Fair Trade Empowerment

Offers ongoing workshops, Open Mic nights, concerts, seasonal parties, movies, nature walks, dance events, plant sales, chili cook-offs, silent auctions, community Thanksgivings, and drum circles for community members of all ages. These programs are designed to nurture creativity and lifelong growth in the Central Catskills Region.

Operates a weekly farmers market that connects local farms and artisanal makers with residents and visitors, and hosts the Phoenicia Farmers Market indoors at the center during winter months from November through spring.

Organizes year-round music events open to all ages, featuring local musicians across genres such as folk and funk, as part of its community programming.

Provides a variety of art and wellness classes such as yoga, Pilates, meditation, cardio, art, music, and language instruction, both in-person and online. These classes are open to all skill levels and have served hundreds of participants across the U.S. and internationally.

Operates a community ceramics studio with space, materials, and tools for potters of all skill levels, including wheel-throwing and hand-building areas. Hosts a recurring Pottery Circle every Thursday and monthly workshops led by experienced potters, with capacity for up to 8 participants at a time.

Runs a free public gallery that features a new local artist every eight weeks, providing exhibition opportunities for regional talent.

Runs a thrift shop offering donated clothing, shoes, and housewares for sale, supporting community access to affordable goods.

Hosts children's workshops led by over 30 local artists, musicians, and naturalists, offering educational enrichment as part of year-round youth programming including summer camp.

Operates a Maker's Market that provides local artists with space to display and sell their works, supporting regional creative economies.

Organizes life skills workshops for scholarship students and their mothers, including education on taxes and other practical topics to strengthen personal and financial development.

Conducted a six-part women's health education workshop series in Mayan languages for 118 women, followed by clinical screenings and treatments focused on cervical cancer prevention, management of common infections, and birth control provision, with 75 women receiving cervical cancer screening.

Responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by distributing hygiene kits, conducting educational workshops on transmission prevention, and providing supplemental income to artisan partners during periods of lost income due to government restrictions.

Provides scholarships and family stipends to 58 students across elementary, junior high, senior high, university, and vocational training levels, and distributes school supplies to 135 children of artisan partners. Includes a twice-yearly interactive program on personal development and gender in society for students and their families.

Creates economic opportunities for Maya women by supporting the creation and sale of handmade, heirloom-quality products using ancestral techniques. Includes organizing research trips for skill enhancement, such as a product development trip to La Aurora Zoo for needle felting artisans.

Brings products and stories of artisans from developing countries to market through long-term fair trading relationships, enabling sustainable income generation.

Cultivates medicinal herbs including comfrey, calendula, arnica, and CBD-dominant hemp on a farm adjacent to the Round Barn for use in proprietary health products.

Organizes and hosts a special holiday market each November as part of its seasonal programming at the Round Barn, providing additional opportunities for local vendors and community engagement.

Organizes and leads guided mushroom walks, medicinal and cultivation workshops, and fungi retreats to educate the public on mycology and natural health practices.