Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, with a population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings; however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement.

In the past, villages were a usual form of community for societies that practise subsistence agriculture, and also for some non-agricultural societies. In Great Britain, a hamlet earned the right to be called a village when it built a church. In many cultures, towns and cities were few, with only a small proportion of the population living in them. The Industrial Revolution attracted people in larger numbers to work in mills and factories; the concentration of people caused many villages to grow into towns and cities. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts, and development of many trades. The trend of urbanization continues, though not always in connection with industrialization. Villages have been eclipsed in importance as units of human society and settlement.

Ten Thousand Villages

Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 35 countries.

As one of the world’s largest and oldest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages cultivates long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to gifts, accessories and home décor from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF). Ten Thousand Villages is also a nonprofit partner of Mennonite Central Committee.

History

The philosophy of Ten Thousand Villages was inspired by Mennonite Christianity. Mennonite values include compassion, service, mutual aid, and peacemaking. The founding of Ten Thousand Villages in the mid-twentieth century marks the beginning of a movement later to be called "fair trade." Edna Ruth Byler was moved to take action by the poverty she witnessed during a trip to Puerto Rico in 1946.

Sixty-Four Villages East of the River

Coordinates: 50°06′N 127°41′E / 50.100°N 127.683°E / 50.100; 127.683

The Sixty-Four Villages East of the River were a group of Manchu-inhabited villages located on the left (north) bank of the Amur River opposite to Heihe, and on the east bank of Zeya River opposite to Blagoveshchensk. Their area totalled 3,600 square kilometres (1,400 sq mi).

Among Russian historians, the district occupied by the villages is sometimes referred as Zazeysky rayon (the "Trans-Zeya District" or "The district beyond the Zeya"), because it was separated by the Zeya from the regional capital, Blagoveshchensk.

History

In the summer of 1857, the Russian Empire offered monetary compensation to China's Qing dynasty government if they would remove the Manchu residents from the area; however, their offer was rebuffed. The following year, in the 1858 Treaty of Aigun, the Qing ceded the north bank of the Amur to Russia. However, Qing subjects residing north of the Amur River were permitted to "retain their domiciles in perpetuity under the authority of the Manchu government".