The Beginning
To fully appreciate the deux mains brand, we have to start at the beginning, January 12, 2010. As a response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Julie Colombino founded a nonprofit organization REBUILD globally, that still exists today and serves as our most strategic partner in fighting poverty. Julie realized the women who survived the horrible disaster were looking for ways to help themselves recover. So she opened a small training center and taught these women to make sandals from the tires found in the streets. Over the year, through the efforts of REBUILD globally, deux mains was able to spin off into its own official Haitian business and fashion brand.
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The Journey
For five years, through expert guidance, product development and mentorship, REBUILD globally provided the start-up capital and training to develop the sustainable and Haitian owned fashion company, deux mains, which is now producing a complete ethical fashion collection and employing dozens of Haitian artisans to not only make something valuable for others but a meaningful life for themselves.
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The deux mains Difference
Nineteen degrees north of the equator is where you will find the deux mains workshop and where our unique sandals begin to take shape. It is here where the tire soles crafted by the REBUILD globally refugees are paired with locally sourced leathers, fabrics, and findings, and brought to beautiful life by our talented artisans. It is here where the real magic happens: local talented artisan-owners design, source, craft and perfect every aspect of each individually crafted deux mains product. deux mains takes local and upcycled raw materials, and crafts sandals and dignified, sustainable jobs that provide living wages.
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Your Purchase Makes an Impact
When our handmade products are finished, they find their way to you, our incredible partners who are changing the world with their purchase. You find us here on our website, or at our deux mains boutique located in Port au Prince, Haiti. Opened in January of 2015, our deux mains boutique offers the opportunity for locals and visitors alike to experience our unique, handmade products firsthand. This brick and mortar location is a beautiful physical example of our commitment to sustainability, and outreach, and an amazing opportunity to showcase the hard work of our talented employees and artisans. Come visit us in Haiti!
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Made to Engage. Made to Empower. Made in Haiti.
Whether online, or in person every purchase at deux mains makes a real difference. For every product sold we are able to grow and expand our outreach efforts and employment opportunities. Each and every part of our process was created to make the maximum impact. From the employment and job training programs with REBUILD globally, to the use of local and sustainable materials, and to the two hands that carefully construct each element of our finished products, we aim to raise the bar on what it means to be an ethical fashion company. Hand in hand, we are empowering the world’s most marginalized communities to become self-sufficient, restoring dignity to families and individuals. We have created a footwear brand that you can be proud to own. Every step you take in deux mains sandals turns poverty into prosperity.