Meet Jessica Avant, Fair Trade Partner, boundary-pusher, and mother of three. She’s one of the winners of our Threads Family Values photo contest for capturing these sweet moments on our recent trip to Bali to meet our Artisan Partners:
Winning photo for Dare to See New Possibilities. Jessica took this picture of her teammate Lori Womack chatting with a young student at the painting school in Keliki Village.
Winning photo for Honor Ourselves to Honor the World. Jessica snuck a pic of her fellow Threads travelers enjoying morning yoga at Nusa Dua Hotel.
Here’s what Jessica had to share about her experiences as a Threads Fair Trade Partner.
Where do you live?
Tallahassee, FL
How long have you been a Fair Trade Partner?
2 years
In addition to Threads, what else are you up to in life?
Raising 3 boys and 1 husband, gardening, surfing
What’s your favorite part of being a Fair Trade Partner?
The new people I meet in my community through Threads and how I see Threads ripple across our Tallahassee community. It’s so fun to go somewhere around town and see people with their Threads on! When I see that I know we are making a difference.
How do you live the Threads Family Value of “Dare to See New Possibilities”?
From the beginning Threads has challenged me to try new things, push my limits and to see what else is possible. 2 years ago I would never have believed that I would travel halfway around the world to Bali to visit our Artisan Partners there. Threads has provided that in my life. I have pushed my limits and continue to. It’s been such a positive push of the limits in my life!
How do you live the Threads Family Value of “Honor Ourselves to Honor the World”?
Another thing Threads has made very present in my life is that in order to help or serve anyone else (my family, Artisan Partners, my community) I have to first nurture myself. I have been more aware of that and have made a serious point in making my self-care a priority. It started with physical activity and now I am also focusing more on my mental/spiritual state. Always a work in progress!
How has your perspective in life changed since joining the Threads community?
Oh man, anything and everything is possible! The mindset training Threads has taught me has been life changing. Threads has made me more bold in my approach to life. Instead of life happening to me I now control what happens in my life.
What do you now see is possible for you and for the world?
A fairer future for all. Consumers are much more conscious about where their money is going and want options like fair trade, shopping local, organic. We can see how our company is directly transforming communities and in turn countries and that will only become more pronounced in the future. For me travel is again a possibility. With young children it was not in my view for awhile. Now with Threads I get to travel around the world with a wonderful group of people to amazing places. Between our annual conference in Denver and an artisan trip to a developing country each year, my travel cup is being filled. Traveling really puts life in perspective and keeps me grounded in what is important in life. I also see that, with Threads, my income will continue to grow which allows for new opportunity. What else is possible?!
Interested in joining Jessica and other Fair Trade Partners in Guatemala next year?
