Two Hands Worldshop was founded by a couple in Lawrence, KS after they returned from working in the small country of Guyana in South America. Brady Swenson taught 7th and 8th grade English on Leguan Island in Guyana as a Peace Corps Volunteer between 2003 and 2005. Alicia Erickson developed an after-school art program for the students of Leguan.

In Guyana Brady and Alicia did their shopping in a traditional open-air marketplace where consumers and producers interacted face-to-face. This interaction drove home a simple fact that they had forgotten or perhaps simply hadn't realized: trade is fundamentally a human interaction. We try to provide the faces and stories behind the beautiful arts and crafts we sell to help us remember the real power behind every dollar.

Two Hands Worldshop selects unique products of the highest quality craftsmanship that adhere to the Fair Trade criteria. Fair Trade means a fair wage, safe, cooperative workplaces, long-term business relationships and a chance to preserve cultural artforms. Fair Trade also helps disadvantaged producers by providing access to credit, banking, education and training, a necessity businesses in the developed world take for granted.

Two Hands Worldshop's long term goal is to vertically integrate artisan's production by providing microcredit, training and access to the technologies necessary to produce high quality products with little or no impact on environment and culture while sustaining a healthy retail business to provide a market for these goods.

Read about Two Hands Worldshop in the Lawrence Journal-World.