Thursday, December 30, 2021

Helping Another Small Business in the Philippines

The Covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines has been long and drawn out, and our artisans have suffered sickness, supply chain issues, lockdowns, and rationing. Elevita has tried to aid wherever possible, and in 2021 we had the opportunity to help Hirly Arts Handicrafts grow their business by helping them build a Kubo, or crafts hut, and by purchasing needed equipment, such as a jigsaw machine and press drill, which are very important to their work. Prior to this they had to rent the machines, but now they can do the work in one week that previously took one month. 






Sunday, November 15, 2020

Connecting with Mongolian Artisans in 2020

 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, but it hit our friends in developing countries especially hard. One place that has experienced severe changes is Mongolia, where artisans have traditionally relied on tourism to keep them in business. With tourism coming to a complete halt, families who depended on this livelihood were immediately cut off from their income. Thankfully, one of these artisans had heard of Elevita and reached out on behalf of his cooperative, "Youth for Success." Ganbold asked if Elevita could help these artisans find a global marketplace for their products, and needless to say, we were thrilled they found us!

Woodcarver Ganbold and his family work together to carve and varnish beautiful figures.

This detailed pine wood nativity is in the style of 16th-century Manchu Dynasty.

Ariuntuya creates needle felt dolls to provide for her family's needs. Her dream is to establish her own  cabin workshop and grow the business. She hopes to be able to pay to educate all her sons.

This is Ariuntuya's nativity fashioned after the 13th-century Great Mongol Empire. The figures all fit neatly in the accompanying felt yurt (ger).

Dorjkhand is a single mother who cares for both her mother and her son. During the soviet regime in Mongolia she graduated in doll crafting, the only available major for women at that time. She is self-employed and is one of the few remaining Mongolian doll makers.

This beautiful silk nativity is the result of Dorjkhand's 40 years of learning and creating traditional Mongolian dolls. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Sneak Peek for 2020

Elevita artisans continue to do amazing things in the Philippines! Here is a sneak peek of a product that will be available for our "Christmas in July" sale. Woodworkers created these on an engraving machine funded by a generous Elevita donor.


Thursday, February 1, 2018

Artisan Updates

The strength and tenacity of Elevita artisans continues to uplift us! Sok Chan of Cambodia sews bags for Elevita, but in her spare time she coaches women's wheelchair basketball and has even started additional strength training for her upper arms. She is a strong and inspiring woman!


Marieta Flores is a dear woman in the Philippines who recently became ill and lost a lot of weight. Her children were concerned and asked if the family could join Elevita's capiz shell cooperative. With the added income, Marieta plans to cement their home. Elevita represents an improved standard of living for this industrious family!

Rosalie Blanza is a single mom who works tirelessly to support her son, Yiel and her aging parents. Her products, including the pearl heart bracelet and the lava bead bracelet, are some of our best sellers at Elevita.com.


Mercedes Marantal (Mercy) is new to Elevita! She has six children, three of them still at home. Together they work to make products of abaca fibers. The work enables them to provide for their everyday necessities, and in the busy holiday season they are even able to help their unemployed neighbor women by hiring them to help finish orders on time. One of Mercy's gift bags will be featured in our February subscription box!


We love all our Elevita artisans and are so grateful for the opportunity we have to learn from their hard work and optimism! Visit www.Elevita.com to learn more.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Collaboration with The Batik Boutique in Malaysia

The Batik Boutique was created to disrupt the cycle of poverty in Malaysia, and recently we collaborated with this award-winning social enterprise to bring some of their fabulous products to our subscription box customers. Here is a post from www.thebatikboutique.com that explains the art of batik:

Batik is an ancient art that has been practiced for 2,000 years in southeast Asia. This complex dyeing process creates beautiful, intricate designs that are unique to the region they come from or tell a story. The process uses dye-resistant wax to create elaborate patterns and designs, and the wax is then washed to reveal the batik pattern or the process is repeated to create multiple colors. 
The first step in batik making is to stretch a piece of cotton or silk onto a frame and paint (“cat”) or stamp (“cop”) a design on the fabric using a mixture of beeswax and resin.
Each stamp is hand-made, and batik artisans create repeating patterns with a single stamp. 
Painting designs are done using a canting, a pen-like instrument that draws the hot wax onto the fabric. The tip of the canting is usually made of copper in order for the wax to flow smoothly onto the cloth and be placed exactly where the artisan draws, and the holder is wood so that the heat is only conducted into the wax instead of the artisan's hand.   
Next, the dye is painted onto the fabric between the intricate wax pattern. After the dye dries, these first two steps can be repeated to produce multiple layers of design and color.
The dye is set by soaking the fabric in a fixative.  Finally, the fabric is boiled to remove the wax and reveal the original fabric color along with the new layers of design. You can tell a piece is truly batik when the colors and the design are on both sides of the fabric, whereas screen printing would be one-sided. 
The Batik Boutique works with family businesses and batik artisans in Malaysia to supply our fabrics, and all of our batik fashion products use these hand-dyed textiles. 

Saturday, May 13, 2017

World Fair Trade Day

When addressing global poverty, we at Elevita are dedicated to creating sustainable solutions rather than temporary humanitarian relief. This is why we have created an online platform to bridge the gap between hardworking artisans and worldwide customers. Purchasing products from Elevita allows these artisans to maintain their businesses, which will in turn provoke self-sufficiency in their communities. Why give a handout when you can give a handshake?