|
|
PRODUCT & PRODUCER INFORMATIONNatural Dyed, Hand Block Printed Throws, Scarves & Garments The hand-block printed fabric designs of north India are some of the best known and widely admired manufactures of India. Special expertise in the complex, exact process of block-making was developed in the Jaipur area of Rajasthan to service the myriad royal Rajput courts. Many designs have outlasted the rise and fall of other fashions and become a staple of home furnishings in the Europe & the USA. Using up to 40 different blocks, the printer stamps out the patterns while the cloth is laid over long tables. The dyes are derived from earths, rocks, roots, plants and even old iron nails. Some colours are photo-reactive, requiring drying in sunlight before they find their true colour. Some colours are strengthened by means of a steaming process. One pattern (Kandinspiration) includes some non-natural pigments. In some cases the printer may apply a resist rather than a colour so that a 'batik' method of dipping the fabric into huge dye vats can be employed. Indigo is the most common dye to be applied like this. WONDERWORLD has built on the traditional skills of Jaipur block printers by designing, in co-operation with our producer partners, a number of highly successful original patterns for bedspreads, cushion covers, cotton voile scarves, cotton shirts, trousers and skirts, oven gloves and aprons. Recently we have learnt to produce brighter colours by steaming our fabric.
Working on new designs with Mrs Lal - our principle block printer Expansion of the hand-block print industry in Jaipur is much welcomed in view of the closure of many screen printing units following concerns about the environmental and health impacts of some dyes required by that particular process. Germany and other major markets have been effectively closed to Indian screen print manufacturers. While the local market for textiles is still massive the impact of these changes on the local economy has still been significant.
Mrs Lal - with new WONDERWORLD design Hare/Tortoise for 2003. (Click for large version) Our block print partners are led Mr & Mrs Lal in Sanganir near Jaipur. A core staff of six full time employees work in a new block print workshop with seven tables. The unit has been visited by WONDERWORLD on many occasions. We carried out a health & safety audit in February 2002 and funded various infrastructural improvements such a improved ventilation, staircase bannisters, fire precautions. Copies available. with on site lavatory, fresh water. The unit has also been visited and reported on by two outside fair trade monitoring organisations IRFT & Dutch World Shops. Copies of their reports are also available. Product Images for Hand Block Print fabrics as cotton voile scarves, furnishings or accessories. Products: Trousers, Scarves. Single & Double Throws, Table Clothes, Oven Gloves & Aprons Ritual Artefacts, Buddhist Figures & Decorations Mantric sound is a mysterious part of the Tibetan & Nepalese Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Traditional craftsmen in the old Buddhist town of Pathan in Nepal have been making Buddhist artefacts for at least 15centuries. "Singing" bowls can be played by smoothly, slowly and firmly moving the wooden stick around the outer edge. A continuous musical note, reverberating at different octaves is created. The skilled performer is able to sustain and accentuate the bass element. Each bowl has a character and the real sound often has to be discovered. Many "singing" bowls also come from the east Indian state of Manipur where they are used as food bowls. The darker, dirtier looking bowls are from Pathan while the cleaner shinier bowls are from Manipur. The singing aspect of the bowl can be used on its own, with other bowls or with the human voice in chanting. The bowl can also be rung by gentle beating with the stick, producing a beautiful, gently diminishing note appropriate for the practise of meditation and ritual. Special wands with a felt covered section are available.
Ritual Cymbals with 8 Auspicious Symbols & Om Ah Hum mantra Cymbals can also be used during meditation, ritual or chanting. The upper surface can be decorated with a dragon, with the 8 auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism or simply plain. The underside is inscribed with a mantra, usually Om Mani Hum. Lama Bell & Dorje are two items traditionally used together for meditation and ritual practise. The bell represents wisdom and feminine qualities while the dorje represents creative male energy in the form of a thunderbolt. These items should be supplied and used together. Hold the bell in the left hand and the dorje in the palm of the right hand. The sounding of the bell and presence of the dorje balance energy around places of ritual or meditation. Buddhist figurines are from the Pathan town area of Kathmandu Valley. Pathan has a centuries old handicraft metalwork history and numerous stunning Buddhist shrines & temples. The figurines (or 'rupas' or 'forms' as they are known in the Buddhist tradition) are created in brass, copper, gold and silver using the lost wax method. Each figure is individually created in wax, a pattern then embedded in sand which melts away with the inflow of hot metal. The wax pattern is a beautiful artwork in itself but the metal impression emerges from the mould quite rough and in need of extensive finishing. There are several marks of quality but traditionally one looks for the detail and lifelikeness in the representation of the robes as well as the refinement of expression. (However the assessment of a figure's expression is rather subjective. On a recent visit to the famous Sameling Buddhist Gompa in the Scottish Borders I noticed how most of the rupas, obviously very fine and expensive objects, bore expressions more reminiscent of sucking of lemons than the attainment of Enlightenment and consequent experience of True Happiness.)
The "Cho Pen" or Wall Hanging is decorated with the 8 auspicious symbols, the Tashi Takay (in Tibetan) or Astha Mangala (in Nepalese). The eight symbols are: Water Pitcher, Banner, Wheel of the Dharma, Two Fishes, Conch, Endless Knot, Umbrella and the Lotus. These are the same symbols which appear on some ritual cymbals. Point of Sale: Product Images for Buddhist Figurines & Ritual Artefacts. Products: Ritual Cymbals, Singing Bowls: 200g-1000g, Wall Hanging with 8 Auspicious Symbols, Lama Bells & Dorje. In Nepal there has been a recent success story for an NGO sponsored programme. About three years ago a European supported NGO trained a number of women to make up multi-coloured felt pieces that could be sewn up into bags, purses, hats and so on. Out of this initiative four felt making units have now emerged in the Kathmandu area, producing export quality items. This means much needed jobs in the struggling Nepali economy. We have started trading with one of these units - a regular Nepali business - not an NGO. The NGO who initiated felt making in this style should be congratulated for promoting an artisan skill which has readily translated into the mainstream economy. We are trying to find out the name of the NGO concerned to name check them directly. (Click on thumbnails to enlarge)
Carded, coloured wool is obtained from the mill and formed using soap & warm water as in the pictures above and below. Artistic elements are achieved by carefully working different colour areas together, entangling the fibres yet leaving a clear definition. The felt is sun dried before finishing using sewing machines and hand stitching. About 40 people are employed in this unit, some of whom live on the premises.
We have visited the felt making unit in Kathmandu and begun the process of dialogue that enables us to lay the foundations for raising fair trade, health & environmental issues with the producers. For example we asked about the rates paid to men & women staff - the producer reported that the piece rates paid to men and women were identical. We asked about the health effects of working with unprotected hands in soapy water - the producer commented that working with gloves was unfeasible given the way the material had to be worked, that some staff do indeed get skin reactions and that those staff received remuneration to cover their lost piece rate earnings while they recovered. We asked about the dyes used in the colouring of the wool - the producer reported that the dyes were the same used in the Nepali carpet industry.
In this way we have begun to establish in the minds of this producer partner that we have an additional agenda that is different from the purely commercial one. If we can increase our orders over the coming months we will gain leverage to pursue that agenda. This producer was quick and adaptable when we asked for our new designs, open and frank when we asked them questions relating to our fair trade objectives. We have hopes that this relationship can be developed both commercially and ethically over the coming months.
Product Images for Felt Bags & Purse. Products: Shoulder Bags, Handbags, Purses In Nepal the bark of the Daphne bush has similar properties to the Thai Sa tree and is actively encouraged in areas where forests have been denuded. It is used to produce a distinctive Nepalese variety of hand made paper, seen in our packaging for rope incense & decorative hangings. Hand-made paper is a "khadi" industry in India - a low tech, high skill, small-scale type of production deemed most appropriate for the Indian situation by Gandhi and his followers and now subject of numerous government incentives. In India the hand made paper industry uses cotton offcuts from the textile industry. Ingredients such as used tea leafs, chopped wheat grass, flowers & algae strands give texture and character. The process is partly mechanised in that the paper pulp is usually churned by machine and a heavy press squeezes out moisture and flattens the face of the paper. However numerous intervening processes are done by hand, especially the critical laying out of the liquid paper pulp mixture. WONDERWORLD's Fragrant Garden Natural Incense packaging is made from hand made paper in Pondicherry. Product Images for Hand Made Paper. Products: Notebooks, Decorative Hangings. Outcaste potter communities in the Jaipur area specialise in a cheap, pleasing ceramic style known as "blue" ceramic. Each piece is hand thrown and hand painted with simple designs. The firing process is critical with whole kiln loads often having to be discarded because of small temperature fluctuations which spoil the firing. This accounts for the sporadic nature of WONDERWORLD stock holding of Jaipur Blue Ceramic.
Products: Daisy Bowls, Coasters, Animal Incense Holders. Product Images for Ceramics Fragrant Garden Natural Incense
Fragrant Garden Natural Incense is a premium quality incense in 24 different options produced by Cottage Industries in Pondicherry, South India. It is made to a traditional incense recipe. The basic masala paste is a mixture of thirty different ingredients. They include sandalwood, devadaru, vetivert, rose petals, champa, cinnamon, aniseed, and other herbs known by local names, bound together by gum from the South Indian jiggat tree. Some common perfumery compounds are used to accent the natural aromatic character of the incense. The masala paste is hand rolled on to bamboo sticks. Bamboo is an appropriate material for this purpose as it is renewable and local. Cutting and splitting of bamboo is carried out in a nearby village where it has been the traditional trade for centuries. Rolled sticks are dried in the sun before packing in hand-made paper packets.
The hand-made paper used for packing Fragrant Garden Natural Incense is wood free, made from recycled rag and banana plant stalks. All the finishing processes including printing and sealing into cases for wholesale merchandising are carried out in Pondicherry. Maximum value is thus added in the country of origin before sea shipping to the UK. Cottage Industries staff enjoy good working conditions, yearly wage rises above the rate of inflation, insurance and pension benefits. The methods employed in creating Fragrant Garden Natural Incense contrast sharply with many popular brands of incense that are manufactured and packaged in the UK using sawdust blanks dipped into purely artificial solutions. Such products often smell very strong. However we believe that the natural ingredients used in Fragrant Garden offer a more subtle, pleasing experience, as you will discover when you compare them for yourself. Cottage Industries is a project of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo was a civil servant in Bengal who became a radical political organiser, newspaper editor and writer. He played a key role in stirring up nationalist sentiment at the turn of the century. Sri Aurobindo was prosecuted for sedition and imprisoned. In 1910 he escaped from Bengal to Pondicherry, at that time was a small enclave under French rule. Sri Aurobindo's political aims always embodied broader concepts of India's needs than mere national self determination. He was deeply schooled in Indian religion. In prison he studied yoga and on reaching Pondicherry spent four years in intensive yoga practice. Sri Aurobindo's spirituality was not esoteric. He wanted the benefits of higher mental states, cultivated through yoga and other spiritual practices, to be felt by ordinary people. A positive approach to everyday life became manifest in the ashram that grew around him. All work taking place in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram is still carried out in accord with yogic principles of self giving and self consecration. Sri Aurobindo never set out to found an institution, but so many people came to live at Pondicherry it was necessary to make provision for their support. The commercial activities of the Ashram now include several small scale industries, like Cottage Industries, such as wood working, stainless steel, hand made paper, embroidery, perfume, pottery, batik, printing and incense. Cottage Industries is now a member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT).
We have visited Cottage Industries regularly. We believe they are ethical employers, paying wages and benefits above the industry average and providing a good working environment to all staff. The unit we visited housed rolling teams in tall, thatched sheds built under mature trees, very cool, well ventilated structures and much preferable to working in standard concrete buildings. A reed bed water purification is under development (next to the shed in the picture). Potted plants and bedded plants are grown in abundance. Environmental & Ethical Concerns about Sandalwood. Recently we have become aware of problems around the supply of sandalwood for the aromatic industry. These concerns are covered in an article on this web-page. To summarise briefly the argument ........ Sandalwood is very near to becoming a CITES recognised endangered plant species, globally only the Indian government is addressing the shortage with a replanting scheme. Grave doubts about the efficacy of the scheme exist because of the continuing high value black market in sandalwood with all the attendant issues, the only really effect of the scheme is to give a veneer of respectability to traders. Ecologically minded people should therefore boycott the use of sandalwood in aromatics, aromatherapy, herbalism and handicraft. Some incense suppliers have dropped sandalwood from their range. We talked with Cottage Industries about this - see GOOD BUSINESS December 2004 for our current position. Point of Sale: Fragrant Garden Aroma Guide; Fragrant Garden Product & Producer Information Products: Amber, Autumn Harmony, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Geranium, Himalayan Cedar, Indian Summer (Tuberose), Jasmine, Lemon Grass, Lemon Grass & Neem Insect Repelling, Lotus, Musk, Myrrh, Nectar, Patchouli, Pine, Rose, Sandalwood, Spring Boquet (Vetivert), Vanilla, Wild Orchid. 3 Variety Packs. 20 Sticks per packet. Average burn time 35 minutes. Tibetan
Healing Incense is a popular brand of incense for many customers. The
success of this product has been largely based on consistent attention to
quality by a highly conscientious producer. Our
suppliers of Tibetan Healing Incense are the original manufacturers of
this distinctive incense type. Many
inferior imitations have been made but sticking rigidly to an exact
recipe has paid our supplier dividends.
They are the relatives of the Tibetan doctor, at that time working
for the Tibetan government in exile, who prescribed the specifications for
combining 31 natural ingredients into Healing Incense.
He realised that a combination initially intended for use as an
inhalant under the Tibetan medical system had broader
aromatic appeal. Tibetan
Healing incense is produced on real cottage industry scale, a lean-too
shed at the back of a small house near Swayumbunath temple above Kathmandu.
At no point in the process are powered tools used.
The only machine is a hand turned press which squeezes out the
strings of incense. The
secret of the process is making up the precise recipe and then cutting
& drying the strings carefully.
The
Nepali workers in this small unit come from one village community in the
lower Kathmandu valley, west of the city.
During our David Turner’s recent visit he explained to the
Tibetan owners about the expectations of the European Fair Trade market.
In particular he asked if they would be ready to accept contact
with outside monitors who would speak to their Nepali staff about their
rates of pay, terms and conditions of work and other issues of interest to
the Fair Trade market. They
readily agreed. On
this basis WONDERWORLD has promoted Tibetan Healing Incense up from our
Prospects category to the main WONDERWORLD range which we believe can be
purchased with confidence by fair trade and ethical trade shops.
Our perception of the producers of Tibetan Healing Incense is that
they are good people and good employers.
At some time in the future we will commission a credible Nepali NGO
to go and check if, in the overall context of Nepal, our perception is
correct. Fragrant Mountain Himalayan Rope Incense
Himalayan rope incense is a granular aromatic wrapped in hand-made paper & twisted into a double spiral rope. This is a common way of using aromatics in Nepal. The rope twists burn best while flat on a surface and are often placed in ornate rectangular burner boxes. Ingredients are frequently mixed to order, especially where they are to be used in special religious, ritual or ceremonial occasions. The ingredients are natural and a distinctive, honey like fragrance is the most commonly encountered version in Nepal; a very distinctive, attractive aroma, quite unlike Indian doop or joss. We have developed very attractive Fragrant Mountain as a brand for Himalayan Rope Incense, linking it to Fragrant Garden incense. The packaging box is neat, handy, robust and reusable, either for more Fragrant Mountain rope incense or for something else. The package is based on Nepali daphne bush derived hand-made paper and itself constructed by hand. Each packaging box contains a small burner. Merchandising boxes holding 24 individual boxes in the same overall packaging style make life easy for retailers with box sticker as above. We have a good relationship with the producer who works hard with us to get the product right. If we can establish good regular demand for Fragrant Mountain we will be in an excellent position to persue fair trade & ethical issues with them. Egypt
is a country of huge disparity between rich and poor.
Most Egyptians live in poverty, either in underdeveloped city
districts or in rural areas. Today,
in many parts of Egypt, people live, work and eat in the same way as they
would have under the Pharaohs.
The production facilities of the glass blowing project are located in a poor and very crowded part of Cairo. Between 10-15 man are working there, the income they make supports large families. The salaries they earn are based on the quantities they produce. This systems provides them with a good income. The process of blowing the glass products is safe, but not always to Western standards.
(Click
on thumbnails to enlarge) Our
suppliers started to work with this project only recently, so we do not
have a long track record yet in this glass blowing project.
But they are focused on improving the working and safety
circumstances in the project. They intend
to have a long-term involvement in the project and will work on these
issues with the local leadership of the project.
They work for co-ordination purposes with a local agent, who
closely contacts the project for coaching purposes. Glass
blowing is a very ancient artistic craft profession in Egypt.
It is highly skilled work demanding maximum concentration and
accuracy. Techniques
are handed down the generations, usually from father to son as the
profession is mainly limited to men. The production is divided in 5 major steps:
(Click
on thumbnails to enlarge) WONDERWORLD's intermediary for Egyptian Baubles/Wedding Favours is a Dutch fair trade company licensed by the Dutch National Association of World Shops. Product
Images - more, lots more pictures. Vietnamese Egg-Shell Lacquerwork Pictures
Supplied by a company run by Christian minorities in Vietnam. WONDERWORLD's intermediary for Egg Shell Lacquerwork is a Dutch fair trade company licensed by the Dutch National Association of World Shops. Wood carving is a common craft in Jaipur city with the wood of the kadambh tree used extensively. Kadambh is a common tree of Rajasthan, often grown by farmers around the edges of fields as a supplementary crop. It is an entirely renewable timber source. We use kadambh wood to make our popular nut bugs, fruit bugs and wooden flip mirrors. Often these items are hand painted. These items are NOT toys - do not display as or near toys. Products: Wooden Flip Mirrors, Nut Bugs Apron/Oven Glove Sets Hand block printed oven gloves and aprons - two designs in green or blue designs. Oven gloves made to the British Standard. Product Image Nepalese Decorative Hangings Hand made paper to hang from the ceiling.
|
