Revealing Melbourne’s Trusted Social Enterprises

Great local shops to buy ethical gifts all year through.

There are good social entreprises in Melbourne today. It is important to identify them in recognition of the amazing work they do. In fact, social enterprises in Melbourne cater to a significant number of local shoppers. Australians who shop local also prefer exclusive products crafted to the highest quality.

There was a time, I believed because handmade fashion were pricier, it was patronised by wealthier indivduals. Infact this notion was wrong. The fact is, more young people are becoming aware of the impact that their fashion products have on the environment. It appeas Australian social enterprises are championing the cause for environmentally friendly products in this country.

Operating from the ethos of ethical awareness and sustainability, I would commend these trends. I am a small and upcoming entreprise and I focus on using creative fashion to help develop other smaller businesses. Moreever, I ensure that a portion of my profits goes towards developing disadvanged communities in Ghana. For this reason, I continue to create and stock my unique crafts with some of Melbourne’s local social entreprise shops. Eight years on, and I am persistent and experinencing growth in this sector. In fact, there is a lot to be gained from small business initiatives.

You see, most Australians prefer ethically made products because it supports small businesses. Moreover, they are handmade to the highest quality using mainly locally sourced materials. This ensures that what you buy are made in Australia and follow the quality guidelines.

So, if you are thinking of places to buy gifts, or services all year round, I would recommend that you do so from these trusted social enterprises. In fact, when you buy from locally owned social enterprises, you are also supporting a good cause.

It would interest you to know that since most of these trusted social enterprises in Australia support social causes, such as migrants and refugee populations. Australia’s migrant and refugees bring a wide diversity of culture into the social enterprise space.

In fact, several countries are represented in the social enterprise businesses I am about to share with you. They include African countries such as Ghana, Cameroun, Sudan. We also have South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Columbia. You will also find Asian countries such as Japanese and Sri Lankan sharing their traditional handmade artefacts.

Ethical shopping, is indeed about buying local from trusted artisans

who come from all over the world

For this reason, trusted local enterprises stock ethically made gifts incorporate exotic materials and symbols. These include colourful beads, woven crafts and print fabrics which are all imported from overseas. Since these handcrafted gifts are made ethically, you can trust that the materials are also sourced ethically. This is indeed the role of social enterprises in Melbourne.

Now, ethical shopping, is indeed about buying local from trusted artisans who come from all over the world. Since these local artisans handcraft in small quantities, only limited edition products are available for sale.

In fact, shopping small ensures we only buy and consume what we need. As result, it minimises waste and it is better for our environment. More over, shopping in smaller quantities mean that, we are supporting local businesses. These artisans only create in small quantitities at a time.

This season, most Australians are buying handmade gifts from trusted social enterprises. Locally crafted gifts vary by the product type, their function, size and value. Common to them all though, is the fact that each one is unique. Unique does not only mean different. It also stands for versatility in purpose. For social enterprise in Melbourne, this is ethical.

Crafted Cuture by Sisterworks

Firstly, I would invite you to visit Crafted Culture. This Richmond based cafe is powered by Sisterworks Incorporated. In fact, Crafted culture is fast becoming one of Melbourne’s fast growing cafes for authentic coffee. Sisterworks is one of Melbourne’s trusted social enterprises. Therefore, you can shop for locally crafted jewellery and gifts from Crafted Culture.

This is an exciting new initiative started by Sisterworks who have already supported hundreds of Melbourne’s migrants to learn new crafts and start earning income from their talents. Based in Melbourne and other locations, Sisterworks is a Social Enterprise established in 2005 to support
migrant and refugee women who want to start their own small business and start-ups. Today, Sisterworks is a popular social enterprise in Melbourne supporting migrants and refugee startups.

Crafted Culture caters to Melbournians who choose to shop small and ethical by visiting the busy and vibrant shopping precincts in places such as Richmond. Find Crafted Culture at 102 Bridge Road in Melbourne’s artistic suburb of Richmond. This new brainchild of Sisterworks offers a mix of cafe’s, boutiques and handmade crafts and jewellery.

Akos (Ghana) and Nyibol (S. Sudan) are some of Melbourn’s local artisans creating colourful fashion accessories

To locate Craft Culture, you need to travel along Bridge Road in Richmond. If using public transport Victoria, then you need the tram 48 which travels along the Bridge Road. In fact, the tram stop happens to be just a stone’s throw from the well known Epworth Hospital in Richmond. You will not miss it.

Crafted Culture Cafe was recently featured on SBS news. If you visit Crafted Culture anytime soon, you could meet some of the wonderful sisters doing amazingly well for this social entreprise. These wonderful ladies volunteer their time in the gift shop and the newly set up cafe run by Sisterworks Incorporated, named Crafted Culture.

At Crafted Culture, Frances’s who is from the Philippines makes good coffee for commuters along the Bridge Road. Frances is a locally trained Barista, and finds her new role with Sisterwords really enjoyable. This is because, it is a renowned social enterprise in Melbourne.

Sushada, also serving great coffee in the cafe is from Thailand. In her story, Sushada spoke about how she arrived in Melbourne few years ago. She decided to upskill by learning the Melbourne’s way of crafting aromatic coffees. In fact, Sushada, has not looked back since.

Women who participate in Sisterworks programs train in sewing, weaving,

handmade crafts or food preparation.

Valerie, currently manages the Richmond based social entreprise. Together with her team of dedicated volunteers, several women have become a part of the Sisterworks community. Valerie believes that This space offers them a sense of belonging and purpose.

Women who participate in Sisterworks programs train in sewing, weaving, handmade crafts or food preparation. Sisterworks train and support these women migrants and refugees to thrive in their own small business venture.

Find out how to upskill and upscale your own handcraft idea into a thriving local small business.

Share this video to empower a woman in your community.

Handmade soft toys are available in Sisterworks new shop in Richmond. Soft toys are for adults too. Also find tote bags, headbands and other colorful fabric accessories. So, be dazzled by the eclectic collection of handmade jewellery including earrings, necklace and African beads. You can’t get enough of African Inspired Jewellery crafted by Akoscreative here in Melbourne.

Australian gifts make for unique ethical gifts because they are made by social enterprises in Melbourne. Next up, I will take you to Collingwood in Melbourne to find more interesting gifts

Before I do that, I would like you to subscribe to my new initiative, EthicalPreneur. Find information and education on ethical income ventures. So, please subscribe to EthicalPreneur you tube channel today.