Meet the Artisans

Baskets of Cambodia

In September of each year, Cambodian villagers bike as far as 50 miles in any direction in order to harvest 'la peuk', the plant of our purses and baskets, of the highest quality. It is then brought back to the villages to dry and begin to prepare.

The thread that ties the baskets together is cut from the long strands of 'la peuk'. When the material is ready local village women gather under bamboo huts and pass the day making various styles of baskets.

Not only are the baskets made completely without electricity, but even the measurements are made by approximating hand or arm lengths

By late Spring, the sources of 'la peuk' are usually exhausted, and the rain clouds begin to circle. Soon the rain will begin again, and the percentage of submerged land in Cambodia will increase from 10 to 30% as the ground becomes saturated.

Shipments must be at the port in southern Cambodia before this happens, as the roads out of our growing areas often become impassable during the rainy season.

The last obstacle to leaving Cambodia is the Port of Sihanoukville, where corruption still slows down progress in Cambodia. Customs rates are among the highest in the world and most of the payments are not recorded. Baskets of Cambodia hopes that the corruption entrenched in the current government will soon be subject to more accountability. In the meantime their goal is to keep the Fair Trade businesses up and running.

The great majority of people in Cambodia are honorable and extremely hard-working, and that has been a major key to their success.

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