag?

 

For more photos from our visit to Concy's place, check out her album on Facebook.

BIG Gratitude Winners

Last month we had a big giveaway - we asked you to refer a friend who you really thought needed a big Christmas gift. The winner received $100 in One Mango Tree goods for herself, and $100 to give away to her friend. November's winners were Kelly and Stephanie. Check out what Kelly had to say about her friend Stephanie:

 Stepanie, her husband and their three daughters

Christmas just got a bit more fun for my friend Stephanie.

After struggling to become pregnant, miracle baby number #1 arrived 3 ½ years ago and turned this couple into a family. Wanting to grow their family again, they were called to adoption and traveled across the world to China in June 2010 to bring home a little girl born with cleft lip/cleft palate. Lots of adjustments and some surgeries too. But, confirmation all along that they were right where they were supposed to be.

Then, something happened. They learned of a baby girl in a remote city in a country many people have never even heard of who was also born with cleft lip/cleft palate. And, she needed a family.

Unsure and a bit anxious, they took steps forward to discern if this little girl was their little girl. And, every step led to an open door; every open door to the next step.

On Black Friday, while most mothers were running around the mall, this mama was on a plane with her husband and her new baby girl. While we were eating turkey dinner leftovers, they were uniting 3 sisters for the first time.

Christmas is going to be interesting for them this year. Two international adoptions in less than 18 months = a lot of money spent. But, I have a feeling they won’t be worrying about how many or how few gifts are wrapped under their tree this year. They’ve got 3 precious gifts to celebrate.

Unique Holiday Gifts, Free Shipping & a Free Tote!

Happy Holidays! We hope you had a Thanksgiving full of gratitude, family and friends. We're offering lots of great deals this holiday season, starting with FREE Shipping on all orders over $50, and FREE Shipping & a FREE gift tote on orders over $100. Spread the word!

Curious about that free gift tote? Here it is - with a special message about empowering women.

**The snowflakes in this week's promotion are made of our favorite things, all of which make great gifts! - Yoga Bag and Eye Pillow in Bali Batik, Saturn Rock necklace and Droplet bracelet from 31Bits, and our Cross-Body Bag in Harvest Moon

xo Halle

Inspired: Louise's story

I asked Louise to share her story - the reason behind giving away her $150 fair trade giveaway in October, and the inspiration behind our BIG Gratitude Giveaway for November. Here it is:

I do Angel Tree, it's for kids who will not have a Christmas, some of their wants are super silly, but I pick the needs you can see they really do need clothes, want something pretty. When someone writes on Angel Tree "new socks, new clothes, hair stuff" and not "give me a wii," you know they want and need it. They write down their wishes and their sizes. I never get to meet them, but know in my heart, I may be bringing confidence into a person's life for school with new clothes, something fun, something funky. Also we do senior homes and send gifts to the servicemen overseas. 

There is a lady on twitter who got me even more motivated to help, we are both cancer survivors, its a good way to say thanks to God and pay it forward. I believe in karma and believe in so giving giving back, sharing what you have. You can't take it with you so why be so greedy in life, share - we are all a team here (yes she embedded that thought into me too),  working to make a better place. Lets stop thinking ME ME ME and start thinking  WE WE WE. 

I thank you for the giveaway, and letting me share what I have, thats why I enter to share a little more, so thank you.  Hope all Pay it forward this season, thinking about what they can give not get, well for me I get alot back in my heart and spirit. God Bless you!

Thank you, Louise! 

Psst...Love that image at the top? Me too - found it here.

Share the love - Our Big Gratitude Giveaway

In October we gave away $150 worth of One Mango Tree fair trade apparel and accessories to the winner of our Fair Trade Month Giveaway. Our winner, Louise, sent in her order and let us know that she selected a teenager from Angel Tree and would be including some of the products in a Christmas goodie bag for a young woman in need.

One of the best things about running a fair trade business is the generosity of our customers - sometimes I feel like our work is just a small drop in the ocean, but customers like Louise show me the ways that a small drop can send out infinite ripples of kindness.

November is a very special month for One Mango Tree - we make an extra effort to focus on Gratitude - what it means in our work, what it means for our producers, and what it means for our customers.

In celebration of Louise's generosity, we're having another BIG giveaway - challenging you to up the ante. We'll be giving away $200 in merchandise this month - $100 for the winner, and $100 to give as a gift. 

Here's how it works:

1. Choose someone who really deserves a gift, and send us a message to let us know why. Email your entry to info@onemangotree.com. Your submission should be 250 words or less - longer entries will be disqualified. Winning story will be shared on our blog, so be sure it's okay to share the story!
2. Once you've submitted your entry, be sure to either Tweet or post on Facebook about this giveaway. Your submission is only accepted when you've shared the giveaway - be sure to tag us at @onemangotree on Twitter and "like" and tag us on Facebook as well.

Get your entries ready and start sharing the love - this contest ends November 30th!

xo Halle

Changing how you think about clothes

This TEDx talk from Fair Trade USA's Heather Franzese is timely - right on topic with what we've been thinking about this month: Every Purchase Matters.

What are you wearing? Where was it made? "Made" probably makes you think "stitched," but what happened before that? Where did the fabric come from? Did your shirt start on a farm -- as a cotton plant, sheep's wool, a silkworm, petroleum, or a recycled plastic water bottle? These questions matter. Why is it that we can walk into a grocery store and make all kinds of choices about how our food is made and what's in it, but we can't make any of those same choices about clothing?



About Heather Franzese, senior manager at Fair Trade USA:
Heather has been working for more than 12 years to improve the lives of vulnerable farmers and workers in global supply chains. Last year, she launched Fair Trade USA's Fair Trade Certified™ Apparel & Linens program in the U.S. Heather brings together industry experience managing CSR for Columbia Sportswear Company's licensed and collegiate categories, a fundraising track record of channeling $4 million in social impact philanthropy to Fair Trade certification, and field experience working with small-scale farmers for the Peace Corps in Mali.

Sending thoughts to Awoto Margret

Please keep Awoto Margret and her family in your hearts this week - she lost her husband, Opiyo. Awoto Margret is the 'grandma' of One Mango Tree, always helping Alice with looking after the little ones. She is in charge of packaging - doing a final once-over on our products and making sure each product has a signed hangtag before it's placed in a poly bag and boxed for Kampala. Here are some beautiful shots of Margret and Opiyo at their home taken last month.

We will miss you Opiyo!