Jewelry for a Cause: Mae Movement

I love when two of my favourite things come together. In this case, jewelry and a good cause. Allow me to introduce you to Mae Movement and the stunning Nepalese-made bracelets for a good cause.  

Mae Movement began in 2011 when mother-daughter team, Haley and Dee Cairo, started selling their Nepalese bracelets. The two discovered the bracelets while on vacation in Florida and brought them back as gifts for friends. Soon everybody wanted some! After doing a lot of research on the bracelets, and where they come from, Dee and Haley started to buy them in small quantities. With the demand increasing, they started to buy more at a time and before they knew it, they had a created a nice little business on the side. 

But Mae Movement is more than just selling pretty arm candy. It gives the Nepalese women who make the bracelets a sustainable living and encourages others to make their own positive movements as well.  These little bracelets are very special, each one is hand crocheted by a women artisan in the Katmandu Valley of Nepal. The Bracelet’s take up to an hour to make and range in thousands of colors, finishes and pattern’s. The bracelets are made with Czech and Japanese glass beads that are crocheted into intricate patterns.  

Nepal, like many other countries today, has a high rate of Human Trafficking. It is unsafe for women and their children to travel for their work. The women who make bracelets are able to safely bead from their homes, on their sunny rooftop decks with their friends and family. When Haley and Dee purchase the bracelets the women are given a fair wage that enables them to live a more sustainable life, where they can provide for their families. The more bracelets sold, the more young women can be trained to learn this trade and provide a way of escape from poverty and enslavement.

Visit maemovement.com to buy your bracelet (perfect for a summer arm party!) and feel good while doing it!

 

A little more about Human Trafficking

Ever year between 10,000-15,000 girls are tricked or sold into slavery, either as domestic, factory or sex workers. The girls are valued at extremely low costs, comparable to animals, usually between $600 and $1,000 dollars depending on age and beauty. Some of these girls are sold as young as 7 years of age. Living conditions for these girls is horrid. They are imprisoned in rooms and cages. Beaten, starved, and raped until their will is broken. More than half of these girls are HIV positive and do not receive any health care. If girls are not sold they are often expected to work in areas of hard physical labor. They are lucky if they make 50 cents a day. By purchasing a Nepalese Mae Movement Bracelet you can help these women and children create a better life than one plagued by this tragedy.