Meet Our Producers
By Hand’s aim is to provide a market to marginalised producers in Indonesia and to bring some of the beautiful products that are produced in the vast country to the UK and Europe.
Indonesia is a vast country comprising over 17,000 islands and around 230 million people. It is a country blessed with beautiful scenery, a fascinatingly varied heritage and great cultural diversity, with over 300 ethnic groups calling Indonesia their home. Unfortunately, Indonesia also suffers from almost regular natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, as well as widespread poverty.
The products in the By Hand catalogue are sourced from two different regions in Indonesia:
- Bali – an Indonesian island that is steeped in history, tradition and culture. Although largely dependent on the tourist industry, a key part of Bali’s economy is the production of handicrafts, and many families in Bali are entirely dependent on the handicrafts that they produce for their source of income.
- From Yogyakarta, Java – Yogyakarta is the cultural capital of Java. The university town is famous for its batik and its cultural heritage, including the nearby temples of Prambanan and Borubudur. In 2006, Yogyakarta was hit by an earthquake that killed almost 6,000 people and left 1.5 million people homeless. The town has been in recovery ever since.
In Bali, By Hand works together with Arum Dalu Mekar – a fair trade organisation with WFTO membership. Arum Dalu Mekar supports local producers and helps to raise awareness about the environmental issues connected to handicraft production. It also focuses on preventing young people moving away from their villages in search of work by stimulating trade in the villages themselves and providing jobs for future generations. The producers are often from families who have been producing similar goods for generations. They use traditional methods that have been passed down from their forefathers and are also encouraged to learn new techniques to keep their products competitive.
In Yogyakarta, By Hand works together with a women’s cooperative, which produces a range of stunning batik silk scarves. The cooperative is based in Bantul, the area of Yogyakarta that was worst hit by the 2006 earthquake, and does a wonderful job empowering local women, teaching them all about batik and giving them a vital source of income to help them support their families.
Fair trade is an important principle for By Hand and we are committed to working in line with international fair trade principles: This means that the producers are paid a fair wage and can benefit from the financial security that comes with having a market for their goods over the long-term.
The result: Instead of having to worry about survival, our producers can turn all their attention to creating the beautiful products that you see in the By Hand catalogue.
