Blog
The Cruel Math of Poverty: 7 Ways the System Ch...
By Zein Ahmed One of the greatest ironies of poverty is this: the poorer you are, the more expensive life becomes. People often assume the poor spend less because they...
The Cruel Math of Poverty: 7 Ways the System Ch...
By Zein Ahmed One of the greatest ironies of poverty is this: the poorer you are, the more expensive life becomes. People often assume the poor spend less because they...
Handmade Takes Time, Privilege Wants It Fast
By Zein Ahmed There is a persistent, harmful misconception in Pakistan: “Rural products should be inexpensive, easy to make, and delivered fast.” This idea is so normalized that most people don’t...
Handmade Takes Time, Privilege Wants It Fast
By Zein Ahmed There is a persistent, harmful misconception in Pakistan: “Rural products should be inexpensive, easy to make, and delivered fast.” This idea is so normalized that most people don’t...
She Was Bred to Follow. We Need Her to Lead.
By Zein Ahmed I am sitting across from a woman named Zara. She is perhaps forty, but her hands look sixty. They are stained with dye, calloused from the needle,...
She Was Bred to Follow. We Need Her to Lead.
By Zein Ahmed I am sitting across from a woman named Zara. She is perhaps forty, but her hands look sixty. They are stained with dye, calloused from the needle,...
The Fair Trade Circus: Why Ethical Certificatio...
By Zein Ahmed A truth the global development world doesn’t want to hear… I run Love Handmade, a women-run artisan enterprise in rural Pakistan. We pay fair wages. We pay...
The Fair Trade Circus: Why Ethical Certificatio...
By Zein Ahmed A truth the global development world doesn’t want to hear… I run Love Handmade, a women-run artisan enterprise in rural Pakistan. We pay fair wages. We pay...
How to Spot a Real Social Business When Transpa...
You want to buy ethical. You want your purchase to actually change lives. But how do you verify fairness when the artisans you're trying to support can't be publicly named or...
How to Spot a Real Social Business When Transpa...
You want to buy ethical. You want your purchase to actually change lives. But how do you verify fairness when the artisans you're trying to support can't be publicly named or...
So You Want to ‘Support Rural Artisans?’ Start ...
By Zein Ahmed A reality check for well-meaning buyers, craft lovers, social entrepreneurs — and anyone who has ever sent me a DM beginning with “Can you make this in...
So You Want to ‘Support Rural Artisans?’ Start ...
By Zein Ahmed A reality check for well-meaning buyers, craft lovers, social entrepreneurs — and anyone who has ever sent me a DM beginning with “Can you make this in...