Bali Online Information | Fair Trade in Bali 1

Fair Trade in Bali

By Degung Santikarma, with the contribution of john MacDougall ( Primitive in bali)

Farmers and Terni tes

Once a poor farming village in the hills north of Ubud, Tegallalang is now a row of “art shop” selling brightly – painted carved cats. Farmers who could barely eke a living out of their houses and family temples, and hold grandiose cremation ceremonies for their ancestors. Residents joke that they have changed from petani , or farmers, into tetani , or termites, living off the wood from which they carve their crafts. Hired hands from east Bali farm their ancestral lands – that is, what lands haven't been sold to finance the building of art shops.

With exports officially valued at US$1, 5 billion a year, handicrafts are big business in Bali , giving birth to new social classes. At the top of the scale are the foreigners – from the beachcombers who finance their holiday by selling cheap sarongs in flea markets, to the seasoned agents of large retail firms. Balinese make up the middle and lower rungs. The local elites are the intermediares – divers, guides, and “quality control” specialists – who negotiate between Western buyers and local producers. Then there are the Bali nese middlemen who buy crafts cheaply in villages and sell them to art shop owners. At the bottom of the scale are the masses of Bali nese producers.

Climbing up the ladder

Success in the handicraft ind ustry depends less on one's artistic skill than a combination of market access and capital. Those producers lucky enough to have inherited land in prime tourist areas have direct access to buyers. Being able to afford an education also helps; producers who cannot speak English are at a severe disadvantage. It also hard for small – scale artisans to amass the capital needed to accept large orders, as many buyers expect the producer to front the costs of raw materials and labour.

grandiose cremation ceremonies

centres around Ubud

fair one tries