How it All Began

Fifteen years ago, back in 2003, eight Ghanaian and American women put their heads together to solve a problem. The Ghanaian founders were talented seamstresses and batikers living on an erratic income from week to week, never knowing if there’d be enough orders to meet their families’ needs – often there was not. Inconsistent work made long term planning an impossibility and short term finances an ongoing worry. In the local market, their handcrafted goods were competing with a flood of cheap secondhand garments from the western world and mass produced printed textiles from Asia.

Global Mamas was Born

With the number one goal of providing sustainable livelihoods to women in Cape Coast, Global Mamas was born– so named by the Mamas themselves. With a shared love and respect for one another, working within a fair trade framework was the obvious choice for our community. Over the years we’ve stayed true to our original mission of creating a life of prosperity for African women and their families by creating and selling handcrafted products of the highest quality. Each year we’ve continued to push ourselves to find new ways to make our impact more meaningful through capacity building, health care education, and most recently with our transition to organic fabric. But at the end of the day, it is our never wavering commitment to providing steady, reliable income that brings peace of mind and creates thriving families and communities for craftswomen in Ghana.

Here’s to Another 15 Years!

We’re proud of the work we do and appreciate your recognition of the effort required to maintain our high level of transparency and professional integrity. Our exceptional impact in Ghana would not be possible without the ongoing support of the individuals, retail partners, volunteers, and donors that partner with us in sharing the work of the Mamas. Throughout our 15th year we’re excited to share more stories of Mamas like Deborah to bring home the impact that YOU make possible.