Alter-Native Life
South American artisans have been designing and creating high quality artefacts and handcraft since they settled along The Andes.
Alter-Native Life started with the idea that these handmade products should be available to the European market both to promote ancient South American traditions and to offer ingenious and unique designs to the public.
All our pieces have been lovingly handmade and hand-carved in the small town of Pomaire or close to the lake and volcano in Villarrica, Chile. The artisans work with clay and wood using traditional methods and techniques that existed before the Spaniards arrived in South America.
2 Lincoln House
10 Park Road
Kingston
Surrey
KT2 6BL
United Kingdom
07812 170090
Ethical and Environmental Policy
All our stock is bought from "World Fair Trade Organisation" member companies.Our main supplier cover marketing and exporting functions for their small artisan workshops while respecting their trading, business and social needs. In order to maximise opportunities they normally provide partial prepayments to allow purchasing of raw materials for large orders; in this way they enable the workshops to compete in international markets. The company also commit to payment delivered promptly after the production is finished. They also provide guidance as to how best incorporate technology and increase production efficiency into the workshop operations, as well as link the artisans to other training organizations to gain additional technical assistance.
They also work closely with their clients (Alter-Native Life amongst others) and partner organizations to compile market information that ultimately helps the workshops and artisans to make decisions about products and design and to offer innovative, interesting and appropriate products for the various markets to which they’re currently exporting.
The company is a member of the International Federation of Alternative Trade (IFAT), a coalition of handcrafts and agricultural producer organizations and ATOs (both importers and exporters) around the world; adhere to IFAT’s standards of Fair Trade and to its objectives.
Finally, the company has a strong commitment with the producers affected by the 27th February 2010 earthquake and tsunami in Chile. They have supported and helped the producers and workshops that have lost almost everything.
