Fair Trade in Waconia, MN

Divas Fair Trade, owned by Guisela Pinto and Juan Llerena is an online and pop-up fair trade business based out of Waconia, MN.

The Peruvian couple came to Minnesota about 20 years ago with dreams of making a home here, a family and careers, For doing so, they also have been helping build the dreams of others through their fair-trade business.

Connections to their home country of Peru enabled the local couple to share the beauty from that part of the world and make connections to local artisans and farmers. Having the opportunity to travel and visit many places, has given the couple the opportunity to do a very special work: educate the communities where they live and work about the impact of our purchasing decisions.

They call Divas Fair Trade a social enterprise that’s all about empowering women from other countries with dignified jobs and fair wages.They have a passion to help others, and believe that empowering women abroad and locally can help alleviate many of the problems that society faces today.

A portion of their profits fund interest-free micro-lending programs that benefit people worldwide mainly women and children to start their own entrepreneurial projects or access the education they need to advance. The couple invests in education and people.

Guisela also points out that materials employed by artisan partners are often reclaimed, recycled and re-used, which helps protect the planet from harmful waste and pollution.

“Divas Fair Trade provides something a typical shopping experience doesn’t – unique gifts with a purpose,” Guisela said. “Shoppers can feel confident that a significant percentage of their purchase goes directly to the artisans and farmers who created the items.”

You can shop and sign up for their email list on their website https://divasfairtrade.com to keep informed of their events and read the blog at https://divasfairtrade.com/blog/