A nonprofit called Nest has helped artisans around the world find new markets for their handcrafts and preserve cultural traditions since the group started in 2006. Two years ago, the organization turned its attention to the United States and started Makers United, an effort to help artisans of color reach more customers.
The first big project is a partnership with quilters in Boykin, Ala., a small, isolated town, where most residents trace their lineage to enslaved people on the Pettway Plantation. The average income in the area is roughly $12,000. The community — better known as Gee’s Bend — won renown for its quilt-making tradition in the early 2000s. Exhibits of historic quilts from Gee’s Bend traveled the country, and some of those quilts are now in museums.
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