Gaia’s Talented Refugees are Donating Thousands of Artisan Made Masks Across the Country

Giving Back, Full-Circle

By Rebecca Sherman // Apr 16, 2020

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Masks, made by refugee artisans, headed to hospitals

Armed with sewing machines and fabric, refugee artisans in Dallas are giving back during the COVID-19 crisis by making masks for front-line hospital workers in need. The women are all former Gaia employees, a homegrown artisan brand that shuttered last year. Gaia refugees were brought to Dallas through the International Rescue Committee and come from such countries as Syria, Afghanistan, Burma, Congo, Iraq, and Tunisia.

“After the opportunities the artisans have been given in our country, they’re grateful for the chance to make a vital contribution,” says Gaia founder Paula Minnis. “It has worked out perfectly, because they were already equipped to sew from home.”

Refugee artisans with masks they’re sewn at home. gaia — Refugee artisans with masks they’ve sewn at home.

Hospitals around the country are facing a critical shortage of masks and other protective equipment as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Minnis launched the mask-making initiative after Watson and another friend, Nicolette Lamont, proposed the idea.

The Gaia masks are made out of donated fabric from the closed children’s store Little Bean, owned by Bianca Watson. A GoFundMe effort to pay the refugees’ wages and other related expenses has already exceeded its $9,000 goal. Click here to contribute.

At least 1,000 masks made by former Gaia artisans have already been donated to 22 different medical facilities around the country, including nine in Texas. A hospital in Canada has also received masks. With the funds raised so far, one thousand more masks can be made and shipped out, Minnis says.

Hospital workers wearing masks made by refugees gaia — Hospital workers wearing masks made by refugees

Although the masks are not medical grade, they are designed to specifications provided by a physician and are intended to be worn over N95 masks to prolong their use. The Gaia masks also washable.