Most of all, paper bead necklaces, earrings, bracelets and more are made by our very own families, including some of the more difficult parents we work with. It took training, support and small initial funding from us, and a lot of hard work and patience from them.

But we don’t sell them through this shop for one simple reason: Cambodia House.

Mary was one of our first large buyers and helped patiently advise our microbusiness staff, Sinoy, and the families on improving our work and working as wholesalers. Mary sells the beads and lots of other gorgeous things from Cambodia to fund many great social causes.

We aim not to overlap with great shops like Cambodia House, and thanks to the growing diversity of Cambodia, that’s possible – even if it sometimes means not selling our own products!

You can read about the impact Mary and our other Riverkids wholesale buyers have made in With paper jewelry, into a bright future from our blog earlier this year.

We’re having a massive sale of all our beautiful big things to clear shelf space for our new finds. And oh, they were so much fun to hunt down! Some came from the local markets, a few were pure serendipity, and some are old favourites that sold out early on.

Next trip, I’m going to look harder for jewelry – we had to turn down some very pretty pieces that weren’t made in Cambodia and couldn’t be verified as fairtrade or socially responsible. But while Khmer silversmiths may be rarer, we saw some gorgeous new clothes designed locally. If you get to Phnom Penh, set aside a day early on to talk to several tailors. They’re moving beyond plain copies to their own style, drawing on a rich heritage of silk, embroideries and graceful silhouettes.

We love finding the best of Cambodia’s shops for you – and we hope you enjoy sharing them with your friends and family. Funds raised by the Riverkids Shop help keep our doors open to over three hundred children in the slums of Phnom Penh.

Thanks!

Dale Edmonds, September 12, 2009.