We buy the products we sell from craftmen or workshops who make them. We give greater place to small structures and we maintain long-standing relationships which a durability of development and a mutual understanding. We have been collaborating for more than 15 years with some workshops. More than simple supppliers they have now become partners.
We pre-finance a part of our orders. We do care about working conditions. We refuse middlemen so that workers get a full pay.
To avoid some subcontracting done without our knowledge, we may share too large orders for one workshop between several. We try, as much as possible, to space our orders.
The difference between the standards of living incite us to use the word "équitable" (fair trade in French) sparingly. But our aim is to promote exchanges allowing the developîng of the two sides.
For environmental and (economic) reasons all our goods travel by sea.
We have a special tenderness for raw materials offered by nature or stemming from reprocessing as seeds, raffia, banana tree fiber. As regards the use of wood (traditional in craftwork) we ask our partners to use fast-growing species only. But that doesn't apply to wooden spoons.
We do believe that this way of trading is also judicious for quality and creativity.
