SMALL BUSINESS: Sisters In Trade

FROM KARACHI TO DURBAN, AMERICAN WOMEN ARE LINKING UP WITH FEMALE ARTISANS

Who could have predicted that foot scrubbers would bring big change to a small village in Pakistan? Ann Thariani's fascination with handcrafted terra-cotta foot scrubbers began when she lived in Karachi with her Pakistani architect husband Kumy and led them to start a company, Gilden Tree. Sales of the product skyrocketed, but the women who made the scrubbers were not the only beneficiaries. The Tharianis decided to pay to educate the women's offspring, with one challenging stipulation: the girls, who often stay at home in rural Pakistan, had to go to school with the boys. "Everything Gilden Tree does is a...

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