By Erika W.
The Diamond Development Initiative International (DDI ) has been awarded a grant from Cartier. The grant's focus is to implement "Development Diamond Standards" for artisanal diamond production. DDI is working with local leaders in Sierra Leone to locate mining sites that are environmentally sound--where diamond diggers can work under safe conditions and receive fair prices. Diamonds will be tracked though the supply chain to provide consumers with stones that "go beyond standard definitions of 'ethical' and 'fair trade' products." Cartier's grant will also help DDI with current projects including human rights training and a registration project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo bringing over 70,000 miners into the formal sector.