Small Business Saturday #ABQ: Local & Socially Conscious Gift Ideas

On Small Business Saturday (and ahead of #GivingTuesday), we would like to highlight  a handful of local organizations that serve the community by creating jobs for low-income people or providing space for artistic expressions. You can support some of these organizations with a donation during the holiday season. In some instances, you can make a purchase. We also list a couple of small businesses that offer unique gifts that are produced almost entirely here in Albuquerque.

Supporting Community Arts

from Artful Life website

You can make a donation during the holidays to one of these three organizations. Art Street (a project of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless) and OffCenter Community Arts Project each offer an open studio, a space for anyone and everyone to create various forms of art. Artful Life is a New Mexico-based community organization dedicated to transforming communities through the beauty and power of collaborative art.

• Donate to OffCenter: Our mission is to promote positive self-identity and resilience through art-making by providing a safe environment for creative social interaction with an emphasis to enhance the lives of those most marginalized in our community, "
• Donate to Art Street (via AHCH): Our community-based project and collective open studio space where art is used as the connection for community-building for those without and those with homes. Art therapists also facilitate closed group sessions weekly for sub-sections of AHCH clients.
• Donate to Artful Life. Together, artists and residents of underserved communities work together over months and years to co-envision, co-design and co-create significant works of art. In doing so, they find each other in new ways, discover the power of working in teams, and create.  Their creative work tells the public who they are, where they live, and what they dream. 

Textiles, Creativity and Job Opportunities

from Southwest Creations website

A handful of organizations and businesses in Albuquerque offer low-income women the opportunity to learn about the textile and confection business. Southwest Creations Collaborative was organized as a sewing and handwork poverty alleviation project 13 years ago with a single goal: to provide dignified, living wage employment to women from low-income communities. Tenderlove Community Center teaches skills to women that allow them to enter or re-enter the job market after traumatic circumstances, including survival of domestic violence or incarceration.

• Donate to Southwest Creations Collaborative. Since we opened our doors in 1994 we have provided dignified employment while improving access to education for youth and adults. We have also developed and implemented proven strategies in college readiness, family engagement, early childhood development, employability and leadership.
• Donate to Tenderlove Community Center. Our sewing curriculum gives women a sense of accomplishment while learning marketable skills. Skills learned in sewing classes are transferable to other jobs and situations, making our students employable across the job market. Sewing allows caregivers to adapt their work schedules to accommodate family needs while continuing to help support themselves and their family.
• Kei & Molly Textiles, founded in 2010, opened its retail space in the International District of Albuquerque in April 2017. One of the missions of the company is to help and employ immigrants in the community. "We are committed to creating good jobs in this area, and work with refugee resettlement programs to find many of our employees. We provide on-the-job training, health and education benefits, flexible hours, and, we hope, a great place to work," said the company website. Textiles designed by Kei Tsuzuki and Molly Luethi are sold around the county, and the new retail space (located at 4400 Silver Ave. SE) makes the items more accessible locally.  Shop for products online.  See list of other retail locations nationwide that carry items from Kei & Molly Textiles.
• Common Good Thrift and Consigment (2902 Eubank NE) is an upscale thrift store that raises funds to support the  community programs of East Central Ministries while also providing volunteers with vocational development, in the form of skills and experience in retail and customer service. The store accepts donations of clothing and furniture during regular business hours, Tues - Fri 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturdays 10 am - 4 pm. 
• Immigrant and Refugee Village of Albuquerque serves low or no income, vulnerable kids and families who are refugees, immigrants, and locals, without discrimination, including the homeless and almost homeless populations. A principal objective of the organization is to prevent homelessness by creating a sustainable program to train and hire 75 people annually through the manufacture of traditionally inspired garments and accessories for eventual sale online in New Mexico and globally. The organization also promotes education and gardening (including nutrition). Donate to the IRVA (via paypal)

Food and Agriculture
Here are three totally different ways to support local programs or purchase local products.

Three Sisters Kitchen opened in 2017 to fulfill a need and to complement existing food and health programming in Albuquerque. This is a place for people to come together to eat, cook, learn, and build. As a discovery-based test kitchen, community classroom and local foods shop we support the incubation of new ideas and work towards our vision of a food-secure community with a vibrant culture of health and a deep commitment to food and economic justice Donate

 La Cosecha, a community supported agriculture project of Agri‑Cultura Network, feeds more than 300 families every week in Albuquerque. Agri-Cultura Network is comprised of nine local farms committed to using sustainable practices to grown food for our community. "We work to create a healthier food system, build self-sufficiency among local farmers and families, and improve community health by increasing access to healthy, affordable, locally-grown food and community-based nutrition education," said La Cosecha CSA" We offer members the opportunity to invest in local farms and receive weekly bags of locally grown, sustainably produced, fresh fruits & vegetables as the return on your investment." La Cosecha CSA provides subsidized and sponsored produce for qualified low-income families.  Learn More about Joining the Project

Los Poblanos Farm Shop. Located on the historic Los Poblanos Ranch in Albuquerque's North Valley, the shop features artisan lavender products and a broad selection of farm foods, books, seeds, kitchen tools, linens, household items and much more. "We take pride in hand-crafting quality, meaningful products for you and your family."  Shop for Gifts

(Note: This is Part 2 of our ethical trade series for this year.  Part 1 listed organizations that offer Fair Trade products in Albuquerque and Santa Fe)