On the morning of Saturday, December 8 a fire tore through the back wall of AlterNatives, a local fair trade store in Carytown. The sight of burned clothing and blackened jewelry was devastating, but there was no choice, the store had to be rebuilt. “We have a commitment to families that depend on our work to help them survive,” said Ben Blevins, one of the founders and co-owners of AlterNatives.  Ben referred to the more than one hundred Mayan families in Guatemala that have formed cooperatives for a future of hope and dignity.

The store was started to provide a market for Mayan widows who survived political violence and needed help to establish a new life. Today AlterNatives works to represent artisans from around the world, including Richmond, find opportunities of hope and dignity in the global market.

AlterNatives also works with its sister non-profit, the Highland Support Project, to connect students, religious communities and others to the Mayan communities. Hundreds of people in the Richmond area have joined delegations to Guatemala led by the Highland Support Project. They have participated in reforestation projects and learned about Mayan culture and fair trade. Inspired by Mayan textile patterns,  volunteers  have designed trendy clothes to be produced by the Highland Support Project cooperatives, and sold by AlterNatives. Through these experiences people have come to know the human face and environmental impact behind the fair trade products for sale in the store. 

After years of this work, Richmond now has a network of communities of good will, formed around the goals and principles of AlterNatives and the Highland Support Project. When the fire destroyed the store, individuals and communities from this network mobilized a tremendous amount support. Though the store lost a great deal of inventory and equipment that insurance only in part covered, AlterNatives will reopen after just a few short months thanks to the help that was offered.  People from the community who have been on mission trips with the Highland Support Project donated their time and money. More than $20,000 and many hours of labor was donated by individuals and churches who have seen the importance of the store in the lives of rural women..

 A special thanks to Kevin Berry for his hard work and leadership in helping us to put down a new floor.  It is a difficult thing to get intellectuals to nail straight and you did a great job with egg head labor.

We would also like to express our deepest appreciation to Toney and the crew of Gravity Productions.   They have produced a new commercial for the Richmond market to be aired on Discovery, Travel, Bravo and CNBC at the end of the month in the Richmond market.

A very big thank you too everyone who contributed to the AlterNatives account.

Ann Scott
April Austin
Brandermill Church
Burnet Davis
Carole Morris
Cahterine Allison
Claire Patrick
Burk UMC
Elizabeth Kates
Elizabeth Reid
Florence Ridderhof
Glen Short
Green Alternatives
Herta Okonkwo
J. Denise Honeycutt
Jennifer Landis-Santos
John Gallini
June Vess
Katherine Wood
Kathleen Kenney
Kinda Weaver-Williams
Mary Ann Wright
Micael Posey
Nancy Regan
Paula Powdermaker
Dr. R.M.Browm
R.T. Tepper, Jr.
Rev. Mary Ganz
Rev. Rita Callis
Rev. Rhonda Colby
Richmond Mennonite Fellowship
River Road UMC
Robert Bos
Scott Birkhead
Susan E. Walker
Susana Slayton
Vale UMC
Wayne Morris
Westminister Presbyterian Church

We hope you know that .....nuestra tienda es su tienda!