( fair trade is made with bamboula )

( fair trade is made with bamboula )
by jennifer hetrick

a fair trade treasure tucked along the one-way strip of west walnut street in kutztown, bamboula limited became a part of the berks county community a decade ago.

proprietor jasperdean kobes relocated bamboula from new york city in 2000, buying it from the previous owner in 1989.

bamboula's name has many links of possible meanings by definition, but one worth giving attention is that it is a bantu word for celebration, which fittingly describes the feel of the shop’s space and supply.

the wide variety of home furnishings kobes houses in her storefront originate from ghana, kenya, mali, tanzania, and uganda.

kobes initially gravitated toward learning about the cultures of african countries when she was a young girl, later teaching in ethiopia with the peace corps after graduating from high school.

since taking over bamboula, kobes has traveled throughout africa several times a year to meet the artisans whose handmade goods she buys, having the inventory then shipped to pennsylvania.

a large number of the artisans kobes visits have virtually little to no income to support themselves and their families, so her fair trade purchases make a huge impact on their livelihood.

while kobes specializes in mostly wholesale distribution, she also keeps the storefront open for retail sales during the week.

with her bringing one-of-a-kind, handcrafted creations back to the united states and selling them to shops throughout nearby counties and in her kutztown location, the final sales of course mean that people millions of miles away from africa are helping to boost quality of living for individuals they've never met, hearkening to humanistic endeavors.

kobes carries sustainably made baskets and bags boasting function-first, a wide variety of home décor, and luckily for the little ones, plenty of toys.

from oversized replica spiders made out of pinched bottle lids, to animals and buses made out of recycled flip flops that find their way along the kenyan coast in gratitude of whipping waves, the toys bamboula sells not only merry many a mood with each eventual retail purchase but are in part supporting incomes of talented artisans who are limited in resources in their home countries.

recycling glass from bottles to make beads for bracelets and necklaces is becoming popular and has been for a while in ghana, kobes said. but some glassmakers have also recently rechanneled their skills by coming up with a line of home accessories fashioned out of recycled glass, with metal.

kobes said she noticed a trend taking hold of less and less wood products, now with much of what she buys crafted from sustainable materials, exposing parallelism with the healthily green hype of today.

bamboula's next open house for the month is thursday, december 16 from 4 - 8 p.m., including refreshments.

to find out more about bamboula's hand-across-the-globe efforts, visit them online at www.bamboulaltd.com.

( freebie alert ! comment below to enter for a chance to win a set of three sisal fiber angel ornaments from bamboula limited. see them below ! please include your e-mail address in the comment. this contest ends sunday, december 19th. good luck !)