Our History
The Yada Project grew out of a friendship between two families who were both searching for a way to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives that would show God’s love globally in tangible ways. When Don & Beth Williams met Mike & Sarah Garibay, the idea for The Yada Project soon came into focus.
Mike and Sarah Garibay were born and raised in the Midwest and attended college at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Mike graduated with a Political Sciences degree while Sarah earned her degree in Nursing. They married and had three children. The Garibays first became aware of the need for a global marketplace through a talk that a missionary gave about a Honduran orphanage. The mission supporting the orphanage had taken steps to develop helpful projects such as growing and selling coffee, planting mahogany, and living on self-sustaining farms, but their biggest hurdle was finding a marketplace for their products. Like many other missions, they were struggling with finances and Mike and Sarah wondered how they could help.
Don and Beth Williams live in Middleton, WI, and have four children. Don grew up in Colombia, South America and graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in International Missions. Beth grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in Communications. Don and Beth met on the soccer team at MBI in 1995 and married in 1998. After living the “American Dream” for 15 years, they felt something missing in their lives and work, and began asking God to show them what it was. Their questioning led to their embarking on a two-month family trip to Central America in 2012 and a four-month family trip through South America in 2013. During both of these trips, Don and Beth sought to meet new people, engage with them in their culture, and assess the true needs of the areas they lived in. After the completion of these first two trips, Don and Beth, still feeling that there was more to do, decided to continue their travels into other parts of the world, bringing home stories of how God is at work and supporting communities in their efforts to become self-sustaining and strong.
Through these travel assessments, the concept of a Fair Trade, non-profit organization seemed like the best way to proceed - it would strengthen the relationships they had built on their trips and provide a way to connect seller and buyer over a global network. After a little more brainstorming, and a lot more organizing and planning, the Yada Project was born, and pockets of the world are being changed, one new connection at a time!
FAQs
What does “Fair Trade” mean to The Yada Project?
We purchase all of our products outright from our artisans, who receive a generous, fair wage for each product they make. A “generous, fair wage” is defined as a living wage appropriate to their community lifestyle that enables them to care properly for their family. We believe that poverty is not only an economical issue but a social and ethical one as well. This is why The Yada Project strategically partners with organizations that are already caring for the physical (food, shelter, health) and spiritual needs in a community. By providing a consistent market of buyers, we are giving artisans the chance to plan for their future and find hope through the ongoing sale of their products.
What does Yada mean?
Yadá is a Hebrew word that means “to know.” The Yada Project desires to know God and to help others know his love for them. Through getting to know communities and their true needs, those communities hopefully experience feeling known and cared about - seen for who they are and what they are doing to participate in the story of this great big world we all share.
Where do the proceeds go?
The Yada Project is a registered 501c3 non-profit, operating as a business. 100% of the proceeds go back into the work of supporting, sustaining, and seeking-out the communities in need of marketplace assistance.
Who is on staff?
The Yada Project is all volunteer based. No one has a paid position. Want to Get Involved?
How does my purchase benefit others?
The purchase of a product through The Yada Project helps to provide a living wage for people who are struggling to overcome extreme poverty and provide for the basic needs of their families. In most cases it can mean the difference between going hungry and having food or being able to send their kids to school and not being able to.