Ethnik Trading Company

so i have these FAVORITE earrings that my nonasita (derived from the words nona and mamsita meaning: my mother) gave me about two years ago…they inspired me to make pendants of the same shape and size but using WATER BUFFALO HORN instead of whatever Avon uses to make earrings. cute, huh? after my  inspiration, i sketched up a few things that i thought would look fun on pendants and earrings. i found this page in my sketch book last week but these things have been in process for over six months. des and i took a little field trip to my friend’s shop who hires the women to do the carving for us. KC Gifts is the name of his company. my friend has been in business for over 15 years which is such a big deal because it means he has provided sustainable, fair jobs for just as long! i am so appreciative of the integrity he displays in his life and business…honesty is hard to come by in these parts. horns… des holding the horn…ewww. des holding a … Continue Reading

So yesterday my friend Gong came over (yes..i said Gong, like the sound of an ancient golden drum) and took away all the things i did not sale in my latest yard sale. She saw my old pumas and got so excited… Her sweet face lit up the same way mine lights up when i see any type of dessert containing chocolate. She told me (in Lao language, yes…you have permission to be impressed that i understood her) that she had never had a pair of tennis shoes before and how excited she was to wear them when she goes up north to the villages to see her family! It felt wrong not to share this picture with the world (or at least the three people, including my mom, that read this blog). Isn’t she so precious? she gave me mangos from her yard before she left…which, just so you know…is kind of a big deal in these parts. -rachel

This is Ju (oddly enough, pronounced Jew but he is not Jewish…he is definitely Lao). Anyways, this is my friend Ju. Everyday he sits outside of the local coffee house trying to talk with foreigners and give away bracelets for good luck. Normally he ties them around people’s arms and recites a blessing…which I always forget about and talk all during (oops, but I don’t believe it brings good luck anyways). He has the sweetest smile though, doesn’t he? Last week I plopped down on the ground next to him to talk about purchasing some of his bracelets. Here, status is shown by the level of  someone’s head. I was really excited to sit next to him on the side walk because it meant I was telling him we were on the same “level”. He looked surprised and appreciative that I would see him for what he really is…one of God’s beautiful creations. He shared his umbrella with me (which I secretly did not want because I, unlike Lao people, like getting tan!) as we set together and talked over … Continue Reading

Kerry and Annie have been living and working among the prostitutes of Kolocutta, India for more than ten years now. When I arrived back to their office and home late Tuesday night I was not expecting an invitation into their neighborhood red light district, but there Kerry was, waiting to tell me about the open spot to join him and two others on their visitation to the brothels. After accepting the invite, I was rushed upstairs and laden with one of Annie’s intricate, very Indian scarves. In true Indian fashion, it hung around my neck as a protector from the outside world looking on. I hurried back to the group to find Justin, another westerner visiting Freeset and Mena waiting to take my hand. To fully understand this story, you have to understand Mena. I met her only a few days before. Speaking Bengal, she told us of her own life ‘s experience in the brothels of Sonagchi. Like so many, she was sold into prostitution at a very young age. As my friends and I listened to Kerry’s translation … Continue Reading

here are my original sketches for the first two bags I designed to be made and printed by freeset in Kolkota, India! My journey there was absolutely amazing. the streets are filled with people and pollution and well, I cannot wait to go back! I met with several different companies when I was there in March with iBAM but this was by far my favorite. Freeset works with over 160 women that have been trafficked or prostituted in the neighborhood in which they reside (Sonagachi). Freedom is their goal. Click HERE to read about my night in the back streets and brothels of Sonagachi. here are the finished products with a little bit of color and a few more dots…i love dots! hope you like! and one for the boys…cause i know how much boys LOVE handicrafts! Click HERE for  some amazing photos from my trip to Kolkota. The scenery was surprising with every turn in the road…brillant colors mixed with dirt and age.

One of eth.nik trade’s most desired goals is to educate people on the subject of human trafficking. This book, “escaping the devil’s bedroom” was given to me by my dear friend Alicia Bunch about 2 years ago. Alicia grew up in Panama as an MK and speaks fluent Spanish. She now works with Word Made Flesh in Bolivia as a counselor for women coming out of prostitution. I remember reading this book while on a plane to the Florida Keys the next week. The man sitting next to me just kept peering at me with a look of bewilderment that in my head sounded like…”why are you crying?…you are headed to the Keys…a place so amazing that the Beach Boys had to write a SONG about it.” And you know what, I think thats exactly why I was crying. At that point I realized it is not fair that some of us get to be relax lazily on a beach somewhere while others are being torn from their families by people and/or poverty and forced into the sex trade. I … Continue Reading

hello everyone! i want to first apologize about the massive length of time that has gone by since i have last updated this blog. today is my 90th day in asia, and in that time i have experienced so much. we spent the last three weeks traveling all over thailand visiting different ministries that we hope to work with in the future. we started our adventures in bangkok at a safe house. they do very similar work as eth.nik, but on a larger scale. they are able to employ about 80 women that have come out of trafficking. they teach different types of classes (parenting, spiritual formation, music, etc.) that are useful to them women’s healing and future. next we took a 19 hour trip to the southern coast to phuket, thailand. phuket is a picturesque town lined with beaches, islands, and never-ending sunshine (at least that’s how i remember it). while there, i took part in my first thai/lao new year, “songkran/pi mai”. this time is comparable to our christmas in that all businesses shut down and most people … Continue Reading

i left laos 10 days ago to join rachel in thailand. after a short bus ride and flight, i arrived in chiang mai. right away we started mapping out my days and working on new designs for eth.nik. during the day rachel would be at a business/ministry conference and i would be searching the markets for usable textiles, beads, and design ideas. by night, we designed, sewed, made prototypes, and of course explored chiang mai too. through the conference and people she and i have met here, we have new ideas and possibilities for eth.nik’s future. we are going to take a few weeks to talk to the father about them and then, maybe move forward. i am very excited about what the future holds and what he is doing in southeast asia. rachel left this morning to visit a fair trade in india for a week, and i am headed back to laos tomorrow. please keep us in your thoughts as we ask the father what he has in store for us. also, i am still in the process … Continue Reading

thats squid on a stick on a rack sitting above squid juice…enough said.

yep, thats right…this kid is wearing a white tuxedo. i ran into him at my friend’s boyfriend’s brother’s wedding about a month ago. my favorite is that he doesn’t mind his bottom button being un-button-able and that his knee and shoulder are covered in cake stains! i’m pretty sure he was tried of me following him around taking awkwardly close photos of him and his tight clothes but, c’mon…thats just not something i could pass up. my only regret was not hugging him…