(subhead) One organization is taking goodwill overseas to help women in need one handbag at a time
As the saying goes, if you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day; but if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime. If ever there was an organization that embodied this proverb to its fullest, it would be Eternal Threads. Eternal Threads is a not-for-profit organization based out of Abilene, Texas that serves to empower women all over the world and give them hope and justice.
From our highly developed society, it is often hard to imagine poverty to the point where a woman cannot provide food or a simple education for her kids. Unfortunately, this is the case for women in many underdeveloped countries, driving them to prostitution, exploitation, and trafficking just to cover the most basic of needs. Eternal Threads goes to these countries to find women in local villages and support artisans so they can provide for their families. Helping women in the rural villages of south India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Madagascar, and Thailand, this organization teaches women how to craft totes, jewelry, scarves, and other items for fair, livable wages.
Creating goods out of local materials gives women the opportunity to earn a sufficient income through the cultivating and spreading of traditions they have grown up with in their respective cultures. Eternal Threads representatives offer support to help women begin or grow their current businesses so the women can be self-sufficient for years to come. With the consistent income, women can in turn pay for their children to go to school, land, more supplies, or cattle to drastically change entire villages. Eternal Threads then takes these handmade goods back to the United States, where American women come together to tell the story of the organization and purchase the goods.
As members of the Fair Trade Federation, Eternal Threads’ business is based on the growing of the principles of economic and social justice. In order to this, they actively seek to maintain high standards in their process. Steps to ensure this include visiting the work sites to check up on producers and projects, funding orders with a 50% deposit so producers can produce raw materials without breaking the bank, and building long-term relationships with the women involved in production in order to provide training and resolve any problems in production as they come up.
Eternal Threads is all about bringing women together to help each other out. From building community within villages of women working together to involving women in the United States to help out, they not only help out but to show others how to keep the love spreading. Women once alone in destitution find a new sense of unity when they collaborate on the creation of Eternal Threads’ products. On the flip side, women domestically are unified in their efforts to reach out to the women in these countries in need and change their lives.
Life is hard in countries centuries behind the US in development. Women toil laboriously to collect materials and cook the simplest of meals. Without the help of outside support, many of these women and especially young girls will be subjected to alternative forms of employment, which tear women and girls from their families and offer little hope for a better future. Though boys have a better chance of going to school and creating a better life for themselves, little girls rarely get the same opportunity. Money is generally too scarce to enable girls to get an education, so the vicious cycle continues to spiral downward. When Eternal Threads comes into a village, they not only provide hope for the women they directly interact with, but generations of children to come. Their impact is exponential, the blessings of their ministry continue to pile on top of each other and multiply themselves.
Eternal Threads’ core values include alleviating poverty, empowering women, productive partnership, material and spiritual transformation, and sustainable development, but it is surely the spiritual aspect of this organization that keeps it going strong. James 1:27 says this, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (NIV). Eternal Threads, then, presents the gospel in its purest sense. Completely transforming the lives and futures of these women – many of which are widowed – provides a wonderful platform for representatives to introduce women to Christianity, thus the hope they bring is twofold. Not only do these women have a new life in this world but also an even better one in the life to come.
Eternal Threads’ influence is widespread all throughout the country. Women in Nashville, Louisville, Malibu, and throughout Texas have been gathering together to host parties where the mission of the organization is spread and goods are sold. At Eternal Threads, they have made making a difference in someone’s life very accessible. At relatively low prices, people can purchase high quality goods to enjoy, all the while enjoying the warm feeling of goodwill to international women.
If you want to get involved in this organization, there are many ways to go about that. You can go online and check out their website at eternalthreads.com and learn all about the company’s history and watch videos posted to let the story of Eternal Threads come to life. If you are interested in purchasing an Eternal Threads original product, you can host a party, come to one of the many events in the Abilene area, or even shop online. They also have a page on Facebook where you can become a fan and stay updated on all the latest goings on within the organization.
Eternal Threads is a truly unique ministry with a story that inspires all who hear it. With so many ways to get involved, they have made helping women in remote countries so accessible, bringing women across the globe together in the pursuit of a better life for all. Check Eternal Threads out today and see what you can do to continue the tradition of “weaving hope and justice.”
Sidebar
- Products available: sofi totes, table décor, jewelry, handmade paper, accessories, bookmarks, hand-loomed silk goods, woolen hats
- Countries Impacted: India, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Nepal, Thailand
-Other Eternal Threads Programs: Educating girls, literacy training, vocational training, anti-trafficking
-Fun fact: The purchase of a small size Sofi tote doubles the family income of a woman for nearly a week and educates a girl for two months.
Email Teaser
- (Subject) Women helping Women weaving hope and justice
- (Email Body) Check out genuine handmade goods created all over the world and support fair trade! Empower a fellow woman in need to support her family and start a new life by endorsing artisans in India, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Thailand with Eternal Threads!
