The Nov. 9 issue of The Jewish State published an article about Ten Thousand Villages entitled, "H.P. shop: Questionable connections."

We would like to dispel some of the contentions and inaccuracies in the article. Ten Thousand Villages' mission is to alleviate poverty by creating market opportunities for artisans in developing regions of the world.

We buy from artisans who would otherwise be un- or underemployed and who live in developing regions of the world. We do not have a political or religious agenda as was implied by the article. We are trying to provide opportunities for poor artisans to earn a better living.

Since Ten Thousand Villages has been in Highland Park we have appreciated the support of the local community and we hope that we will be able to continue to provide customers in Highland Park with a unique opportunity to shop for fairly traded products and to make a difference in the lives of artisans around the world.

We buy products from more than 60,000 artisans who live in over 35 developing regions of the world, including the West Bank. Ten Thousand Villages has purchased handcrafted products from Palestinian artisans since 1952. We refer to the geographic area where these artisans live and work as the West Bank because this is how international organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union refer to this part of the world.

Economic indicators such as gross domestic product per capita, the human development index and unemployment rates indicate that the West Bank is a developing region of the world. Since the Palestinian artisans that we buy from live in a region with low income levels and high unemployment rates, they continue to meet Ten Thousand Villages purchasing criteria for buying products.

The article is incorrect in its assertion that money earned through the sale of Ten Thousand Villages products is used to support Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) programs. Ten Thousand Villages is a separately incorporated nonprofit organization that is an independent program of MCC.

All of the income we earn is retained within Ten Thousand Villages and any surplus we earn on operations is invested into growing Ten Thousand Villages sales channels and increasing purchases from artisans in order to achieve our mission. We do not transfer any surplus or profit to MCC. Ten Thousand Villages 2007 annual report can be seen in the ‘about us' section at www.tenthousandvillages.com .

Ten Thousand Villages believes that all of our operations should be conducted in order to further our mission of poverty alleviation through fair trade. Artisans consistently tell us that they want two things from us: 1) to provide them with more orders so that they can earn more income and 2) to provide more market information and capacity building support to them so that they can grow their businesses.

By investing our surplus earnings into growing Ten Thousand Villages sales channels and developing better products we can help artisans to obtain more orders and earn more income. Artisans use the money they earn from our purchases to grow their businesses, to improve the lives of their families and to improve the general living standards of their communities.

MCC's 2006-2007 annual report contains financial information that includes the revenue and expenses from both Ten Thousand Villages U.S. and Canada. Together, Ten Thousand Villages U.S. and Canada generated $3 million in surpluses but all of this money was retained within the Ten Thousand Villages operations.

Total sales for Ten Thousand Villages U.S. for fiscal year 2007 were $23,488,000. These sales generated a net income or surplus of $1,064,000. None of this net income was transferred to MCC. It was all retained by Ten Thousand Villages in order to help finance growth and product development.

We hope that people who live in Highland Park and the surrounding area will continue to support our mission of providing vital fair income to artisans in developing regions by continuing to shop at Ten Thousand Villages.