Although ME to WE was created to fund the life-changing development and educational work of WE Charity, the creation of its socially responsible products and experiences has a significant impact that is fully separate from the donations.

Every ME to WE project is filtered through two lenses. It must make money to fund charitable projects, and—just as importantly—it must do good in the world in and of itself. This takes a wide variety of forms, women artisans creating beautiful beadwork pieces, to the more than 350 jobs created in partner communities to host ME to WE Trips, to hundreds of farmers receiving empowering wages as they produce ME to WE chocolate and coffee. Many of these positions are highly skilled, including architects, engineers, chefs, interpreters and guides.

This is just a small glimpse of ME to WE’s closed loop system, wherein profits from the purchase of socially concious products made in partner communities return to those same communities.

Beginning in 2010 with a group of just 20 women, ME to WE Artisans has grown exponentially. Women who once spent their days fetching water, farming and doing whatever they could to survive and support their families are now able to follow their dreams as entrepreneurs and artists, working as leaders in their communities.

ME to WE Artisans is a line of original accessories handcrafted by artisans in WE Charity’s partner communities across the globe. It started with a vision: to not only create a way for talented artisans to earn the income they deserve, but to foster a collective of women empowering one another globally. To date, ME to WE Artisans has partnered with more than 1,800 women in Kenya and Ecuador, empowering each woman to build a brighter future for herself, her family and her community.

The women who took part in ME to WE Artisans were able to earn twice as much as what is considered a fair wage in their country—without giving up their traditional way of life. Today, the women who took part in ME to WE Artisans have gone on to use the capital earned through their work to start their own businesses.

ME to WE retail products, including ME to WE Artisans, also offer a Track Your Impact code to show consumers what their purchase provided to WE Charity. Through this model, consumers can see exactly what their dollars provided, and where the donation was delivered. For example, the purchase of a ME to WE bracelet might fund education for a child in Kenya for one year.

Aside from steady employment, ME to WE Artisans also offers small-business training for extremely marginalized women to further develop a source of income to support their families. To complete the closed loop, partial proceeds from the purchase of Artisans goods support development programs such as schools and clean water systems in the very regions where the women live and work.

This is not a system of aid, but a co-operative partnership where artisans receive a wage for their work. Every decision, both in the ME to WE Artisans program and in building infrastructure around trips, is made through a lens of empowerment. As Mission Measurement reports:

“The WE Villages model approaches development from a rights-based perspective that seeks to empower individuals through the creation of institutions that effectively improve access, change behavior and change the short, mid, and long-term transformative outcomes within each pillar. Pairing the development model with the ME to WE Trips operations model further fuels and accelerates the economic empowerment in each community through job creation, skills-based service, contributions to sustainable development projects, funds raised, and capital committed by visitors following their experience.”