We've just received our new selection of Caña Flecha
products from Colombia. The clutch and bracelets are inspired by the traditional skills of
artisans throughout Colombia. Contemporary
designs are
combined with age-old
techniques, natural materials and sustainable methods of production
to ensure each product is truly exceptional.
CañaFlecha is a
type of palm, native
to Colombia; the CañaFlechais dyed with
fruits, vegetables, and plants. Once it is dried it
is hand-woven by artisans using traditional
Pre-Colombian techniques that combine indigenous and contemporary designs.
We're now stocking a selection of stunning copper vases and bowls from the Association of Craft Producers (ACP). ACP is a not for profit, fair trade organisation
providing support services
to low-income Nepalese craft producers. ACP is a resource to advance and
globally distribute their work, for which the producers receive fair wages and generous
benefits.
In addition to fair wages, the consistent commitment from ACP and fair trade premium has empowered many of their female producers. For example, Nara Maya, a woman from eastern Nepal married young and never went to school. She struggled to sustain her family, until moving to Kathmandu and finding work with ACP. She is now trained in various skills and specialises in ceramics. ACP provide an allowance for her daughters to attend school. As ACP say: "Today Nara Maya possesses multi skills. She earns much more than her husband's earning. The fact that she is contributing to the bread basket has done wonders for her self confidence and she is now an independent and confident woman".
Nara Maya Rai & Ram Devi Mali who work with ACP
Using basic tools, ACP's producers from Palpa in Nepal create stunning works of
hand-hammered copper. The producers have branched out from making utensils,
storage pieces and jars to decorative items for the home, broadening their market and expanding their skills.
We're now halfway through Fairtrade Fortnight, an annual chance to celebrate the opportunities we have to buy fairly. There are great products available from a range of retailers, some of which (like coffee and tea) you'll be very familiar with, and others which are a bit more unusual. For some items it's easy to spot if they are fair trade - you can look for the Fairtrade logo when you're in the supermarket. For others, like a lot of the products we stock, it's more complicated. You may well ask why we don't insist that all of our products carry the Fairtrade logo, and we've tried to answer that here.
For us, the key criteria is transparency. The people you buy from should be open and honest about where their products come from, and should be able to answer questions you have about how the people who created them are remunerated and treated. We have a detailed list of standards we apply to the products we buy, and also have a questionnaire we send to all prospective suppliers.
We like to think this is going "beyond the logo" and building up a genuine, ongoing relationship with the artisans and craftspeople we are buying from. We have already visited some of our suppliers in person in Mexico and hope to meet more over the year ahead as time allows. Coming soon we have more exclusive lines from Argentina, Colombia and India. If you have any questions about any of the products we stock, please get in touch and we can tell you all we know.
by Andrew Williams |
February 14, 2013
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We've been experimenting with videos to show more of what we're doing at Eighteen Rabbit. We hope to be able to bring you insights into the products we sell and the people who make them. Do you think video is a good way of sharing this information? Let us know! In the meantime, here's a short introduction...
by Andrew Williams |
February 04, 2013
|0 Comments
Valentine's Day - an opportunity to show the one you love how much you care, or just another "Hallmark Holiday" designed to keep the tills ringing after Christmas? It's easy to be cynical. After all, many of us will be opening some unwelcome credit card bills at the moment and the thought of splashing out on more gifts may harden the softest of hearts.
If you live in Hay on Wye there are a number of options open to you to show the one you love you care without breaking the bank. Of course Hay is famous for books and our shop is opposite one of the amazing "honesty bookshops" around town. For anyone who hasn't seen these, they are covered shelving displays which are open to the public and unstaffed. If you see a book you like you simply pop the amount to pay in an honesty box on the wall. At 50p for paperbacks and £1 for hardbacks it's a real bargain.
As you'd imagine there is a lot of chaff to wade through to get to the literary wheat, but if you have half an hour to spare you can find some incredible titles. A beautiful book of poetry published in 1871 for example - the idea of who might have owned this book, read it, perhaps given it as a gift themselves, is romantic enough. At a quid I think it would make a thoughtful and thought provoking gift for any young lovebirds.
Here are a few lines to give you a flavour (I've put it back now so if you're quick you may be able to snap it up).
Of course if your budget stretches a little further we have some lovely gift ideas here at Eighteen Rabbit, from our incredible Cambodian jewellery to cool tee shirts to handmade scented candles. You don't have to spend a lot to show you care, and when you buy items which have been fairly traded you're ensuring that the love spreads beyond the gift you give to the people and families you are supporting.
