Our Mission to Empower…

SAME SKY is powered by a fair trade jewelry initiative that offers employment to women living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. Trained as artisans, the women of SAME SKY earn 15 to 20 times the average Sub Saharan wage to hand-crochet beautiful glass bead jewelry. Instead of a handout, we believe in giving women a hand-up and the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.

Our team believes in the power of conscientious consumerism and the direct impact it can have on the lives of women artisans. For example, the purchase of one Glass Bead Bracelet buys an HIV+ artisan healthcare for an entire year… The purchase of a Sky Glass Bead Necklace provides an artisan’s child with a year of education.

The History Behind It…

In 1994, Rwanda was torn apart by a brutal and swift genocide—in roughly 100 days, close to one million Rwandan citizens were murdered. The UN estimates that a quarter of a million women were raped and 70% of them contracted HIV/AIDS. These women were used as weapons of war, and afterwards were left as widows, single mothers, and orphaned teenage girls.

SAME SKY was born to give these women a hand-up, and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. We are a ‘trade-not-aid’ initiative that provides women in need with artisan training, supplies, education and a work environment. We empower the artisans to take control of their own lives –using their earnings to provide their families with food, clothing, education, and clean water. All SAME SKY women earn 15 to 20 times the average Sub Saharan wage to crochet beautiful, glass beaded fair trade jewelry.

Where You Come In…

Thanks to SAME SKY’s tremendous supporters, our vision to empower more women and to change more lives has been a success.  We recently expanded to Zambia, one of the world’s most devastated HIV/AIDS afflicted populations, where one in every seven adults is living with AIDS. Starting with just 4 artisans in Kigali, Rwanda, SAME SKY now employs over 85 artisans in both Rwanda and Zambia.  100% of net proceeds are reinvested to train and employ more women in need.

With every SAME SKY purchase you are empowering not just these women artisan’s, but also their families and communities at large.

fair trade jewelry