Deux Mains sustainably handcrafts custom leather goods to fight poverty and work toward a healthier planet. Headquartered in Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Deux Mains' factory is 100% solar-powered and employee-owned. Each artisan earns a living wage, healthcare benefits, paid parental leave, and paid vacation.
Here, custom leather goods are produced in small batches using high-quality leather and upcycled materials like car tires and inner tubes.
Deux Mains also invests in education and job training through its nonprofit partner REBUILD globally.
By purchasing custom leather goods, the direct effect on the lives of individual Haitians is extraordinary. Here’s a few things to know about the impact among participants:
Meet Julia
"I’m so proud to have gained a trade and to be a self-sufficient woman. I don’t like handouts. A handout never could have brought me here.”
Julia Antoine was forcefully displaced into Haiti from the Dominican Republic because of the color of her skin. She had worked for 20 years as a launderer and beach-side artisan – work that provided a middle-class life for her family.Julia made her way to Fonds Bayard, a displacement camp near the border, where Deux Mains’ partner organization, REBUILD Globally, was holding job training for refugees.
Six years later, Julia is now one of Deux Mains’ most talented full-time craftswomen. She rents a home locally and lives with her husband, Fritz, and their five children, whom she was able to reunite with, thanks to her paycheck.
