FOR Emma Koehle, there's nothing better than seeing the faces of children living in poor villages in Nepal and Bali light up with excitement when she hands them a backpack or a fresh pack of crayons.
"There's nothing more rewarding than having those little smiling faces running around," she says.
Koehle and her mother, Vicki Oliver, are the proprietors of Indah Imports, a fair trade international import store in Horseshoe Bay. "We're fair trade, we go directly to the artisans so we know where all of the products are coming from and we know where all of the money is going to, which is very important to us," says Koehle.
Oliver opened the store approximately two years ago following more than 30 years in the travel industry, and Koehle serves as co-manager. In addition to supporting communities in Nepal and Bali through their socially conscious buying, the mother-daughter duo also support a number of area projects focused on education, health and wellness.
Their interest in fair trade is the result of their extensive travel, particularly to Third World and developing countries.
"We've seen and been able to compare our lifestyle to their lifestyle, and (some) places like in Nepal where they make an average of $15 (US) dollars a month, you can't compare," says Koehle.
By supporting residents of those communities, they're pleased to be able to help them in sustaining themselves and their families, as well as contributing to the preservation of their cultures through their encouragement of their artisan craft practises. Examples of Indah Imports' wares include gifts, home décor, clothing, accessories and custom-order furniture.
Interested in providing additional support to the communities they do business with, Indah Imports currently promotes three projects, including Toilets for Dolpo in Nepal. In partnership with Samsara Journeys in Kathmandu, they raise funds in support of providing people living in rural villages with toilets as well as education related to healthy hygiene.
Indah Imports also supports two schools, the Sapana Village School in the Chitwan region of Nepal and the Laplapan Village School near the mountain village of Ubud on the Island of Bali in Indonesia.
On an ongoing basis, Koehle and Oliver seek financial donations in support of all three projects via their website, as well as books and school supplies for the two schools, which they deliver personally when they travel to Nepal or Bali on buying trips.
"We usually go in with these gigantic hockey bag-size bags full of school supplies and then we empty them, donate it and then bring them back full of stuff for the store so the more that we're able to take to them the better," says Koehle.
Oliver is returning to Bali April 8 and will take a load of school supplies, new or gently used, with her for the Laplapan Village School.
Community members are encouraged to drop off donations by April 6.
For more information or to support their efforts, visit indah-imports.com.
