The Bootstrap Project

The Bootstrap Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that promotes sustainable livelihoods by creating and implementing projects for underserved communities. We partner with artisans both to improve their skills and resources and to help train them as teachers so others in their communities can gain skills and a livelihood. We then help these artisans tell their stories and share their crafts. The benefits we offer our customers are products with a design aesthetic, a direct, personal connection to the producers of the goods, a transparent, sustainable supply chain, and the knowledge that proceeds go towards reviving culture and most importantly to providing real sustainable livelihoods. The Bootstrap Project partners with microfinance lenders and other nonprofits to provide vital resources and fair income to artisans in developing countries around the world by selling their crafts and sharing their stories. We work with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. This income helps pay for food, education, health care, and housing. We, at The Bootstrap Project, believe that everyday purchases, whether they are home furnishings, accessories, or gifts, have the power to create lasting social change. We are an organization that promotes economic, social, and environmental justice and leverage this as a vehicle for social change.