Artisan business is an often-overlooked driver of economic growth, especially in developing nations. Second only to agriculture, the artisan sector provides employment for millions of women around the world, while at the same time preserving traditional techniques and culture. The world’s refugee population is exploding. Today there are 68 million refugees whose average length of time as a refugee is 20 years. Refugees have a special status and cannot generally assume formal wage employment in their host country, reliant instead on humanitarian assistance. Many refugees live for decades without the dignity of productive employment and the ability to earn an income for their families.
The Artisan Alliance has travelled across the globe, conducting field visits to learn more about the social and economic impact artisan work has on refugees. In this set of case studies, the Artisan Alliance explores Indego Africa, RefuSHE, and the Jordan River Foundation, three diverse social enterprises working with refugee artisans in Africa and the Middle East. During these field visits, the Artisan Alliance surveyed program participants, conducted in-depth interviews, and documented the insights of relevant stakeholders from the public and private sphere.
While each story is unique, we found many common threads that tie together to create successes working with refugees in the artisan sector. Local staff, the teaching of transferrable skills, psychosocial support, and business and financial literacy training all play a role in the creation of a successful artisan refugee and social enterprise.
After the conclusion of extensive research and field visits, the Artisan Alliance is proud to present this set of case studies: Stories from the Creative Economy: Making the Case for Refugee Artisan Enterprise. It is our hope that these studies build the knowledge base on refugee artisan business and provide actionable new ideas for supporters, investors, and our participating artisan enterprise stakeholders.
To read the full case study report, click here.