We are so excited to be releasing an exclusive collection of embroidered ribbon pigtail sets, each of which are handmade by a group of seven artisans from Bayonnais, Haiti. Wunderkin has been partnering with a non-profit to bring entrepreneurship training to the town of Bayonnais so women and men can use their talents to create a better life for themselves and their families. Making bows for Wunderkin is just one part of a larger plan for empowerment through business.
The town of Bayonnais is four hours from Haiti's capital of Port au Prince. To get there, one must drive three hours around the coast and then take a one hour off-road drive into the mountains and through a river. Bayonnais has about 10,000 people populating the rural mountain region and has no electricity or running water.
When I (Hillary) went to Haiti for the first time, I fell in love with the beauty all around - the people, the culture and the scenery. I quickly made friends with the boys and girls in middle school, because they spoke the same amount of French as I did. Creole is the language spoken in rural areas, but French is taught in schools.
One day I was walking with a student named Sidson, and I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He told me he wanted to open a barber shop in America so he could bring electricity to Bayonnais. He also wanted to open an "all you can eat" buffet with endless amounts of chicken. As he was describing this to me, his eyes lit up with hope. But suddenly, his face grew somber and he said “but there is no possibility for me.” This broke my heart. We at Wunderkin are hoping that through entrepreneurship training we can help provide the tools for these great ideas to come to fruition.
We are proud to say that 100% of the profits from this collection of bows will go back to the non-profit and artisan group that made them so they can use the funds to grow their businesses. When making our bows, these artisans are paid a wage similar to that of an hourly school teacher. The artisan group and the bows they've made for Wunderkin Co is just the start of the women and men being equipped to learn business practices, and eventually create something that is sourced from Haiti and made for Haitians. Thank you so much for your support!
