| ABOUT GAZLANNATHAI | |
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Gazlannathai is a Fair Trade reseller operating in Northern Thailand. Although not registered with FLO, we adhere to their principles as far as possible.
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Our suppliers are mainly ethnic minorities, displaced persons, and refugees, including the "Thai Hill Tribes" that are often exploited for tourism purposes whilst being denied citizenship.
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Because many of the Hill Tribes are classed as stateless persons, they are denied access to higher education, travel for employment, and many other benefits of citizenship. Additionally they are frequently relocated involuntarily to non-productive agricultural land, or to terrain unsuitable for their traditional lifestyles. Despite this, they farm as best they can, but having made an area productive are often relocated again by unthinking authorities.
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Gazlannathai purchases their handicrafts at a fair price for resale in markets to which they have no access - i.e. globally via the Internet. Many of the villages we buy from have no access to tourists, as they are not on the tourist "trekking" routes, or are prohibited to tourists due to being refugee camps or in sensitive border areas. In many cases, we have to rely on others to access the camps, taking in money and bringing out the goods you see in our catalogues. Such trading is essential to those peoples for their daily necessities and makes a significant contribution to improving their quality of life. As little as £0.50 can feed a family for a day, yet they may not have the opportunity to earn even that much..
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As
little as £600.00 can build a basic woven bamboo and thatch dwelling in
those camps and villages where materials have to be bought in. This house, built in a
refugee village of Burmese Akha and Lahu peoples, was paid for by foreign
money earned through sale of handicrafts (by GazLanNaThai and friends) in the UK & US, in shops and
using online auction sites such as eBay and eBid.
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Not everything we sell comes from under-privileged peoples, and we have no wish to give the impression that it does.
Some items we make ourselves, and generally use workers that do not have other employment. Some of those workers are temporary, and we offer income to see them through difficult periods. Short term workers, directly employed by us, have been young mothers suddenly divorced or widowed and who otherwise would have been forced into working as bar-hostesses or prostitutes. The temporary employment we've provided to them has permitted saving sufficient money to return to their family homes and villages, where they are able to avoid such work, and benefit from extended family care of their children.
By working for the money, instead of receiving charitable donations, they are able to build their feeling of self-worth and realisation that they do not have to become trapped in the vice-industries.
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Other suppliers we buy from are those companies which strive to keep traditional skills alive, and which by doing so, may suffer competitive disadvantage against modernised competitors. One such example is the silk spinning and weaving industry.
Northern Thailand is a traditional production area for silk, and demand now pressures most companies to expand and modernise, which loses the skill-base for new traditional and home-based businesses. We aim to support companies that encourage retention on that knowledge, and thus support future cottage-industry opportunities for those without the capital to create large enterprises..
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By purchasing from GazLanNaThai, you support both those in genuine need, and the retention of the traditional crafts and skills, that make holidays in Northern Thailand such an interesting and enjoyable experience.
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