More Karuna Village Fair Trade Merchandise at the Fair Trade Cafe

Karuna Village is extending its range of fair trade products for sale at the Fair Trade Cafe in Phoenix. The retail side of the Karuna Village operation is an important part of its efforts and we are planning to put more emphasis on the Fair Trade Cafe as a retail outlet for a variety of fair trade products, including the fine art, from August onwards.

Karuna Village is a non-profit organization committed to providing fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers. We purchase items ranging from home décor to jewelry and clothing to soap from cooperatives and other non-profit organizations throughout the world, including the United States. Some of the initiatives we support with these purchases include building schools and hospitals, training and income for disadvantaged populations and reforestation. Every time you buy a piece Karuna Village Fair Trade merchandise you are contributing to one of these projects.

We have new items available every month and they are available for purchase only at the Fair Trade Café in Downtown Phoenix. Use your purchases to make a positive impact in the world.

Fair Trade Resource Network

If you want to find out more about the world of fair trade and what it can do for people across the planet, you might want to check out the Fair Trade Resource Network. They describe themselves as an "information hub designed to grow the fair trade movement". Obviously, we at Karuna Village applaud their efforts and wish to support their work in any way we can - even if it just by giving them a plug here!

The Fair Trade Network was founded in 1999 and is a nonprofit organisation. Its primary purpose is education of the buying public - "helping people to better understand the impact of their buying decisions". If you are a fair trade outlet, or thinking of providing fair trade goods, they have a wide variety of resources that can help you in getting your fair trade message across to your audience.

One of the key elements of Karuna Village was that we didn't just want to sell high quality art on a fair trade basis, we wanted to tell the story behind the art. Think of the value you get as an art buyer over buying some derivative department store 'decor', when you get a personal story, belief, culture, and often a mythology, as well as a unique piece of fine art. Plus, you are helping to support an economy where often there are few alternatives to earn a living for the people involved. That's what I love about the internet - it gives a global market to the remotest peoples. How great is that!

Embroidery Painting

This is another speciality of Vietnam - embroidery painting. Embroidery art has been around for over 700 years and the northern provinces of Ninh Binh and Ha Tay are particularly renown for their embroidery skills. These artists literally paint with different coloured embroidery threads. This particular piece is my favorite - it reminds me of the lush green woodlands of the Forest of Dean in England where I lived before coming to Arizona. This is a large piece at 15" x 23" and would have taken the artist over a month to complete! Of course, a quality piece like this one is not cheap - this piece will set you back some $700, but there are great variety of subjects, sizes and prices. Check out our selection on the Karuna Village website!

Fish Painting Brings Good Fortune

Every wanted a fish tank but didn't have the space? Well how about one of these on your wall? It is another example of Vietnamese Lacquer art. In my last post I showed one of the more modern styles of Vietnamese Lacquer art. This example is more traditional and might well be found in any Vietnamese or Chinese home or restaurant.

It is a stunning piece of work, the fish being made of mother of pearl inlaid on beautiful vermilion lacquer. This is a new piece and was added to the Karuna Village gallery - www.karunavillage.com - only a few days ago. It is said in Vietnam, that if you have a fish painting hanging on the wall of your house, it can bring good fortune onto the household. Personally, I always feel fortunate when I have great art adorning my walls. What a great piece this would make for a bathroom!