“Firstly we want to educate people about being ‘fair’ when we shop, and secondly it’s about Christians helping Christians who are producing great products but don’t have a market to the West,” says Grant Murray.
The shop sells a range of home wares, fair-trade coffee and tea, accessories for adults and children which came from the third world.
The founding of Tribe & Nations came about in traumatic circumstances as explained by Mignonne where: “We came back to Australia from Tanzania because our son was seriously ill, it was devastating because mission work was our life’s calling. It was so exciting to be sharing the gospel and teaching the bible in another language.”
The Sydneyanglicans.net reported that amid these confusing circumstances about what God could do with the Murray couple in Australia a light appear where they could use their contacts in the third world to contact unreached people in Sydney through fair trade.
Mignonne stated: “We knew all about these beautiful products from our time in Tanzania, we were convicted of the part we could play, in providing a fair trade market bridge between developing countries and the West.”
There were heart breaking circumstances for many Christians in the developing world with both Grant and Migonne experiencing first hand the povetry in Tanzania where: ““We are especially concerned for those who have experienced poverty because of social stigma, such as minority religious groups or AIDS sufferers,” says Mignonne.
Late last year when Mignonne was running a stall at Springwood local Blue gum market an idea for an Internet fair trade company which can operate as a virtual boutique popped up where the goods imported from: South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia is of exceptional good value since it is directly from local producers.
The Tribes & Nations company structure ensures one who does the work receives a fair wage or profit where it has partnered up with organisations such as Priscilla Centre in Assam, India which: “works with women who are or have been commercial sex workers, alcoholics, drug addicts, those who are HIV positive, and early school leavers.”
Further the Priscilla Centre work with local churches to: “Sets up counselling and vocational centres, aiming to transform lives- economically, socially, physically and spiritually.”
Grant explains: “The artisans we work with receive realistic and fair prices they have set themselves. We pay 50 per cent in advance so our suppliers have funds to cover raw materials and their needs during production. By bypassing middlemen, costs are cut and a greater percentage of the retail price goes to the artisans.”
The long-term dream for the Murrays is to have a thriving website that supports Christian ministry in the developing world, and perhaps even a shop front in the Blue Mountains tourist mecca of Leura with Mignonne saying: “It’s quite exciting but nerve-wracking because we have to pay the bills, we know God is sovereign and we are praying that our customers would be touched by God’ love through our work.”
Please visit the websites:http://www.tribesandnations.com.au