POSTCARD FROM JAVA

 

On the next leg of his trip, Dan flew down to Semarang and drove 3 hours to Makasi's main warehouse - our hub for products from over 200 village and jungle fair trade carpenters across Indonesia. We buy local to ensure that the money goes directly to local people. Here, Dan and Lisa also visited one of the schools we told you about in our last email.

Then, a 6-hour car journey took them to visit some of the suppliers living in small villages in the jungle area of East Java to look at samples of new products. For this part of the trip Dan and Lisa were smothered in strong jungle mosquito spray and stayed with local people in their houses.

As you can see from the photos, it's quite primitive compared to the big towns and cities, but despite all this it was their favourite part of the trip so far - the people are so friendly and hospitable. The photos also feature traditional Indonesian village houses made from teak wood, and one of Dan and Lisa outside a supplier's house with the family cow. Also check out the 2 young lads playing in the mud - hope their mums didn't get too cross when they got home covered in dirt!

Watch this space for news of Dan and Lisa's next stop - a visit to our suppliers in Bali.

Dan's trip is featured in Gifts and Home's latest newsletter - click here to check it out!