Alta Gracia – “High-minded Experiment”

Alta Gracia workers

Changing lives one shirt at a time.

This week I want to revisit Alta Gracia, the factory in the Dominican Republic (DR) that pays its workers a “living wage” as opposed to the “minimum wage”.  So what does this mean?  Workers at Alta Gracia earn $2.83 per hour compared to the minimum wage of $0.85 per hour in the DR.  This is the brainchild of Joseph Bozich, the C.E.O. of Knights Apparel in Spartansburg, S.C.  According to Mr. Bozich, “We’re hoping to prove that doing good can be good business, that they’re not mutually exclusive.” Continue reading

Cojolya Association of Maya Women Weavers

Mayan Weaver Photo Courtesy Cojolya

As a weaver, this post is of particular interest to me.  Thanks to two former students, Laura Karner and Gabby Curtis who are currently interning at Cojolya in Guatemala, I became aware of this terrific organization. Continue reading