This weekend I went to the movies with my family and learned about a new film, “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.” The wonders of animation aside, for me the country of Madagascar doesn’t conjure images of lemurs or other cute cartoon characters. Instead when I think of the huge island nation, I remember visiting about two years ago when CRS Fair Trade and our partners at SERRV began a joint project to help artisans enter the global marketplace.

As it turns out, I just had a mini-reunion with two colleagues from SERRV who were on the trip. Jean, product specialist, and Cheryl, responsible for producer relations, welcomed me to their Madison, WI offices for a meeting to discuss how the project was going. We were joined by Kerry, a designer who has traveled to Madagascar a couple of times. She, accompanied by CRS staff, has worked to help the artisans in everything from choosing appealing colors to identifying new weaving materials for their products. I know from my CRS colleagues Nirina and Nombana in the capital of Antanarivo that Kerry is a beloved guest. In fact, everybody at SERRV is great to work with, from receptionist Sarah, who manages visitors who arrive early (that would be me!) to Eva—who I realized I met nine years ago in Mexico–to all the folks in the New Windsor, MD warehouse who ship the Work of Human Hands products from Madagascar and beyond.

We had a full agenda in our meetings, but some of the best parts were hearing updates on how the work in Madagascar was going. In the scope of SERRV’s partners, the Malagasy groups are on the lowest tier in terms of experience and skills. The Fair Trade project started at the ground level with them but thanks to the skills of the artisans, the expertise of SERRV and CRS staff, and the support of the Fair Trade Fund, moderate success has been achieved. Although the odds were against them–facing poverty, malnutrition, lack of raw materials, and inexperience with export markets–the artisans of “Akany Tsimoka” and “Effort and Hope” have created two products for sale. The latest is a cute raffia bag hand-dyed with bright colors that look great for summer fun.

Here’s a photo of one of the artisans working on the bag.

It is nice for me to see this woman smiling. My most vivid memories of Madagascar are of mothers and their children on the floors of “safety net centers.” Through the CRS feeding programs they were receiving nourishment on three hour rotations, slowly building up the strength of the moms so they could care for their infants. To see that the Fair Trade project in Madagascar is helping women thrive is a much better image for me. Two products from 2 groups in 2 years is also a much better sequel than any cartoon on the big screen this summer.