2024-02-18 08:54:56
The day is not far when everyone will make a gesture, however small, so warm to their loved ones, colleagues, teachers, classmates and even strangers. Tying a martenitsa goes with a wish for joy, happiness and above all for health. This small gesture we make to each other on March 1st is small only at first glance.
Martenits are just two twisted threads, but that’s not quite true either. There are Marches in which care for people in need, support for disabled children or help for a person from a vulnerable group are twisted with the red and white thread. And it is quite possible to wear such a martensite without even suspecting what it is and how much hope for a better life you carry on your arm.
And this year, just such martenits with a cause are the highlight of the special holiday stands in FANTASTICO.
For the first time, the “Miko Mila” foundation is involved in the initiative with its “Ole Male” cause. “The truth is that it was a huge challenge for us. For the first time, we are preparing such a large amount of martensi several months before Baba Marta. These are 25,000 martens made specifically and exclusively for our partnership with FANTASTICO. This number is beyond the rest of the usual quantity that we plan to sell at bazaars, in our online store and to corporate partners”, says Krasimira Hadjiivanova from “Ole Male” and adds that behind all this is the exceptional work of only 15 mothers of children with disabilities.
“As with everything else made in “Ole Male”, the martensits are a way to support a family of a child with a disability or a person from a vulnerable group and thus contribute to their financial independence and sustainability,” says Hadjiivanova. The people who make the items at Ole Male set their own prices for their products and receive the proceeds from all sales.
In FANTASTIKO, a special place is also reserved for the martenits made by the social enterprise of Caritas – CaritArt, where refugee women and young people with disabilities work. “Every year we try to come up with new models that stand out from the rest. It’s good that the refugee women who make martenitsi came from countries that don’t have this tradition, and this gives them the opportunity to come up with something unique, sometimes with the “spices” of their own cultures,” says Katerina Zhivilo from CaritArt.
Martenets with a cause are an opportunity for a person from a vulnerable group to have access to the labor market, to integrate into society, to feel needed and important. “Our main goal is for these people to have support, to know that they are not alone, that they are important, and to be able to receive a reward for their work,” adds Živilo.
This year, a total of 13 suppliers provide more than 250 types of martenitsi in FANTASTICO, because the taste for Bulgarian traditions brings us together.
