Bridge for Africa means fair trade

March 15, 8:48 PMVallejo Community ExaminerPatricia Kutza

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Photo credit:  Vince Mezzera, Bridge for Africa 

The faltering US economy has sent many  businesses in a tailspin.  And every day seems to bring news of yet another non-profit  feeling the pinch in a big way.  So when I called Vince Mezzera,  business manager for A Bridge for Africa Foundation, a fair trade non-profit that sells crafts made by artisans living in seven African nations,  I was pleasantly surprised to hear that there is still some 'good news'  around.  

"Our business model does not rely on donations and grants." he says.  "We have a self-sustaining profit model,  funneling all our profits back  to the artisans whose handicrafts we sell and to the training initiatives and community development we support."   Bridge for Africa's client base is primarily wholesale and Mezzera attributes its ability to withstand the current economic doldrums to having a wide geographic distribution.  "We sell primarily to museum stores" he says. Its handicrafts can be seen at such high-traffic locations as the Clinton Presidential Museum (Little Rock), the Art Institute (Chicago), Denver's Art Museum, the Museum of African Diaspora (San Francisco) and  Kindred Fair Trade Handcrafts (Santa Rosa).

A life-long Vallejo resident, Mezzera was first introduced  to the fair trade concept while doing fellowship work with the First Christian Church.  "I loved it so much that when I had the opportunity to work with Bridge for Africa I jumped at the chance" he says.  Mezzera manages the relationships Bridge has with its Africa-based artists and handles all the logistics involved with its wholesale accounts.  High on his wish list is finding more time to devote to widening Bridge's reach.  "We have more projects than we have resources" Mezzera says. "I would love to build out our volunteer program."  Finding volunteers to sell Bridge's crafts at Farmers' Markets would be ideal, he says.  As well as locating folks who would be willing to sell at such venues as church events or festivals. 

From the broad array of colorful and finely-crafted products at Bridge's website, it is easy to visualize how eye-catching these handicrafts would look displayed in a booth at many of the festivals that grace Vallejo's waterfront.   The product line includes jewelry, beads, textiles, tableware and dolls.  Baskets fashioned from telephone wire , from the South Africa's eastern region, continue to be an especially hot item, Mezzera says.

Hearing how the artisans' lives are changed by their connection to Bridge is all the reward he needs, says Mezzera.  "There are areas of Africa really ridden with disease and  tribal warfare.  An artisan told me that she can now send her daughter to high school.  In her area, that is practically unheard of ." 

To read more about fair trade businesses, Vince Mezzera recommends visiting The Fair Trade Federation website.

Listen to an interesting  conversation with Vince Mezzera on TravelTalkRadio. (Click on Segment 8)