Mercado Global
Encyclopedia
Established in 2004, Mercado Global is a 501(c)3 non-profit fair trade
organization that links indigenous artisans in rural Guatemala
n communities to sales opportunities in the United States
through a model that provides both fair wages and investments in local educational projects. Mercado Global partners with thirty-one artisan cooperatives
whose members have seen their daily income increase three-fold, has provided scholarships to send hundreds of their children to school, and has seen significantly increased levels of food security and access to electricity and water in the communities where it operates.
Mercado Global has offices in New Haven, CT and Panajachel, Guatemala
.
Like many non-profit organizations, Mercado Global lists its internships on the interactive website idealist.org.
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
organization that links indigenous artisans in rural Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n communities to sales opportunities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
through a model that provides both fair wages and investments in local educational projects. Mercado Global partners with thirty-one artisan cooperatives
Artist cooperative
An artist cooperative is an autonomous visual arts organization, enterprise, or association jointly-owned and democratically-controlled by its members. Artist cooperatives are legal entities organized as non-capital stock corporations, non-profit organizations, or unincorporated associations...
whose members have seen their daily income increase three-fold, has provided scholarships to send hundreds of their children to school, and has seen significantly increased levels of food security and access to electricity and water in the communities where it operates.
Mercado Global has offices in New Haven, CT and Panajachel, Guatemala
Panajachel
Panajachel is a town in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands, in the department of Sololá. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The altitude is...
.
Internships
As part of its mission to foster a sense of global responsibility among the next generation of U.S. leaders and consumers, Mercado Global accepts a limited number of U.S. students as interns at its offices in Guatemala and the United States. The internship offers the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of a non-profit organization while becoming familiar with the growing fair trade industry.Like many non-profit organizations, Mercado Global lists its internships on the interactive website idealist.org.
Awards
- 2007 Brick Award from the Do SomethingDo SomethingDo Something is a non-profit organization that motivates young people to take action around social changes through national campaigns and grants for projects that make an impact. The organization's CEO is Nancy Lublin, who founded Dress for Success in 1996.-History:The organization was co-founded...
Foundation. - Executive Director Ruth DeGolia recognized as an “Architect of the Future” by Austria’s Waldzell Institute for being an “exceptional emerging world leader and social entrepreneur” in September 2007.
- DeGolia and co-founder Benita Singh featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in honor of their selection as two of the “15 People Who Make America Great” on July 10, 2006.
- Innovation in Social Enterprise AwardSocial enterpriseA social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....
from the Social Enterprise Alliance in April 2005. - DeGolia and Singh named among “the World’s Best Emerging Social Entrepreneurs” by the Echoing Green FoundationEchoing greenFor the electronic band, see The Echoing Green , for the poem see The Echoing GreenEchoing Green is a twenty year-old global non-profit organization operating in the area of early-stage social sector investing...
in 2004. - Yale Entrepreneurial SocietyYale Entrepreneurial SocietyThe Yale Entrepreneurial Society is a student-run nonprofit 5013 organization dedicated to encouraging entrepreneurship and business development in the New Haven, Connecticut area. YES was founded in 1999 by Yale undergraduates Sean Glass and Miles Lasater...
’s Grand Prize at the Annual Business Plan Competition in 2004.