I am so happy to share with you all the suns that have filled my eyes during my travels. From these trips SO Original was born in 2011.
It makes me happy to present to you projects found, unearthed, embellished, relentless, improved within 27 countries so far.
I fell in love with the people, the rhythm of this different life, And this light! At any place! In these young or wrinkled eyes, in the water of lakes and trees, or in the magical moment of sunsets.
I also fell in love with the craftsmen found by chance or those met after several searches, calls, emails without return, the relentlessness suits me well...I like, I find!!!
Our products are above all a work and a collective success. All its employees work with the same vision; produce a high quality product. Helping their community, enriching their lives, sharing their know-how.
So is the meeting of people who aspire to produce according to their traditions.
“I hope that, like me, you will enjoy discovering our project, our company and the products offered to you. An ethical relationship with a community of artisans. The promise to give meaning to your purchase. The assurance of being unique, privileged and SÔ original! »

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SO Original was born during a trip to Laos in 2011. Meeting an exceptional couple, Philippe and Babette, was my trigger.

I said to myself "if they can, I can too..."

They created @maisavanhlao which at the time brought together 200 women.

Now, 10 years later, 2,000 women and men are proudly earning their living, changing the lives of over 10,000 people.

It is a perfect example of social economy.
MAI SAVANH LAOS

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The scarves and scarves are woven on artisanal looms, perfected by the craftsmen and collaborators of Maï Savanh Lao (MSL). But what makes the difference of an MSL product is the high technicality put into the service of the preparation of the silk thread. The threads are treated and dyed with natural dyes; the artistic color blends combined give the scarves a changing taffeta effect. The finely woven patterns, in tone on tone or with a contrasting effect, make each item unique.

We identify under the same code similar articles, but which have some differences in weaving pattern and slight variations in hue.

Each traditional scarf is an original piece. From the cultivation of the mulberry tree, the breeding of the silkworm, the harvesting of the cocoons, their reeling, the spinning by assembly, the winding, the scarf is born at the assembly of the chain. And it takes shape during weaving, when the shuttle sings to the rhythm of the looms as it travels through the threads in the hands of the Laotian weavers.

About
Maï Savanh Lao is a fair trade company, certified WFTO, created in 2005.

We provide technical products and advice to farmers and peasants in Laos who produce our. Your good health is linked to their well-being.

Being involved in all stages of production, from farm to mill and from mill to product, allows us to maintain the highest standards of production and product integrity.

“We have opted for a “Not-for-profit” type structure and all profits are reinvested in the activities. » Our internal policy is based on the values ​​of fairness in the workplace and respect for individuals. "This translates into the establishment of a lasting relationship with the producer, the payment of a fair price and respect for the natural environment."

 

MALI

DJIGUIYASO

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Djiguiyaso, located in Bamako, it makes it possible to offer a hundred women a job in the textile industry.


Highlight the skills of its artisans in crochet, or weaving and only use 100% organic cotton and hand-dyed with indigo,

 

 

 N'DOMO

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Ndomo based in Ségou, helps to reduce unemployment among young people who have not had the means to go to school or to continue their studies.

 

 IMADI

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A meticulous and elegant collection that revolutionizes the use of decorative baskets!

IMADI uses traditional materials and craftsmanship to create beautiful, fashionable baskets.
The main products of their workshop are the beautifully finished Senegal baskets, trimmed in leather. The tradition of weaving is transmitted from mother to daughter, and from grandmother to granddaughter, is renewed in the choice of their colors, shapes and textures.

"Our goal is to make beautiful products, while making a difference in the lives of the people we work with."

Six women, directly employed by Fatima, carry out the weaving and the prototypes. They finalize all the samples before launching production in the villages. They work with more than one hundred and forty women in about twenty villages. Each village has its own basket shape specialty. For more complicated shapes, or those that have not yet been tried, it is always done in the workshop where all the experimentation takes place! The leather is added in the same workshop.

“I owed it to the girls and to the future generation of the basket weaving community, who have never been to school to learn to read and write, to be able to evaluate their work and do their own accounting, while providing them with , as well as their families a source of income."

 

VALENTINA

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I fell in love with Valentina. A small self-sufficient community in southern Senegal. About ten people have been working there since 2015.

Amazon by Valentina
Inspired by the street painter YZ, Yseult Digan during her visit to Senegal, Valentina created a collection of handbags made of organic cotton and vegetable dye. Handmade bag in Senegal. This spear is unique because old belts recovered from the market are reused, Cool!

 

ENTOTO
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Entoto Beth Artisan (EBA) is a cooperative launched in association with a Christian NGO in 2012 based in Ethiopia.

The founder behind this cooperative is Bethlehem Berhane. The idea for this association came to her when she visited a group of disadvantaged women who had been neglected by their community because they were infected with HIV.

These women had been sent to the sacred spiritual mountain of Entoto in the hope that the mountain range would have a miraculous effect on their illness.

What does EBA do?

Their motto: "Changing people's lives one accessory at a time" RESTORE, ENHANCE, CREATE. »

EBA's mission is to employ disadvantaged women capable of designing beautiful, high-quality products. In addition, the foundation wishes to further expand this project to help more disadvantaged women.

Through this cooperative, EBA seeks to enhance and improve the way of life of women who are victims of double discrimination by using trade as a tool. The foundation aims to become a leader in jewelry and high quality leather products and a fair trade company in Ethiopia.

In terms of goals, EBA wants to double its revenue generation in order to increase the number of women who will benefit from their help. As a result, the foundation wants to equip their beneficiaries with the necessary skills through training so that they can carry out their work.

How are their products made?

The majority of their products are made with recycled and unusual materials such as bullet, artillery, metal and tire carcasses.

On each product, you can read the story of the people who made them and how thanks to EBA they were able to take their destiny into their own hands from the bottom up.

In the following video, you will see how EBA jewelry is made.

 

 

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Ernesto is a brand of designers who adopts with conviction an ecological process “eco concept. Ernesto de Barcelona, ​​believes in recycling materials to protect the natural resources of our planet.

This collection of keychains is handmade in the Philippines from different recycled materials (aluminum and metal) and with resin. In search of a better world, Ernesto de Barcelona in love with the Philippines, the twelfth most populous country in the world with more than 33% of the population living below the poverty line, created an employment program in order to provide a stable income to their artisans. A gesture that helps empower these artisans and changes their LIVES.

 

TALIS

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Since 2003, Talis has traveled to northern Thailand and worked with artisans from the Karen hill tribes. This village has been making tribal silver jewelry since the 1970s using traditional methods. I was enchanted by their beliefs in nature spirits that shine through in their lyrical tribal jewelry. Finding out how this village operated as a fair trade cooperative, it became clear that these were the people I would come to work with.

In 2009, Talis joined Faces of Fair Trade, a group of socially minded entrepreneurs based in Toronto, Canada, which follows fair trade principles in various countries around the world. Around this time, I met Diane Strong, the owner of Cambodia Silks, and one of the founders of the group. Diane and I shared a common passion for helping and empowering women, and for seeking spiritual growth in Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia.

In accordance with the principles of fair trade, our craftsmen receive sufficient salaries to have the means to pay for their children's studies.

Your purchase allows Karen artisans to adequately support themselves, their families and their communities.

 

POOPOOPAPER

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Our cleaning and boiling processes do not use any chemicals or other cleaning agents like bleach or chlorine that would be harmful to the environment – ​​only water. Therefore, after cleaning and boiling the fibers, the waste water can be reused to boil more fibers or used to feed our trees, flowers and gardens adjacent to our production.

POOPOOPAPER products are handmade, treeless, eco-friendly, sustainable, odorless (of course!) and made entirely from recycled elephant poop.

 

MADACASCAR

 

The several different types of plant fibers used to make these baskets are purchased directly from farmers in markets in Madagascar.

This method of direct purchase makes it possible to avoid taking from the wild, which is too frequent in Madagascar, because the farmers grow these fibers themselves.


The vegetable fibers and the leather are then supplied to various workshops that have been working in this field for more than 20 years. The craftsmen who work with these raw materials are all adults and receive a decent salary for Madagascar (at least $300 for 1 month of work, while the average is more around $30!).

The assembly of the baskets is carried out with looms and old sewing machines, and the finishes are still done by hand.

The different materials used (vegetable fibres, leather, cotton) are all recyclable and could disappear completely if you leave them in the sun for some time.


These baskets come from a truly ecological, artisanal, fair and recyclable production.

ZULUGRASS

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An amazing Magnificent collection of colorful Zulugrass grass bead jewelery dyed with low impact dyes made by Maasai Women.

Their mission

Improving people's lives by granting work opportunities for the Maasai in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner while maintaining cultural and traditional ways of life.

Impact

The Leakey collection has a huge impact on these Maasai women. Traditionally Maasai women do not work, but after a devastating drought the men are further away from their livestock. The Leakey Collection started the Zulugrass project so that these women would be able to pay for food, education costs, medical costs and even buy their own herd of goats or start their own business.