SHADES OF GREEN
At Kasa Impressions people and the environment are prioritized over profit. The following principles are adhered to for a responsible and holistic approach to business:
- We form partnerships directly with the producers whose goods we sell.
- Producers receive an upfront local retail price as well a 15% back end share of total profits.
- 5% of the profit return is dedicated to projects ranging from environmental preservation to infrastructure development.
- Whenever possible our affiliated artists use scrap materials to produce goods.
Scrap Wood
The Harvesting of scrap wood in tropical forests is a laborious process. Artisans use logs downed by natural causes as well as miscellaneous unwanted wood pieces found mostly on private property. Typically, workers will go to local villages to ask for old, unwanted wood where there is usually some to be had although a few of the locations are difficult to access. The photos below show a Tweneboah or African Spruce Tree that had been ground wood for over 20 years. Although it began to rot at the center of both ends, it remained largely intact with only a small portion of the core being affected. Such dense wood is preferred and is very useful for carving.
Value Chain
When you purchase an art piece from Kasa Impressions you are supporting a chain of communities. Let us take you on a journey…
The process begins when master carver Henry Bagulo picks up his cell phone and calls Kweku, a business associate in one of a handful of villages he regularly visits to inquire about scrap wood. Henry is told that an old but intact log has been found for him on the forest floor. The next morning Henry leaves his town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana and travels to the village by privately owned public transport, transferring buses four times, 1 paying each time. Between bus trips Henry becomes hungry and 2 buys some roasted plantains from a vender.
Upon arriving at the village he meets with Kweku 3 over a meal and further discusses a plan of action. Henry is then taken to see the log and arrangements are made to divide it into sections according to the pieces Henry is planning to create. Henry then retires for the night in a local hotel 4.
In the morning he meets with Kweku again to 5 pay him for locating the wood and arranging the services needed. Henry also pays 6 the owner of the property for the wood, 7 the workers who cut and haul it out of the forest and 8 the truck driver for home delivery.
Once Henry gets the wood to his shop he 9 pays apprentices to shape the wood into the basic forms needed for the pieces he has designed. Later he will carve all the detail and 10 pay others if there is any bead or metal work needed.
Much of the business is conducted just like this in the regions our products come from. So, by purchasing an art piece from our affiliate artists you support a chain of individuals and small business.
The Rainforest Alliance
The alliance takes into account three key areas: profit, the planet and people. The organization was established twenty years ago to help halt the loss of rainforests. It went on to develop the forest stewardship council (www.fscus.org) and later its certification system. Its first coffee farm was certified in 1996.
