Ubud, once a small village famous only as the art center of Bali, has now become a very popular village in the hills which is very well known to both tourists and to the wholesale buyers who place orders for handmade jewelry and handicrafts of all sorts.

It is a lovely place to stay and to be close to the traditional ways of Bali.

FAIR TRADE:

If you’re like us, you sometimes have second thoughts as you buy silver jewelry for yourself, or to put in your shop, or on your website.

You know where the jewelry was made. But do you know who made it? Do you know what their working conditions are like? The answer in most cases is no.

But with Kertas Gingsir, you know that when you buy our silver jewelry and other products, you contribute in a real way to supporting a village family in Bali.

Kertas Gingsir operates under the principles of Fair Trade, and follows guidelines as set out by IFAT.

We pay our artisans better than fair price per piece of jewelry, a price that is set by the artisan themselves. There are no children employed, and female silversmiths are highly valued, and paid the same salaries or price per piece as male silversmiths.

Kertas Gingsir artisans are given the freedom to work out of their own homes if they choose to do so, and according to their own schedule.

This ensures that all artisans can meet family and spiritual needs within their homes and community, a very important part of Balinese culture.

Staff in our workshop and office are also provided with similar conditions but still manage to provide on time production, thorough quality control and timely shipping.

We run our business in such a way that our artisans get valuable experience in being accountable for and running their own small business. Some of our staff, after our extensive training, have gone on to set up their own manufacturing business.

We provide safe and healthy working conditions for all our staff and our artisans. We provide constant work orders, advance deposits and prompt final payments to artisans who work in their own homes as well as providing generous salaries to our silver workshop staff. Sales staff in all of our shops are given sales incentives on top of a more than fair salary.

Kertas Gingsir is proud to support over 90 valued artisans, office, quality control and sales and support staff. When you buy Jewelry with Soul, you can be sure you have made a difference.