Nontando

Nontando is a store in Sarasota, Florida offering crafts and good made in Africa. The store has been open since 2002. They buy their merchandise by traveling to Africa once a year, working closely with the artists and crafts people and choosing each piece sold in the retail stores one at a time. The collection of merchandise includes home décor items, African art and a variety of gifts. Customers can shop at the store knowing they are not only getting authentic African handicrafts, they are supporting the people of the country and their efforts to survive. The materials in the store include work from all 53 nations of Africa and each of the 800 distinct ethnic groups. Merchandise is also available at the Nontando website. Today, there are many products on the market in the United States that are labeled as fair trade. While this might help the consumer feel good about his purchase, Nontando believes it actually makes life more difficult for the artist in the country of origin. Laborers who create fair trade products are often treated as slave labor. Nontando instead uses items that are labeled free trade. This means the buyers for the retail shop work directly with the artist at their homes or in their villages. The artist creates whatever he so choose and if Nontando believes it will sell successfully in its store, the item is purchased for a price the artist chooses.