Today as part of Fashion Revolution week, we asked our sellers Alessia and Marvi, co-founders of Lost in Samsara to guest post about their brand and the story behind their products.
In a world that is loosing touch with what matters we feel it is
important to reestablish the connection we have lost with one another. That is
the main reason why we started Lost in Samsara, a small ethical shop selling
crafts sourced from different projects we collaborate with around the
world. Connecting the products with the
artisans who make them is our core mission so we flew to Phnom Penh in
Cambodia, to meet them and hear their stories.
We sell a large range of products that are hand crafted in Cambodia from up-cycled cement bags, once in Phnom Penh we better understood why. The city and the country are still
recovering from the scars of a brutal civil war that lasted until the nineties
and a stroll in the streets is enough to see the legacy of those dark years.
Cambodia has many amputees, victims of landmines, and still today has one of
the highest casualty rates in the world. It is heartbreaking to see the number
of amputees, some using only their arms to move on the pavement without a wheel
chair. There are also construction sites everywhere and the cement bags are
literally scattered all over the city.
(cement bags)
We spent two days getting to know Phnom Penh and its history and we also
decide to pay a visit to Tuol Sleng, a former high school used during the Pol
Pot regime as a security prison and execution center, now turned into a
museum.
While trying to get our heads around it all, we start preparing to
meet Vichet, the representative of the organization we collaborate with. During
the ride on the local motor-remork, he tells us a bit more about life in
Cambodia and how they started this project, which since 2008 is giving training
and creating opportunities for 49 artisans who are mainly disabled.
(Alessia and Vichet with their upcycled travel card holder)
The artisans work in their homes, which gives them the chance to create
the crafts in their own environment and at their own pace. We arrive where two
of them live, a big block of flats not too far from the center of Phnom Penh.
We feel privileged to meet the people behind the products we sell
and entering their homes is really special. Seeing where they live and
listening to their stories is emotional. We all know what fair trade is but
getting closer to what it really means is something entirely different.
(artisans in their home)
One of the artisans, Srey (this is 'Mrs' in Khmer) Mach lives on her own and
she greets us with a big smile. She seems excited to meet us too and with the
help of Vichet, she tells us how she stepped on a mine 12 years ago when she
was only 21. The accident left her without a leg. Now she works for two
different organizations that provide her with enough work to sustain
herself. She tells us that she feels
happy now and that she enjoys working from home as she can organise her work
freely. The condition and the pay are much better than a garment factory she
says. She blushes from time to time
while talking to us so we all break the ice by joking for a while. She also
wants a picture with us to remember the day before we leave.
(Alessia with Srey Mach)
The other artisans live on another floor in the same building. They
greet us too with a big smile and show us what they are working on. Three of them are deaf and working on some
paper crafts. Vichet explain to us that they provide them with the orders, the materials
and the machinery when necessary and that the artisans are self-employed. They are paid
a livable wage and offered constant training including design workshops. The
founder of the organization Mr Sapbay works closely with other organizations
which aim to give employment to people with disabilities and offers youth
programs to support education.
We talk to them for a few more minutes and then we are off to visit
Mr Chantha, a jewellery maker. He shows us his workshop located in one of the
poorest areas in the outskirt of Phnom Penh. He tells us that he has lost both
his parents when he was little, his father was killed by the Khmer Rouge when
he was only 8. With the help of an
international NGO he received the training necessary to become a jewellery
maker. For the past twenty years he has been doing what he loves and he has now
enough work to reinvest in his workshop and to buy the machines and the tools
he needs to create his beautiful wares. Mr Chantha's work is special in
many ways. He uses bullet cases and bomb shells to make the jewellery that he
designs himself. It is incredible to see how the symbols of destruction are now transformed into something new and are now giving him the chance to sustain his new life.
(Mr Chantha melting down bullets to make his jewellery)
Mr Chantha shows us how he melts the bullets and how the all process
is done. He is a very joyful person and his English is very good. He also
trains young people and teaches them how to make the jewellery. He is really
proud of the work he does and keeps smiling while talking to us. His son Moss
runs around while he explains how hard it is to sustain all of his family but he
is determined to give both his two children a better future.
Before we leave we do few pictures together and like Srey Mach he
wants one with us too.
We head back to the hotel trying to keep everything in our mind.
Their resilience, their modest lives, their hard work are
something we’ll never forget.
Cambodia is a beautiful country but what struck us the most are its people. Despite the struggle they face everyday, the past that still haunts the present, the poverty and a government not interested in their wellbeing, Cambodians never spare a smile, one of those worth more than everything, one of those that goes deep into your soul and that is there to stay.
(Alessia and Vichet with the artisans)
>> Remember you can shop the 'Lost in Samsara' fairtrade collection here
No comments:
Post a comment