Swaziland Fair Trade (SWIFT)

*NEW COMPANY PAGE* The Swaziland Fair Trade (SWIFT) organisation began in 2007, and strives to create social and economic empowerment for mostly rural women and some men involved in handcraft in Swaziland. The services and types of support SWIFT offers can be categorized into three pillars: training, trade, and advocacy. SWIFT aims to enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities through training of its members so they can build and expand their business, which will result in more Swazis having sustainable and meaningful employment. SWIFT currently has 87 members, which consists of 45 artisans and 42 small enterprises. SWIFT members are mainly in the handcraft industry with the exception of a few members that are in the agriculture and food processing. The membership in turn has over 3125 staff and producers, 95% of whom are female and income generation and Wellness Programs for this group are a key objectives of SWIFT. The economic empowerment of women is vital to the national wellbeing. Swazi women only gained independence in 2006 before which time women had the legal status of minor children. SWIFT believes the best, and we feel, the only way to sustainably elevate the status of women within our country is through economic empowerment. SWIFT also facilitates health, wellness, and educational support including well-established peer educator programs in HIV, domestic violence prevention and personal financial management training & mentoring.