Plowshare Fair Trade Marketplace (Plowshare Center for short), founded in 1989 as The Waukesha Center for Peace and Justice, is a resource center that explores, develops and models peacemaking skills as well as a Fair Trade shop. Plowshare Center was the first storefront Fair Trade shop in Wisconsin and purchases merchandise from only Fair Trade vendors located in more than 30 economically developing countries of the Americas, Asia and Africa.
“We strive for economic justice by providing an international marketplace for talented artisans and small farmers in economically developing countries, ensuring a fair wage for their work,” says Sally Michalko, president of Plowshare Center’s board of directors. “We work for peace and social justice through extensive educational outreach by providing a broad array of programs appealing to people of diverse interests, including community forums, speakers, film festivals and book discussions. In 2015, we had 14 programs with a total attendance of 1,257 attendees. In all our work, we want to build hope and skills for creating a culture of peace within ourselves, in our community, and in the wider world.”
Plowshare Center’s education programs are free and open to the public, funded by donations and profits from the organization’s two annual fundraisers: Fashionably Fair in Fall, set for Thursday, Sept. 22, and the Peacebuilder Award Celebration. This nearly entirely volunteer-run nonprofit consists of a 13-member board as well as about three dozen volunteers that serve on standing committees who have provided a combined total of more than 600 hours of service. “Volunteers have always been vital to Plowshare’s success,” shares Michalko.
Plowshare Center welcomes more volunteers to help at its Waukesha Farmers Market booth this summer as well as with off-site programming at churches, schools, conferences and fairs. Monetary donations are always accepted. Store hours (219 W. Main St., Waukesha) are Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 262-547-5188 or visit plowshareftm.org.
