Caribbean Folk Doll a Cherished Gift

Terri Gold's comment and question, "Do you know who made her?" referring to my circa 1940s Miss Haiti doll, prompted me to do my own Internet search for dolls made in Haiti.   I was pleasantly surprised to find another doll in my collection included in the search results. 

One website identifies my doll (pictured above) as a Haitian Yo-Yo Doll.  According to the website:

These dolls are created by multinational group of young entrepreneurs. The company works to promote employment in Haiti by teaching unskilled workers trades. They also help independent artists find new markets. The company currently employs about 400 people, half men and half women.  Doll measures 9" T (22.9 cm). Made in and fairly traded from Haiti.

My doll was a gift from a dear friend, who purchased it during an October 2005 Caribbean cruise with ports including St. Thomas, St. Martin, Antigua, and St. Lucia.  The manufacturer's card attached to the doll's neck with string identifies her as Caribbean Folk Doll.  The inside of the card reads:

In simpler days, Caribbean children enjoyed playing with homemade dolls crafted from fabric remnants and scrap materials. These much loved dolls depicted people from everyday life dressed in typical local costumes.  Their homespun, honest charm has remained intact through today's fast paced, high-tech times.

This doll has been hand made for you using traditional Caribbean designs, madras textiles and decorations.  Each doll is an original design inspired by historic examples of early Caribbean folk dolls.

Drexco Crafts (There is an image of a mouthless, island woman with side-glancing eyes who holds a huge paint brush in one hand and a pallet of artist paints in the other.)

The back of the card also reads "MADE IN HAITI"  http://www.drexco.com/ .  A remnant piece of the original price tag remains (where my friend removed the portion containing the price).  She wrote, "From the cruise ship." 

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