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beelove café

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Why it matters: this North Lawndale cafe is run by Sweet Beginnings, a social enterprise of the North Lawndale Employment Network that hires and trains formerly incarcerated residents, sweetening its drinks with honey from its own urban apiaries. It occupies the striking glass-fronted former home of the Community Bank of Lawndale, once the area’s first Black-owned bank. Order the honey latte made with beelove raw honey, and pick up a jar or honey-based skincare to take home. Weekdays 7am-4pm, Saturdays until 2pm.

Women & Children First

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Why it matters: founded in 1979 by Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon, this Andersonville institution is one of the largest feminist bookstores in the country and a longtime anchor of Chicago’s queer and women-owned business community. The shelves hold 30,000-plus titles, strong on women writers, LGBTQ fiction and a lovely kids’ section. Check the events calendar – author readings here draw big names and loyal locals. Pair a visit with a stroll along Clark Street’s Swedish-rooted shopping strip.

Open Books

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Why it matters: every dollar spent at this nonprofit used bookstore funds Open Books’ literacy programs, which reach over 6,000 Chicago students a year and give away more than 150,000 books. The West Loop shop stocks some 60,000 secondhand titles, including a huge kids’ section, at prices that start at a few dollars. Browse the $5 bestsellers table and the Chicago & Illinois shelf for a smart local souvenir. Closed Mondays, and there’s a second branch in Pilsen if you’re south of the Loop.

Sasha Fair Trade Shop

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Fair trade shopping in Kolkata starts here, at a quiet storefront on Mirza Ghalib Street just off Park Street. Why it matters: this is the retail arm of the Sasha Association for Craft Producers, a fair-trade pioneer founded in 1978 that markets handmade work from artisan groups across India and has run this shop since 1981. Browse kantha textiles, stoles, toys, jewellery, Rasa body care and gourmet spices – all handmade and a world away from the airport-souvenir circuit. Open daily 10am-7pm; check their calendar, as the shop also hosts talks, concerts and craft exhibitions.

Cafe Positive

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India’s first cafe run entirely by HIV-positive youth, opened in 2018 in a 120-square-foot Jodhpur Park garage after landlords across the city refused the team space. Why it matters: its founders grew up in shelter homes after being abandoned because of their status, and every coffee served here chips away at the stigma they’ve faced all their lives. Now in a bigger spot on Southern Avenue, the crew turns out proper cappuccinos, grilled sandwiches and bakes at prices that undercut the Park Street chains. Go for the coffee, stay for a chat – the team is famously warm, and that’s rather the point.

Borjgalo Ethnographic Museum

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On the green edge of Batumi, this open-air museum recreates Adjarian village life with wooden houses, working models and dozens of costumed figures showing weavers, beekeepers and winemakers at their crafts. Why it matters: founder Kemal Turmanidze, a master woodcarver, spent roughly three decades single-handedly carving every figure and building here, creating what is recognized as Georgia’s first private museum and a one-man archive of Adjarian folk culture. Wander the 3,000-square-meter grounds past the waterfall and take time with the craft scenes – each occupation comes with its traditional tools and dress. It sits about 2 km from central Batumi at 14 Sharashidze St, an easy taxi ride to pair with a slow afternoon.

Like at Home (Yak Vdoma)

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Adorned with colorful murals and Ukrainian ornaments, this small cafe near the center of Batumi serves the borsch, holubtsi and deruny that owner Irina Dotsenko brought with her from Kharkiv. Why it matters: Dotsenko fled Ukraine in 2022 and built the cafe into a lifeline for fellow refugees – around 30 of her 44 staff are Ukrainians who fled the war, and she opened a second location in December 2023 with a microloan program designed for refugees. Order the borsch with pampushky and save room for deruny with sour cream; portions are generous and prices modest. The original spot at 13 Zurab Gorgiladze St fills up at lunch – the second branch at 24 Noe Zhordania St is usually quieter.

EduJoc

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Why it matters: EduJoc is a registered Moldovan social enterprise with a simple mission – that every child in Moldova has at least one educational toy – and in over a decade its Chisinau workshop has put handmade wooden toys in the hands of more than 50,000 kids. The shop stocks wooden puzzles, learning games and craft kits designed and made in-house, so everything you buy funds the mission. Families can even book a factory visit to watch the toys being made. Perfect for gifts that beat any airport souvenir.

EcoLocal Farmers Market

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Why it matters: founded in 2018 by a nonprofit association of eco and artisan producers, this is Chisinau’s only true farmers market – around 80 small-scale vendors selling directly to shoppers every Saturday, and the association’s EcoLocal SOCIAL fairs bring refugee and local makers together. Hunt for raw honey, village cheeses, cold-pressed oils and handmade crafts you won’t find in any supermarket. Come before 11am for the best selection – and note the market skips the fifth Saturday of the month.

Zogaj Kilim Weaving Workshop

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Why it matters: after Zogaj’s state rug factory was destroyed in the collapse of communism, master weaver Nebija Qotaj – at a loom since age 10 – rebuilt the craft beneath her lakeside family home, and her women-run kilim cooperative now keeps one of northern Albania’s oldest traditions alive while giving village women paid work. Downstairs, weavers work 200-year-old looms with local wool dyed naturally with pomegranate and walnut; a single kilim can take weeks and several pairs of hands. The shop sells rugs, cushions, purses and scarves in traditional Shkodra-region patterns at workshop prices. Tip: make it the destination of the classic lakeside bike ride from Shkoder to Zogaj, then watch the weavers at work before you buy.

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