Crafted by refugees: MADE51
© UNHCR
MADE51 brings beautiful, refugee-made products to the international market. Brought to life by UNHCR, this initiative connects refugees with social enterprise partners to design, produce and market artisanal products around the world.
From the fine leatherwork of Tuareg artisans to the intricate embroidery of the Syrians — given the opportunity, refugees can use their craftsmanship to regain economic independence.
MADE51 creates that opportunity.
MADE51 is an innovative, market-based model that promotes economic inclusion of refugees in global value chains. In the MADE51 model, UNHCR identifies refugees with artisanal skills, helps refugees create strong artisan groups and connects these groups to experienced local social enterprise partners. Together, they develop market-ready products. MADE51 convenes strategic partners from the private sector to curate collections, create marketing opportunities and make products available for sale to consumers worldwide.
MADE51 is the Global Compact on Refugees brought to life. Through this innovative livelihood model, we are taking a whole-of-society approach and convene new partners who are contributing their business strengths to create the world’s first ecosystem for refugee-made products.
MADE51 is also a tangible way to demonstrate solidarity with refugees while helping refugees earn valuable income. Each time someone buys a MADE51 product, they directly enable refugees to earn income and contribute to their host country’s economy. Each MADE51 product demonstrates the talents that refugees possess and how if given the opportunity, they can become positive contributors to societies and economies.
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