When you buy items from Sak Saum at this weekend’s Front Range Makers Market, you help prevent and create awareness around human trafficking in Cambodia.

“It’s (trafficking) shifting to other forms of exploitation,” said Sak Saum co-founder Ginny Hanson. “Sometimes it changes its face, how it looks. It’s still an issue but not as visible. But the underground is just as big, if not bigger. Other forms of exploitation are by social media and the internet.”

Ginny and her husband, Eric Hanson, from Colorado Springs, began working in the Asian country in the late 1990s with the Christian organization Youth With a Mission. After meeting mothers who gave their children away to orphanages because they couldn’t provide for them, the couple founded In His Steps International and provided sewing machines to women so they could create items, such as handbags and clothing. Ginny sold the items and gave the money back to Cambodian communities.

In 2008, they started the nonprofit Sak Saum after beginning to work with survivors of human trafficking in Cambodia. They opened a safehouse and offered a program to help women reintegrate into the community after being trafficked. That same year, they opened a store in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to sell items made by the women and also started sending merchandise to the U.S. to be sold to raise money for the program.

“We create jobs for people to create income so they are not trafficked,” Ginny Hanson said. “And raise awareness. Awareness is key. If you let people know to not trust someone who comes to the village and says I have a great job for your daughter. I’ll advance you rice or a salary in exchange for your daughter’s labor and they think she’s going to go have a great job. That’s how it happens in Cambodia.”

Sak Saum representatives will be selling handmade handbags, wallets, clothing and other accessories priced from $5 to $45 Saturday and Sunday at the market at Lewis-Palmer High School in Monument.

The original Makers Market started running every fall almost three decades ago. In 2020, organizers decided to introduce a second market in the summer when the pandemic devastated many small-business owners. While the event began outdoors, this year’s market will be held indoors due to possible bad weather.

“People love unique shopping experiences and supporting small and local,” said organizer Stephanie Barker. “We’re definitely seeing over the last couple of years that people are spending less money, but the hope is when people are spending money they’re giving back to small businesses.

About 140 vendors from Colorado and surrounding states will sell primarily handmade items, including home decor, art, photos, upcycled furniture, wall hangings, clothing, jewelry, handbags and yard art. Vendors go through a jury process to ensure quality and one-of-a-kind approaches. There are no commercial or multilevel marketing vendors.

“So much of this is stuff people will buy anyway — clothing, gifts for the home, friends, teacher gifts,” Barker said. “By shopping small they’re pouring back into the community. That’s why people like to come out and support and to find unique stuff that tells a story.”

Contact the writer: 636-0270