About Women of the Cloud Forest

Amy and her husband, Michael, founded Women of the Cloud Forest back in 2000 while living in Monteverde, Costa Rica. They taught classes at a community art center for women, learned about the concept of fair trade, and perfected their Spanish over many cups of coffee. They shared the Costa Rican artisans’ creations with wonderful customers at fairs, church sales, and school events over the years. Their team grew to include two friends, Marla and Sue, who have helped Women of the Cloud Forest continue to expand, selling wholesale to over 1000 stores in the US and Canada. In the early days, they worked out of their house and a couple of Rubbermaid containers. Today, they are fortunate to have an awesome warehouse space in an old rehabbed building in Pittsburgh. Marla is the ultimate organizer and can create a spreadsheet in a quick minute. Sue is an expert at sales and marketing and can brainstorm a sales pitch while sleeping. Amy and Michael are the designers and market identifiers who are fortunate to have the exciting job of traveling and working directly with artisans. Over the years, they have expanded their work and concentrate mostly in Nicaragua but also work directly with several cooperatives in Ecuador, Peru and Nepal. In addition to providing lots of great stable jobs, Women of the Cloud Forest supports their artisan partners with no-interest micro-loans for workshop capacity and home building, donations of trees for reforestation and energy efficient eco-stoves.Read their story