Our company, Craft Aid ( Mauritius ) Co. Ltd. ? a non profit-making organisation dedicated to the welfare of the disabled people was created in the year 1982. Our main objective is to provide paid employment to the disabled and rehabilitate them in the society. Our workforce includes a significant number of mentally and physically handicapped person as well as mute and deaf person. Besides, we also provide employment to the underprivileged, the needy and poor people. CRAFTAID is FLO certified and a member of IFAT. All printing work of our Pressed Flower and Textile Departments is printed our small printing unit by the use of manual printing machines. Even the preparation of screen such as engraving, gluing of mesh, preparation of color are made in house. We make all types of greeting card, book marks, photo albums, calendars and pot pourri. We use pressed natural flowers for the making of our cards, photo albums, calendars and pot pourri. Some of the flowers used are cultivated at Craft Aid and the rest we purchase.
 
The activities consist of packaging of unrefined sugar such as Standard Demerara, Dry Musscovado, Golden Caster and Special Raw Cane in a variety of retail packs of 500 grams and 1 kg. We also pack Vanilla and spices. The department is HACCP certified(Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point management system). A variety of textile products are made in our Textile department. Our flow of production starts from cutting to finished products. We make products such as gloves, socks, T-shirts, trousers, skirts, nighties, jackets etc. All our products are exclusively for exportation. Samples of textile products are made in house. Craft Aid's mission is to produce and market a range of products to buyers whose needs we identify and can fulfill by using our resources in the best possible way and by ensuring our employees are suitably trained.
 
As well as covering the areas mentioned above, the mission statement supports Fair Trade ethics, as expressed in the WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization) code of practice. This states that WFTO goals are: Our products will always meet high international quality standards and will include organic cotton clothing: our delivery will be on time and our prices will be acceptable to our buyers. We will remain alert to market opportunities and threats and adapt our business accordingly, but always adhering to the principles of fair and ethical trade. We will strive to continuously, upgrade our operations and sustain our financial viability so that we can improve the living standards of our employees; in this way we will support and rehabilitate disabled, disadvantaged and needy communities in Mauritius. To improve the livelihoods and well-being of producers by improving market access, strengthening producer organizations, paying better prices and providing continuity in trading relationships; To promote development opportunities for disadvantaged producers, especially women and indigenous people, and to protect children from exploitation in the production process; To raise awareness among consumers of negative effects on producers of international trade so that they raise exercise their purchasing power positively; To set an example of partnership in trade through dialogue, transparency and respect; To campaign for changes in the rules and practices of conventional international trade; To protect human rights by promoting social justice, sound environmental practices and economic security." (WFTO Code of Practice, March 1999)
 
With the help of normal employees, our disabled employees are producing a wide range of products such as textile products, greeting cards, photo albums, bookmarks, we are also involved in packaging of sugar and vanilla. We started with 5 disabled employees and today we employed 175 persons out of which nearly 50 are disabled persons working in different departments of the company. We do what we call Rehabilitation by insertion. Craft Aid is a member of IFAT (The International Fair Trade Association). The aim of this association is to improve the livelihood of disadvantage people in developing countries by linking and strengthening organisation that offer just alternative to unfair trade practice.