Artisans from Thailand

Hill Top Crafts in Chiang Rai, Thailand employs Hmong women who sew unique, handmade purses. The artisans employed at Hill Top Crafts send their much-needed income home to their families in small villages in Laos and Vietnam. They are provided with shelter, as well as leadership training and discipleship courses. Their work at Hill Top Crafts helps them build self-esteem, encourage self-confidence, and provides essential hands-on skills to be successful in life. The women donate a portion of their sales to provide food, clothing, and shelter for orphans.

WorldCrafts’ first artisan group, Thai Country Trim provides a safe haven for battered women to receive emotional and financial support. With this provision of living wages, hundreds of women throughout the Thailand are employed by the artisan group. All of Thai Country Trim’s employees have been able to put their children through college with their earnings. The women learn the joy of working with their hands as they heal from their histories of abuse. The artisans of Thai Country Trim share that the most important thing they have learned is that they are unconditionally and eternally loved by their Father.

The talent and tranquility of The Well artisans belie their astoundingly difficult backgrounds: one was sold into prostitution by her family as a small child; several were teenage bar workers; and another was a single mom with no resources. They have discovered their own innate talents through careful training in Thai arts, and The Well has given them a sense of hope and a positive vision for their futures. Today, these women have dreams of opening their own businesses; becoming doctors, nurses, lawyers, and teachers; and sending their children to school.