Blending contemporary design with traditional Andean techniques, Awamaki creates new opportunities for artisans through its marketplace and award-winning sustainable tourism program, which has more than doubled participating artisans’ income. Ibu supports Awamaki’s work to preserve Quechua weaving traditions, including the creation of community weaving centers.

By working with community conservancies to provide training, resources, and support to more than 1,200 women artisans, BeadWORKS creates sustainable income for families while helping protect fragile grasslands and reducing reliance on environmentally harmful activities. The Ibu Foundation has supported BeadWORKS through a 2020 marketing video campaign and a grant providing 1,000 bead kits, ensuring nomadic artisans can keep their tools close at hand.

Based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Bibi Hanum works with rural artisans who spin, dye, and weave the richly patterned fabric. Founder Muhayo Aliyeva leads a city-based team of designers and makers whose creations have captivated Ibu allies for more than 12 years. The Ibu Foundation provided emergency relief to help Bibi Hanum weather the COVID-19 crisis and later funded a new workspace.

Since 2015 they have expanded their artisan partnerships to include other artisan communities and traditional techniques such as Chimichagua weaving and Maguey, Caña Flecha, and Iraca fiber crafts. The Ibu Marketplace was one of Mola Sasa’s first clients and has supported the brand since its early days.

Founded in 1994 in Zaria, Nigeria, the Queen Amina Embroidery Cooperative has grown from 25 to 40 artisans. Members have used their earnings to send daughters to higher education and purchase family homes. The Ibu Foundation has supported Queen Amina with solar lighting to extend working hours and capacity-building funds for digital marketing, helping the cooperative reach new customers and grow its impact.

Founded in Kyrgyzstan in 1998, the seven founding sisters work alongside 13 women artisans, keeping traditional techniques alive through innovative design. An Ibu Marketplace partner since 2015, Seven Sisters has benefited from the Ibu Foundation’s emergency COVID-19 relief and a longstanding collaboration that helps sustain its craft and support the women behind it.

Launched in 2020, Sparle helps thousands of women earn a thriving wage and build self-authorized lives. Through multiple capacity-building grants, the Ibu Foundation has supported their growth—from emergency COVID relief and reopening a rural textile mill to establishing a retail location and developing Sparle’s brand and a women’s embroidery center in Islamabad.