A special project
BANTAY is first and foremost the result of a personal project and not of a business like any other. We are passionate about travelling, discovering and sharing. After years spent in the turmoil of our respective careers, we wanted to slow down this hectic pace and to spend more time discovering new places and other cultures.
BANTAY was born from a beautiful experience in Laos. A magical journey during which we were seduced by the simplicity of the people. The Wuan family welcomed us into their home and showed us how they would turn a simple bamboo stalk picked round the back of their house, into baskets that their daughter would sell at the market the next day.
And just like that, BANTAY was coming to life… Why not bring back some of the beautiful objects handcrafted by the families we met on our travels? They often live in precarious conditions. Thanks to Bantayliving.com, they could sell their creations directly here, in Europe.
Bantayliving.com had become our project. It is not for profit. Our goal is to buy the products from these families and to sell them online at affordable prices. This generates income for the families, and we donate any profits from the sales to local non-profit organisations.
Our philosophy: a responsible production
Bantay means “handmade” in Vietnamese. This is the common thread in the production of objects sold on Bantayliving.com. Everything is handmade. We only work with families that we have met and whose working conditions are known to us, most of the time at home, with the family.
« “What about the ecological impact of these imports?” Some have asked us. When we talk about saving our planet, it is not just about the Amazon rainforest or endangered species that need to be preserved. There are men, women and children in Asia, Africa, or South America who need us, and count on the more developed countries to make them work ethically and allow them to earn enough to live decently and not just to survive.
Beautiful handmade decorative objects, affordable prices, ethical and supportive business practices, these are the foundations that make Bantayliving.com a success.
Help through non-profit organisations
Experience has shown us that it is very difficult to send money or even clothes to local organisations. Partly because it is not easy to ensure the money or clothes reach the desired recipient, and partly because it is difficult to review the work carried out by the local organisations.
Following discussions with several Belgian and French organisations, and on our respective projects, we decided to collaborate with them directly.
Patricia and Eric
The 2 organisations to which we donate profits from the sales are:
ATD- Fourth World
Mutual aid and fraternity