Our handmade ‘milk carton’ jugs were featured in the Independent Magazine on Saturday 20th September. How delightful! If you missed it you can view the online version here.
Reaching Out – Handmade in Hoi An
Introducing Reaching Out On 10th March, 2014, we visited Binh Le, the founder of Reaching Out. We were a week into a sourcing trip and very happy to arrive in Hoi An for the first time in 10 years. We had been in touch with Binh and his wife Quyen in the weeks leading up […]
Trip to My Son – Vietnam
In March, we took a break from sourcing new products in Vietnam to visit the Cham temple complex of My Son. Jumped on our motorbike at 4am and drove the 40km to get there from Hoi An as they were opening. Made it in time to beat the tourist herds and were rewarded with breathtaking […]
Arts and Crafts of Vietnam and Laos
Painted, woven or made. The perfect gifts for Mother’s day.
We all know our Mum is the best, which is why she deserves something wonderful on Mother’s Day. We have a selection of fantastic, unusual gift ideas all ethically sourced from around the globe. A large proportion of our products are made by women from projects in developing countries for the benefit of themselves and […]
Stop the press! Coverage in Your Home magazine
A fantastic bit of press in Your Home magazine in the April 2014 edition. If you missed it, here’s the article in the Green Living section.
The Shangri La Farms Story – A Socially Responsible Business
When the Malik family first discovered Shangri-La in Yunnan Province, China they were astonished by the beautiful scenery, pristine air and bountiful valleys, with surrounding snow-capped mountains. Shangri-La was a heavenly place, bursting with wild flowers in bloom, bees, butterflies and crystal blue skies with pure white clouds. The Malik children; sisters Sahra (a graphic […]
What a pa-lather! Why use natural soap?
Amongst the many wonderful products available on our website are 100% natural soaps from Shangri La Botanicals. But what is a ‘natural soap’ and why should you consider using them over other soaps? A brief history of soap The whole business of making soap is thousands of years old. The first evidence of the manufacture […]
Lunch in KaHe, a Wa Village
During our trip to PuErh with the T-project, we were fortunate to have lunch with YeYi a Wa woman who was at the vanguard of local people wanting to improve their situation through tea farming. She was a very kind, cheerful and generous host and we would happily have stayed longer if we could. What […]
Fairtrade, Organic tea from the T-project
The tea fields of Pu’Erh We had an early start from Menglian in order to reach the organic tea fields where our tea is grown before lunch. We headed West, towards the Burmese border, getting within 10 miles of it, before turning up a very steep and rough rode, into the mountains. As soon as […]