Izara Arts
Handicrafts Project
Visit
www.izaraarts.com for
our online catalogue and click here to
see a video about the handicraft
project 
Izara Arts is
a fair trade project created by the Khom Loy Development Foundation to provide a
sustainable income for the women of hilltribe villages ofNorthern Thailand. By combining
traditional techniques with modern design, they are opening the door to trade
with western markets, and giving hilltribe women the ability to earn enough
money to remain in their villages, educate their children, and preserve a
disappearing heritage. As a KLDF
income generation project, all profits from Izara Arts are directly reinvested
in the hilltribe communities through agriculture, education, and micro-finance
programs.
To maximise jobs and add value,
each of Izara Arts' striking bags, eyemasks and other personal accessories
combines the different styles, techniques and cultures of up to four different
tribal groups. Villagers are trained as artisans and taught to produce to
the highest quality to ensure that they are not competing at the low end of the
market. All products meet Fair Trade regulations.
Currently, they work with approximately 60 villagers, from the Akha, Karen,
Lahu, Lisu, Mien, Dalaang and Hmong ethnic minority groups. The manager,
Patricia Solar and her assistant Natchakarn Seneewong Na Ayudhya (Muay) are
developing designs and prototypes that will complement the hilltribe techniques
and hopefully hit the rise of a new trend like the yoga mat/exercise bag and the
range of permanent shopping bags.
Against a
backdrop of some of the most turbulent financial markets in decades, Izara Arts
is pleased to have achieved sales of over 1m Thai Baht/US$35,000 in 2008, its
first full year of trading. Buyers so far include: US, Thai and Canadian
yoga clubs, large resort hotels in
Thailand, World
of Good (a large US Fair Trade retailer)and an Australian wholesaler of eco-friendly shopping
bags
In addition to its work in the
north of Thailand, Izara Arts
assisted groups in the Tsunami-struck south of Thailand in
2005-6. Special edition handicrafts have been designed and donated for
fundraising projects such as Orlando Museum First Thursday event 4th
September 2008 (see a 7 minute
video at: http://www.vimeo.com/2958741) and a forthcoming event
for Angkor Hospital for Children, Siem Reap, Cambodia in February 2009. It has
been invited to create products for Anantara Resort King's Cup Elephant Polo
Tournaments 2008 and 2009.
For more information please
contact Patricia Solar, vannesolar@gmail.com, Thai mobile: +66 89 264 0380. To
see the full range of Izara Arts products, visit their website at www.izaraarts.com.
We gratefully acknowledge the start-up funding from INDEVOR, a group of
Alumni of the
INSEAD
Business
School
. We are seeking further funding to
help with the costs of design, production and marketing of present and future
product ranges.
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