The Oprah Winfrey Show
Remembering Your Spirit

Creating a Future

Paola Gianturco "Craftswomen really are now changing the world in very positive ways. It stays with me. It inspires me, it reminds me of how connected we all are." — Paola Gianturco

Her Journey
"I was inspired by the news that 50 percent of all the families in the world are supported essentially by women and that very poor women, women living on less than $1 a day, were spending all the money they earn to educate their children. They seemed to be my heroines — I just wanted to meet them.

"We [Paola and Toby Tuttle] turned in all our frequent-flyer miles and our husbands, too, and we embarked on an incredible journey. We interviewed 90 craftswomen in 28 villages in 12 countries on four continents."

Women of the World
"All of the women we interviewed were so poor they couldn't do anything but feed the same menu to their children day after day — maybe bread, maybe a vegetable, maybe not. We heard stories about a woman whose child died because she could only afford to feed the child flour."

"We interviewed women who were making traditional crafts...They ranged from doll-makers to weavers to basket-makers. Their spirits were so strong. Their sense of family and their spiritual lives were so rich.

"I was inspired by the fact that [a] little piece of embroidery, maybe, a doll, made by these women's hands and their hearts could be levers for such important social and economic change. Infant mortality drops, the birth rate drops. As they gain self-esteem, their family began to respect them more and domestic violence decreased."

Paola Gianturco and Toby Tuttle's book is In Her Hands: Craftswomen Changing the World.

Proceeds from the sale of the book support these nonprofit organizations whose work helps poor women all over the world enhance their families' futures:

Association for Women in Development
Global Fund for Women
Freedom from Hunger
The Crafts Center
Women's Edge
Aid to Artisans

For more information, visit www.herhands.com.

How can you help? The authors offer these strategies:
Patronize retailers who post the Fair Trade Federation symbol—and ask other outlets how much of the retail price goes to the producer.
Contribute to institutions that help artisans buy raw materials and generate income—specifically micro-credit and craft-marketing organizations.
Learn how international development and trade policies affect indigent artisans and, if you do not feel they are fair and effective, lobby the policy makers.

From the show Uniting Women of the World