If you know where to look, you will find some incredible gifts this Christmas. Sustainable & unique corporate and personal gifts that tick every piece of goodness. Style | Unique | Sustainable | Genuine | Community & Cause | Good ValueOn of our absolute favs for gifts and homewares is the Not For Profit, Global Sisters. This Christmas they have created seven amazing Christmas Gift Boxes with real impact. The box contents are made by more than 28 collaborating Global Sisters and are packed full of gourmet treats and handmade Christmas decorations. Perfect for corporate gifts, co-workers or loved ones. While the gifts are gorgeous, every purchase makes a real difference to the lives of the women running their small businesses. (Global Sisters give unemployable women business skills and micro loans to get started. Once trained, the women graduate as Sisters and start their own social enterprise businesses in their area of expertise. Many make products that reflect their country of origin and sell them in the Global Sisters Marketplace online.)Apart from their great work, we specially love Global Sister's gift boxes as they are an excellent way to get your hands on unique Christmas decorations, indigenous food, craft and art from many countries of the world - mostly made right here in Australia. The box shown above contains beautiful, totally unique handmade foods - Organic Scroggin snack mix | Moroccan Spiced Nut Mix | Lady finger biscuits | Gingerbread men | Oven roasted granola | Almond and fennel brittle | Lilly Pilly Pomegranate bush tea. It is the hand made collaboration of 21 sisters and is $69.The Christmas tree decorations are made by many different sisters, including indigenous Australian, Japanese sisters and many others. Prices range from $6 to $12.There are now 270 sisters in the Global Sisters program across four states in Australia. The sisters are from 50 different countries from Afghanistan to Serbia to Vietnam. (51% of Global Sisters originate from overseas.) Sophie Wallace Crabbe, Head of Retail at Global Sisters says that, "Our greatest success is when a woman with reduced options is empowered to have greater choice."She goes on to say that, "Supporting financial independence for women, supports their families and our communities. When women and girls over 16 earn income, they reinvest 90% of it in their families, compared to men who reinvest only 30% to 40%." (This commitment level is something they share with women around the world. We reported on with the IAPF Akashinga anti-poacher women in Africa last Mother's day.Their commitment to their own community was 3 x times that of men who had previously done the job.) In the year ahead, Global Sisters will be implementing new technology to scale their program. They will also be piloting their distance program with women in rural and remote communities across Australia as well as extending their reach and depth of impact in our current five locations. They will continue building mechanisms for long term organisational sustainability as well as advocating for change in the national employment services model so that it supports the flexible alternative of home based business for women facing barriers to mainstream employment.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON GIFT BOXES: The Artisan Christmas boxes are available for pre-order at prices ranging from $39 to $220 and the Xmas Ornaments from $6. Order closing date is 31st October for delivery 1st week of December. For bulk orders please contact Sophie Tran (sophie@globalsisters.org or call 0415 074 484).