Kashgar Tribal Artifacts - Life for the Modern Nomad | Handmade Jewellery, ethnic handicrafts, antique furniture

In 2004 we made our first ever trip directly into Burma.  It was quite the experience, one we would defintely recommend to others...

Bernie still makes the treck to the Afghan border region from North West Frontier Pakistan, a wild and dangerous part of the world...

Home of many of the tribal groups we buy from...

Our trip through the highlands of the north...

Home of the ancients...

Out of Africa...

It has been said "Trade beats aid when it comes to helping the poor" (Sydney Morning Herald, Sept 2007). Traditional aid to countries such as East Timor can help, but it can also reach a point of diminishing return and eventually inhibit independent and sustainable economic growth. Groups such as the Women's Woven Art Group (WWA) are attempting to address these issues by managing ignorance, despair, poverty and aid-dependence at a grass-roots level. Created by Tricia Johns approximately four years ago, the WWA works with 120 East Timorese women weavers, seamstresses and paper makers to produce attractive and saleable products based on the country's traditional hand-woven cloth, "tais". While Tricia directs the group from within East Timor, Alix Mandelson in Sydney acts as one of the contact points within Australia to receive and distribute their products.