Holiday Boutiques

Elevita is excited to be hosting boutiques in three major metropolitan areas this year:  Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.  Here is the exact info for our Humanitarian Holiday Boutiques:

21 November 10am-2pm

5270 West River Bend Drive

Libertyville, IL  60048

4 December 10am-1pm

309 Greenbrook Drive

Danville, CA 94526

6 December 1pm-4pm

9701 148th Street Court East

Puyallup, WA 98375

Please spread the word and bring friends if you are able!  It is an amazing experience to see and feel Elevita products firsthand.  You may never see the world in the same way again!

Our New Project

Now that sufficient funds have been raised and ground has been broken for our girl's hostel in India, we are turning our attention to educating youth in the Philippines.  To do this, we have partnered with BELIEVE International.  The BELIEVE mission is to "Help disadvantaged youth in the Philippines become people of integrity and leaders in their communities by providing them with the resources needed to attend school and by teaching them positive life-long values and leadership principles."  BELIEVE offers scholarships to students who are carefully selected based on their poverty, academic performance, moral character, and leadership potential.  The scholarships are to cover otherwise prohibitive expenses related to their education in public schools.  BELIEVE requires their students to also engage in additional values and leadership training, which will enable them to lift themselves out of poverty.  Trained scholars such as these will eventually help solve the deep-rooted problems of corruption in their communities and in their nation.  Elevita will now give scholarships to these needy Filipino students one by one, as funds are raised.  To donate, please click here.  Your generosity will make a tremendous difference for good!

In the photo above, Alida Camo stands with her mother and younger sibling in front of their home.  Alida's mother died about 6 months after this photo was taken, and without a scholarship from BELIEVE, it would have been impossible for her to attend school.  Now she is #1 in her academic class, is vice-president of the Supreme Student Government, is a top athlete, and is actively involved in service projects.  Elevita feels privileged to be a partner with BELIEVE in creating more success stories such as this one!

Why We Do What We Do

We are in regular communication with our Elevita artisans.  We like to know how much business they have, how their children are doing in school, whether they have food on the table, and so forth.  These ongoing conversations are the most fulfilling part of our work.  As part of the dialog, our artisans regularly express gratitude for being a part of Elevita.  We probably don't post these remarks as often as we should, but here is just a small and simple tidbit, received today from our contact in Cambodia who had the opportunity to visit some of our artisans in Battambang.  She writes: 

"...The ladies said that they're very happy for your orders. They use their earnings to buy rice/food for their children and send their children to school. You see most of the ladies in this group are single parents. Once again, they would like to thank you for your orders."

Just another example of how a little bit of help can go a long way to improving someone's lifestyle!  And we in turn are very grateful for the amazing quality these women produce.  They make our "Best Bags Ever" and our "Perfect Pouches."  Well done, ladies!

New Nativity Available

Filipino woodcarver Frank Cajumban has been working with Elevita to sell his 17-piece nativity sets.  Because of the number of pieces, Elevita does not stock this beautiful set, although it is available for special order.  Please email info@elevita.com if you are interested in purchasing this treasure, and we can arrange for Frank to directly ship you a wooden crate!

Filipino Woodcarver Shares Photos of His Process

It is amazing to think that Arman's intricate nativity figures are made from these tools!

Here Arman Cagayat begins one of the palm trunks--a signature piece of his set.

Holding the piece tightly with a rope, Arman is able to carve the perfect grooves.

It is clear that Arman's three daughters enjoy "supervising" his work!  Well done, Arman!!

Young Painting Prodigy Margarita Cajumban

Sometimes Elevita comes across amazing artisans whose work we are not able to carry on our website, ether because it is too large, too fragile, or too expensive.  The exquisite paintings of Margarita Cajumban are just such an example.  Margarita is one of eleven children born to a humble woodcarver. In spite of very limited resources, she has worked tirelessly to pursue her life's passion: Oil Painting.  Now at the age of 18 Margarita is using her painting as a way to pay for her college courses in Economics.  Of course Elevita would like to do everything we can to help promote Margarita's work.  If you are interested in purchasing her paintings, email info@elevita.com.  Her work is replete with texture and radiates a fantastic ethnic flare.  

SHE CAN PAINT ANYTHING YOU LIKE FROM A PHOTO!

Golden Harvest

Filipino Modesty

Manila

Update on Louela

Louela di Nalzaro is one of our artisans in the Philippines.  Creating jewelry for Elevita has allowed Louela to greatly improve the quality of life for herself and her children.  Recently, she needed to travel to Dumaguete City to receive a much-needed operation.  Her church was willing to pay half, but Louela needed to come up with the rest.  Around this time Elevita was able to place another large order from Louela.  She sent Elevita a message, explaining her situation, and saying, "That's why I am very happy when you order me more of my craft...God works in mysterious ways, because when I need money, I don't think it's a coincidence that you ordered more."  Louela's necklaces have been very popular, and Elevita is pleased to be a part of her success.