I just want to thank everyone who is supporting the Kiva microbank initiative I mentioned in last weeks newsletter. Absolutely brilliant. You know only half the world has access to finance, the very poor in the developing world are just too small fry for regular bankers to bother with. Via Kiva you can be a small scale bank, you won't make any money but you will help real people.
People like the tipsy family I mentioned last week (also thanks for ordering their mosaic bowls).

More Indonesia stock is arriving on-line by the day, (and there is another container due).

We just uploaded these really cool gold painted Albesia Wood Buddhas, which reminded me of the trip to the candlestick village, where these are made.
Ringo (our man in Indonesia) had heard that a village head man had secured an order for one design of candlestick to a very big French company. He then shared the work thought the village, bringing a mini wave of prosperity with it. We went to see him.

In a low long workshop, below the water-level of the village damn we found him turning albesia wood on a lathe. Next to him a pile of freshly turned candlesticks. Sunlight streamed in though a back window, and looking out I could see dragonflies skimming the palm fringed water at eye level mist shrouded mountains behind. Damn! they so often have spectacular views to work with.
He turned out to be a jolly chap, somewhat of a local hero.

Ringo knows everything, a regular insiders guide to handicrafts in Indonesia.
In the hills all the farmers and craft workers grow a few albesia trees where they can, but they cannot be cut by law until the trunk reaches 50cm, this ensures a sustainable supply. So a lot of wood is brought from Java where they have large commercial farms. They grow quickly, to maturity in about four years. If a handicraft producer can use his home grown wood, obviously it's a big bonus. It's a relatively new handicraft wood, only really useful with modern curing and drying technique. Thus I'm happy to say it is a very eco-friendly wood.

Taking us outside in the sunlight he proudly showed us a crumpled piece of blue paper, stamped and signed in various places and bearing the name of a big French supermarket. I could see the price agreed, and he showed us a nice classic whitewashed candle stick they had made. Eighty thousand pieces. Wow.
I asked him what it was like dealing with such a big company. He told us that an agent from Jakarta had turned up and dealt with everything, he'd never met anyone from the company.
It had been like a blessing from above and changed everything, why anyone would want so many lumps of trees was beyond him.

I said we might - not as many but a few. Ringo gave him his usual speech about how AW is an importer from Europe, how we try to be straightforward, how AW pay his (Ringo's) wages and that we won't be asking for hidden commissions or last minute discounts. I gave him my business card in the usual Asian fashion - held between finger and thumb of both hands details facing him. He studied it carefully - although I'm sure he wouldn't understand anything - and tucked it safely away.

In that case, he told Ringo, he could give us a good discount off the supermarkets price. But we don't want that many, and not just one design, a lot of designs. No problem.
Turns out that the dodgy agent from Jakarta had demanded a hefty backhander, which had to built in to the price. That was the day we got a better price than the big boys.

Take care and happy trading.
David
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