It’s painful to drive along some back roads in Bali watching dozens of men patiently carving hundreds of wooden dolphins and elephants that no one wants to buy. One identical little shop after the other overflows with unfashionable merchandise, while the carvers industriously turn out more and more and more. It’s the same with the beautiful baskets in Singakerta — too big for waste bins, wrong shape for laundry. Or little boxes, the wrong colour and just a shade too small for CDs.
Middlemen and art shops monopolize the handicraft market in Bali. Most small artisans work independently, without business skills or information about styles and trends. They have no access to markets and are forced to rely on agents who keep most of the profit. In the unlikely event that an independent craft producer does get an order, s/he has no access to the capital necessary to purchase the raw materials.
If this makes depressing reading for us, imagine what it must be like sitting hopelessly beside a shop full of unsaleable inventory day after day. I’ve often wondered if there wasn’t some agency to help these very small artisans, and recently discovered that the missing link has been working quietly and effectively to address these issues for the past 10 years.
Mitra Bali FairTrade Foundation acts as a design consultant, market and export facilitator for small producers who have been missing out on Bali’s handicraft bonanza. This non-government, non-profit organization functions loosely as a cooperative of about 60 producer groups employing over 1,000 men and women. All these groups now have sustainable, profitable businesses or are well on the road to doing so.
Mitra Bali is one of the very few Yayasans I’ve encountered here which was established and run entirely by Balinese. Its pleasant Centre in Lod Tunduh houses 25 highly articulate and competent Balinese staff. Computers hum in every corner, monitoring design, programs, accounting and shipping. Here, artisans have access to a comprehensive design library and access to product designers. A program of monthly workshops focuses on new trends, technical aspects of production, and health and safety. Mitra Bali ships four 40 foot containers of high-quality crafts to the outside world every month.Agung Alit, founder and manager of Mitra Bali and change agent extraordinaire, is gratified with the success of his vision. "I started off working in Jakarta with a handicraft foundation and quickly saw that we could sell Balinese handicrafts directly. A Japanese foundation provided $800 seed money – the only external funding we’ve ever had – and we never looked back.
"Because there’s just one step between the producer and the market, we can pay fairly and remain competitive. Growing awareness about ethical trade is very helpful. We sell to Shared Earth, Ten Thousand Villages, the Fair Trade Organization in the Netherlands and several other fair trade retailers."
What happens when an artisan approaches Mitra Bali? Agung takes the typical example of Subami, who joined the Foundation in 1998. He was recently married with a pregnant wife and had no income. He’d been painting small products, but the quality of his work was low. Mitra Bali invited him to join a workshop on painted products and gave him several new designs to work on. Staff followed up with visits to his home to encourage him to improve the quality of his work. Then the Foundation placed a small order, paying a 50% cash deposit to allow him to purchase materials and equipment. Step by step Subami moved on to other designs, closely supported by Mitra Bali, with the quality constantly improving. Today his work is sought after and Subami has a steady list of orders to fill.
Large orders mean more employment for more Balinese. "One of our artisans has gone from producing 100 pieces every three months to 40,000," notes Agung. Without quality control support, this leap would have been catastrophic. Instead, it has brought prosperity to many.
In the past, producers were competitive and didn’t want to cooperate. Now they see the advantage of working together. The Foundation encourages them to establish coopand producer decide to work directly together, the Foundation is happy to step back.
Mitra Bali now pays a flat 60% of the value of the order to the producer as a deposit, and the balance in cash within a week of delivery. This is a critical issue in a situation where producers very rarely have the savings to invest in materials, or enough cash flow to support them during the production process. ‘Group Funds’ are established as credit schemes for groups which have no orders.
The Foundation also addresses the quality and sustainability of the materials used. It refuses to buy articles made of ebony or teak, and encourages its carvers to use sustainable, fast-growing woods such as albesia and jem pinih, even providing seeds so the producer can grow his own wood. Non-toxic paint is used on articles made for children. Silver products are assayed to ensure 925 purity.
I was immediately drawn into the vortex of positive energy that illuminates the Mitra Bali Centre. The Foundation provides its employees with English lessons, driving lessons and trips abroad to study marketing and design. This nurturing produces impressive results; the staff is outstanding.
I left the Mitra Bali Centre feeling buoyant. In a country where there is so much bad news, it is delightful to meet a group of professionals dedicated to fairness, transparency, gender equity and environmental responsibility. May they do well while doing good. Visit Mitra Bali’s stunning website at www.mitrabali.com
Mitra Bali Fair Trade Foundation
Jalan Gunung Abang Lod Seam,
Lod Tunduh, Ubud Telephone 295010
