I'm in Haiti this week with JJ. It's a long, serendipitous story about why we are here and why I'm doing a flash sale, so let's hash out the sale before I dive into details. This week Deux Mains is offering a $18.99 flash sale on sandals that are handmade by Haitian artisans in Haiti from recycled tires and genuine leather. The sale also includes a 10% off coupon for their new styles including the Bel Nanm style that I'm wearing in the pictures above (note: go down a size for this style - they run big and the leather will stretch). Go to my Facebook page here to "claim" the offer. If you don't have Facebook, please email me.

Look for this on Facebook and click "Get Offer":

Now let's talk about why. My husband's family moved to Haiti when he was just 6 months old and they stayed for 5 years. His first memories are of Haiti and his first words were in Creole. It's hard to express just how much Haiti means to him, but he has carried it with him all these years, and got involved with a company called Rebuild Globally several years ago. The founder Julie splits her time between Orlando and Haiti, and JJ sits on their board (as a non-financial member, it's a nonprofit) and Julie has become a good friend of ours. So when the board decided to take a trip to Haiti this summer, I volunteered to tag along. I couldn't wait to see JJ's childhood home, but this was ultimately HIS work trip, I never expected to get involved.

A couple days into our trip I fell hard. I fell in love with Haiti, the people, and with the Deux Mains sandals. I met the people who make the sandals and heard their stories through an interpreter. I saw the workshop and new boutique (pictures below). They just released several new sandal styles and they are gorgeous, and have evolved enormously from the first prototypes JJ brought home several years ago.

Helping countries like Haiti is an incredibly complex topic that I don't understand fully, but I will share this thought from Jolina, who is Rebuild's first employee in Haiti and is now a manager and share holder. She said that "after the earthquake, Julie [the founder] could've brought me rice and beans, but that would be gone by now. Instead, she gave me a job and gave me my life back." Each of the 21 employees supports an average of 8-10 people with their paycheck. It's the difference between charity, and changing things from the inside out. Haiti's unemployment rate is 59.4%. 

I listened and fell in love, and I really wanted to do something. The team recently upped their productivity but now they have a stockpile of inventory and need some sales to move that inventory. So I came up with the idea of a flash sale of last year's sandals and pitched it to Julie, and she said yes! Which means you guys get a coupon code for $18.99 for all sale sandals (about 250 pairs in stock), PLUS a 10% discount on all new styles, Please share the sale with your friends!  

This a purchase you can truly feel good about. Not only does Rebuild provide sustainable fashion through the Deux Mains brand, and dignified employment in Haiti, but they also have developed an education program for kids that has a 100% pass rate (Haiti's national average 30%). 

If you're ever in Haiti be sure to check out the Deux Mains boutique. It's near the Port au Prince airport and anyone can visit! These are pictures of the front and inside.

Disclosure: neither me or my husband received any financial gain or gifts to share our experience. We have no financial involvement in Rebuild or Deux Mains and we paid for our own travel to Haiti. Your purchases don't affect us, but they do affect these beautiful people:

The Deux Mains artisans singing "How Great Thou Art." 

Go here to start shopping, and visit my Facebook page to claim the offer and get your coupon codes!