Making Money in the Sun

PEOPLE OF THE SUN, founded by Maria Haralambidou, is a nonprofit social enterprise based in Malawi. They make interesting, beautiful and unique handmade artisanal gifts, furniture and amazing baskets.  Maria shares how she created People of The Sun after going to Africa on a totally different mission and job.  She was intrigued by the local artisans and could not turn her back on her desire to bring their products to the rest of the world and help them escape poverty and live a good life. From her home in Holland, Maria works remotely with the artisans and provides guidance on their designs based on American and European trends as well as applying her marketing skills to make sales.

Maria attends several Tradeshows in the USA in order to bring the People of the Sun products to stores in the USA. Expanding into more stores globally is their goal for 2019.

PEOPLE OF THE SUN, founded by Maria Haralambidou is a nonprofit social enterprise based in Malawi that focuses on making money in the sun. They mobilise rural and urban informal artisan initiatives in the country, in order to raise the profile of locally made furniture and home accessories on a national and international level and create economic, social and cultural value to Malawi, while lifting the producers/artisans out of poverty.​

Their mission​ ​is to create opportunities for low-income artisans in Malawi to build sustainable businesses, inspired by their indigenous knowledge and traditions, so that eventually they can reduce poverty through trade. ​​

Follow Maria and The People of The Sun on Facebook and instagram

Written by Sarah Shaw