Village Art

When we finally got to Uganda (after that long bus ride), we headed to Kaihura. That's the village where Global Support Mission got its start with Faith and Bringing Hope to the Family.

 

Our most recent order on the chalk board

Working hard

One of the auxiliary programs is called Village Art which provides jobs to women in the village who can sew and weave.

Faith (third from left) and all of the ladies

RETCo. works with Village Art quite a bit! We get all of our cloth totes and drawstring bags (that come free with each RETCo. purchase) from them.

We also just created a quilt with them. Here's a sneak peak...

Have a great Monday!

-Kerbi
Team RETCo.

What it is all about...

You may or may not know this, but Red Earth Trading Co. is not all about great jewelry.  It is about so much more!  It is about real people with real lives and helping in a real way.

In brief, RETCo. exists to help sustain an organization called Global Support Mission that works with local organizations, called Network Affiliates, in developing countries.  Inside Global Support Mission exists a a program called Know.Think.Act.  Know.Think.Act. allows people to get involved and raise money for actual needs in the organizations we support.  So like I said, it is not all about great jewelry.
 

My name is Katie Sasser and I not only work for RETCo., but I also work for Global Support Mission (GSM).  My husband and I live in Uganda, Africa working with one of our Network Affiliate's called Bringing Hope to the Family.  So, from time to time I will post a blog that talks about what is going on over here, and how buying jewelry is changing the world one community, one family, one person at a time.

Recently, we finished a well in a village called Kariruga located in Western Uganda in the Katooke district. This money for this well was raised on www.knowthinkact.com.  It was just people sharing the vision and wanting to give.  This well supplies clean water to 29 families that can sleep better at night knowing that they do not have to worry about diseases due to unclean water.

stay adventurous

-katie
Team RETCo.

If you are interested in learning more please visit www.globalsupportmission.com and www.knowthinkact.com 

Know.Think.Act

Know.Think.Act, another GSM program, is an online community that lists specific needs in Africa and allows you to pick a project and raise money for it. These projects include everything from mosquito nets and building wells, to HIV treatment and transportation. You raise the money, and locals carry out the change. 100% of the money raised goes towards the project you choose, and you get to see the progress.

Yes, 100% of the money goes toward the projects. Know.Think.Act is able to do that because of us (this is where part of RETCo's profits go) and GSM Legacy Partners (people and businesses that support GSM's operations).



Moses' Story from Global Support Mission on Vimeo.

That's just one of the many stories that we've been able to be a part of through Know.Think.Act. If you want to hear more stories, click here.

Remember, every time you make a purchase from Red Earth, you're not only supporting local businesses in Africa, you're also helping kids like Moses.

If you'd like more information on becoming a Legacy Partner, email info@globalsupportmission.com

Team RETCo

Meet Our Models!

Meet three of our lovely models, Anna, Lisa, and Emilia! We are so thankful for their beauty, time and dear friendship.

Anna

Hi, I'm Anna! I met Travis, Brady and the GSM crew in the summer of 2007 and the vision they shared with me about Global Support Mission was amazing. As I've gotten to know them and work with them through the years, they have consistently been a source of inspiration. From their humble, gracious hearts to their creativity to daily putting their words and ideals into action and growing the organization to what it is today!

Upon meeting them and learning what GSM is all about, I immediately let them know that if there was anything I could do to help them I would be happy to! Since then, I've had the honor of helping out with a couple of their "This Is Love" banquets, hosting a couple Red Earth Trade Co. events at my house, hosting Faith from Bringing Hope To the Family while she was in town, and now most recently modeling for the Red Earth Trading Co. website.

I can't say enough about GSM/RETCo and all the people involved with these organizations. They are truly impacting the world daily and I'm thrilled to get to be even just a small part of it.

 Lisa

 

Hi, I’m Lisa! I’ve known Kerbi and Katy for a couple years. Before Red Earth, I was introduced to Global Support Mission when I attended a banquet and loved the heart behind the organization. About a year ago, Kerbi mentioned starting a new project with Global Support that would focus on new opportunity through amazing handmade products.  It has been incredible to see the project come to life and I’m honored to even be a tiny part of RETCO! The products are absolutely beautiful and they support such a great cause. 

 Emilia

Hello, I’m Emilia! I met Travis and Maggie in 2009 through a friend who was involved with Global Support Mission. I had heard much about GSM and highly respected their vision to help community leaders in developing countries fight extreme poverty. God had placed Africa on my heart early in my life and I desperately wanted to be involved! I went to Uganda with the team in the Spring of 2010. I got to see first-hand all the ways in which the lives of people were drastically changed by the work that Global Support had already done. After one month, I was (thankfully) destroyed and will never see things the same again.

An important part of community development is obviously self-sufficiency, and Red Earth Trading Company seeks to support this by shipping beautiful products straight from the communities who produced them and turning around to return 100% of the profit back to these communities through the work of GSM. THAT is awesome. It’s amazing to see what God’s doing through GSM and RETCo and I am so grateful to be a part of it!

Hello I'm Katie

Hello, my name is Katie!  This is my family, my husband Chris and my two boys Kolby and Logan.  We live in Uganda, Africa working with Global Support Mission as their International Coordinators on the ground.

We have known Travis and been friends with him for many years.  Back in 2007 Chris and I were leading missions trips through our church and we were looking for a place to go that summer.  Travis came down to the coast and we reconnected and he told us about Global Support and we all decided that it would be amazing to go to Uganda and support GSM and the organization, Bringing Hope to the Family, that they were assisting.  So, in July 2007, we came and life as we knew it would never be the same.  While we were on that trip God spoke to us and Travis that we were to come and live in this tiny village in Western Uganda called Kaihura.  When we returned to the States, the journey of shutting down our lives there and working towards setting up our lives here had begun.

In January 2009 our family officially moved to Uganda, and the life unknown was beginning.  Our time here so far has been amazing.  We love working for GSM and we love seeing its vision unfold.  We work here and serve alongside Bringing Hope to the Family doing whatever we can to help them accomplish their vision.  We do that in many different ways.  We work toward helping them create systems and organization.  Through Know.Think.Act we help fullfil their vision toward community development.  The ultimate goal is to get them to be self sufficient through cost reduction and income generating projects.   And this is where Red Earth Trading Co.'s vision comes into play also.

This past summer while Travis, Brady and others were in Uganda RETCO was birthed.  There are so many talented people who can do such incredible things with the local materials that they have available to them.  But, like Travis stated in his blog, there is a very limited market.  So why not help them and help ourselves which will in turn help them even more because more money will just be poured right back in.   It is a win, win, win situation!

RETCO not only has the vision to just help provide a new market for these Artisans, but also help them create new and better product.  So this is where I come in.  Along with the work my husband and I do for GSM, I also have been doing a lot of work for RETCO.  Here in Kaihura, Bringing Hope had a tailoring shop that they set up for income generation and to also create jobs for some of the best students that graduated from their vocational school.  Unfortunately this shop was causing them to lose money rather than make money.  But, this year I have made it a big project of mine on behalf of GSM and RETCO to help them get this business on the right foot.  This is easier said than done, but we have made tremendous headway and I am so pleased at the progress that has been made.  I have worked with them to create many new and better quality products.  Some of these products you can see when you visit a RETCO party or stand.  I am really looking forward to this next year to see what new things come about.  I also work with all the other partners we do business with and they are all so excited and so grateful for this partnership they now have with RETCO.  It is truly a life changer for them.  Thank you so much for supporting us as we do everything we can to support them.  I hope you love and enjoy the products.  There are amazing stories behind them!

stay adventurous>

Katie
East Africa Product Manager