In developing communities, women often lack the opportunities to finish school which ultimately limits their employment and earning potential.   Studies show that when women work, they invest up to 90 percent of their earnings back into their families. And when women earn fair-wage incomes, they have the power to create transformative change within their homes that ultimately helps break cycles of poverty in their communities. That’s why one of the Young Living Foundation’s focus areas is developing enterprise, because when women flourish, their families and communities do too.

We released six new artisan product bundles at the 2021 Young Living Virtual International Grand Convention. The items featured in these collections were handcrafted by women who are receiving sustainable employment with five of our women-led partner artisan groups.

Join us on a journey around the world to learn more about each of the handmade items featured throughout the VIGC artisan collections, and the women who created them for you.

These beautiful stacking bracelets were made in Lugazi, Uganda by the women of the Mabira Collective. Mabira is a group that provides fair pay and stable employment to women in Uganda and empowers them to become advocates for change in their communities. When you wear Mabira jewelry, every piece comes with its own inspiring story.

In 2020, the Young Living Foundation provided a grant to purchase a new clay kiln for the Mabira Collective. The new kiln made fulfilling this order possible, and now Mabira has been able to improve work productivity, increase their capacity to handle larger orders, and ultimately provide more employment opportunities to women in their village.  

The One Voice collection features seven beaded bracelets made by the women of Mabira alongside the Foundation’s newest Young Living essential oil blend: One Voice™. In addition to proceeds from the artisan bracelets benefiting the Foundation, 35 percent of the proceeds from the sale of One Voice will support our efforts to end exploitation. Diffusing the One Voice oil blend on the bracelet is a perfect way to inspire you to speak your truth, while also remembering the impact you are making for women and their families in Uganda.

Our next item is an exclusive olive wood cutting board handmade in the historic city of Bethlehem. Creating these cutting boards helped more than 10 women-owned workshops under the Holy Land Handicraft cooperative reopen to create these beautiful pieces—reviving the area and its artisans. Creating and selling unique olive wood products enables these families to earn a living and provide opportunities for their children.

Women living in this enchanting and challenging area, carry with them an inspiring resilience, as they raise children in a region burdened by unemployment and decades of conflict. One of the women from the group who made these cutting boards is known in her town as “Evon, mother of peace.” She carries a powerful peace about her despite having lived through a mother’s worst fear.

The women of Holy Land Handicrafts created these beautiful cutting boards using sustainably harvested olive wood that is trimmed and pruned to keep the olive trees healthy and producing fruit year after year. The Olive Wood Kitchen Collection includes 5ml bottles of Orange and Lime Vitality™ essential oils, and we hope that as you use the uplifting oils and cutting board, you’ll remember the ways your purchase is making a difference for women in Bethlehem.

These gold-finished recycled brass loop earrings were made by the women of Amira Arts in Old Delhi, India. Amira Arts employs female artisans who come from marginalized communities to help them break the gender inequality gap. In addition to providing fair-wage employment, Amira Arts also provides women with vocational and literacy training.

Ornate jewelry is a proud cultural tradition in India, and the women who handmade these earrings inherit their craftsmanship from their ancestors dating all the way back to first century BC. Handcraft is a significant lifeline for women artisans in India, where an estimated 780 million people live on less than $3.10 per day. Women who worked on this order come from backgrounds, households, and communities affected by extreme forms of poverty – often having minimal prospects for fair wages. But this order made a difference by providing women with steady income and ethical working conditions.

The women of Amira Arts are not only using their income from making jewelry to provide for their families, but they’ve also used their profits to build a central workshop with proper lighting and sponsor the education of girls in their community. This earring collection includes a 5ml bottle of our One Heart™ Essential Oil Blend—specifically designed to open our hearts to love and service towards others.

Our next collection is a set of three hand-woven trivets made by the women of the Azizi Life Collective. Aziz Life is providing women in Rwanda with literacy classes and fair-wage incomes which are helping them send their children to school, access medical care, and become financially independent.

The women who made these gorgeous trivets were impacted by unthinkable tragedy during 1994 when the Rwandan genocide claimed the lives of 800,000 people within a 100-day span. Once the violence ended, many women who lost their fathers, husbands, and sons were left responsible for providing for what was left of their families and caring for the countless children left orphaned. Thankfully, Rwanda is much different now and basket weaving has become a powerful symbol of rebuilding and moving towards peace.

The women who created the trivets in this collection grew up in opposing tribes, but have found peace, healing, and reconciliation through weaving together at Azizi Life. The contrasting colors of tan and black throughout the trivet set symbolize the forgiveness and unity of two opposing forces working towards harmony and a bright, peaceful future.

The final artisan item launched at VIGC is a stylish cork essential oils bag! These bags were hand-sewn in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA by a refugee group who call themselves Free Women, a name that celebrates their new-found freedom after having escaped conflict, abuse, and violence in their home countries.

This same artisan group worked on an order for the 2020 Young Living Holiday Gift Guide and used the profits they earned from that order to purchase additional sewing equipment. That equipment has helped the women expand their capacity to receive larger orders—including this order of cork bags—and ultimately will employ more women.  

The cork used to make the bags is 100 percent natural, stain resistant, water repellent, and scratch-proof. Inside the bag, you’ll find slots to hold up to four 5 ml bottles of Young Living essential oils—like the 5ml bottles of Peppermint and Peace and Calming® included in the Peppermint and Peace collection—or four roll-on bottles plus your favorite Savvy Minerals makeup.

Thank you for helping us develop enterprise so resilient women artisans across the globe can build strong, healthy, and sustainable enterprises that create more growth opportunities for them, their families, and their communities.