Member of the month: BHCrafts

From humanitarian to successful business project
BHcrafts is the title of the project which unites creative, humanitarian, business and psychotherapeutic characteristics in a highly balanced and outstandingly successful manner.It is the project of production of handmade clothing and decorative items, which involves women from Bosnia and Herzegovina.Non governmental humanitarian organization Norwegian People’s Aid has started this project in 1995. In the beginning, the project has had prominently humanitarian character, and today, it has developed into a successful and export-oriented business, which is still successfully developing. The result of that development is the enterprise BHcrafts, which is in charge of promoting and selling Bosnian handicrafts in country and abroad.

The way one humanitarian idea developed into a successful business project
BHcrafts is, in every respect, outstanding and successful project. Women, among whom are many of those whose husbands, children, brothers and fathers were killed in the last war, are enabled to integrate into normal way of life again, in the best possible way by means of creativity and personal engagement. All relevant researches has proved that it is the best and the most effective way to confront the war traumas and to eliminate their consequences. Within our program women of different ethnic background from both of the B&H entities were given a chance to forget their difficult past, through a lot of work, care and subtle socialization.

Synthesis of skill and natural materials
Clothing and program for household, made in the BHcrafts, elicit undivided enthusiasm. The leading world media have written about attractiveness and quality of our handicraft products. Each product is unique, hand-made in traditional techniques of knitting, crocheting and weaving, which have made BHcrafts products recognizable and appreciated. These products, regardless of whether they are clothing items, table cloths or carpets, cannot be the subject of mass production. The products are handmade, with devotion and persistence, without the use of machines. Most of the products are made of chemically untreated wool and cotton, in the process which obeys the strict ecological standards.

Ecology, business, self-consciousness
The products of the BHcrafts are made with use of domestic raw materials, thus supporting the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the ecologically conscientious project, which does not pollute the environment in not a single stage of production (paper bags, cardboard boxes, looms for weaving). The project promotes Bosnia and Herzegovina in an attractive and original manner by export of the high-quality products. Our products are mixture of traditional and modern achievements of design, which is the combination that ensures a successful existence at the demanding world market.

Social responsibility and fair trade
Bhcrafts is the first recognized, and awarded, social entrepreneurship from Balkans (The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2002), as well as the first certified fair trade producer, and still the only one in BiH ( International Fair Trade Association – IFAT in 2009) and the winner, in the category “URBAN& REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT”, of Sustainable Entrepreneurship Award – SEA, in 2013. As the pioneer in both categories, BHcrafts has kept promoting Fair Trade principles and Socially Responsible Business ever since then.