The Inspiration
We are Meghann and Dane Jaeger, founders of The Intersection. This story started in a village in Kenya called Kithituini when our story intersected with the stories of a group of women whose families had been ravaged by AIDs. When we met them they had found hope and income through the rolling of paper beads which they made into jewelry.
We loved the story of these women and their workmanship, and so we bought a whole bunch of jewelry to bring back home to sell to our friends. As we shared their stories with our friends and collected money to send back to the women we realized that this is what we wanted to do. We wanted to invest our time in connecting people in developing nations with outlets to sell their goods, and in turn connect the stories of people purchasing items with the stories of those who produced them. We wanted to create an intersection at which their stories could meet. On top of that, we wanted to change the way people thought about what they purchase, and cause them to investigate the origins of their products and the conditions in which the producers of those items work.
The Business
So we started a business. We called it The Intersection: Fair Trade. Our tagline was “At the corner of their story and yours.” Since we began, we’ve been introduced to many more stories. The stories of fair trade/direct trade/ethical trade are stories of hope, of restored dignity, of rescued futures. We’ve encountered cooperatives made up of women who were trafficked for sex slavery and were rescued and given employment. We’ve encountered stories of communities getting water and access to health care through premiums paid back into their communities from the sale of their goods. We’ve heard of children getting a chance at education because there was finally enough income in their family so that they didn’t have to work.
What we know beyond any doubt is that everyone has a story, and every purchase has an impact. We may not see it, but there is a ripple effect from any purchase made anywhere that affects real people in real places. We want to know that that impact is positive. There’s a yearning in everyone's heart to connect to something greater and know that they are doing good.
The Evolution
Over the years our business has evolved. We had an online store. We moved to Albania for a time and started a working cooperative for women. When we returned we opened a physical store, then were shut down by Covid, and then opened a different physical store. We had a vocational training centre for women who were survivors of human trafficking who came to our store space to train. We started several side businesses out of that training space. Through it all, our heart has remained the same. We want to champion freedom, dignity through employment, and changed lives through ethical business.
Our focus has shifted much more toward anti-trafficking groups and those who are employing survivors of human trafficking. The horror that slavery still exists today, and that there are those willing to buy and sell human beings in our world is one that we believe requires all of us to join together to fight against. Our products and our efforts in advocacy and education are for this cause, but we need you to join us as well!