Hvordan betaler vi vores kunsthåndværkere?

At have mulighed for at arbejde og tjene til livets ophold udgør en af de mest effektive måder, hvorpå mennesker kan opbygge et liv med værdighed.

Vores kunsthåndværkere fastsætter deres egne takster i overensstemmelse med de lokale levevilkår i de lande, de bor i. Østerland er også stolt medlem af UNHCR's Made51-initiativ, hvilket indebærer, at vi overholder de etiske standarder fastsat af World Fair Trade Organization. Disse standarder sikrer, at vores sociale forretningspartnere opfylder kravene i deres samarbejde med lokale- og flygtninge kunsthåndværkere.

Hvordan sikrer vi due diligence i Afghanistan?

Vores partnere Wadan i Herat er støttet af UNHCR, hvilket betyder, at de allerede er blevet vurderet ved en grundig due diligence for at fastslå Wadans integritet og kompetence.

Østerlands partner i Danmark Warfair hjælper os med at importere produkterne fra Afghanistan til Danmark. Warfair sælger også vores produkter fremstillet i Afghanistan, efter at leverandøren i Herat har været igennem en grundig due diligence-vurdering af Warfairs etiske råd. Du kan læse due diligence-rapporten her.

Hvem designer vores produkter?

Most of our products are designs that have already been developed in Afghanistan and the Middle East and belong to our partners and artisans. Many of these products and their designs have been passed from one generation to another, have evolved in response to their environments and contribute to giving the region a distinct identity. Sometimes Østerland will make adjustments to these products, so they fit into a global market. These adjustments can be color, size, shape and patterns. We also collaborate with external designers from Denmark which have focused on storytelling and showing the best the Middle East and Afghanistan has to offer. Our products will always have patterns, motives and techniques relevant to the local and refugee artisans’ culture. The Østerland team is always inspired by islamic, anatolian and central asian art.

Er Østerland en NGO eller en virksomhed?

We are a registered limited liability company. We are believers and advocates of promoting self-reliance and entrepreneurship rather than dependency on aid. When local artisans are connected to national and international markets, they can reclaim ownership of their own practices. We take pride in very personalized relationships with our artisans and business partners which means all the profit we make is shared transparently with the artisans, so we can grow and expand our business activities. Sometimes we receive small grants from institutions like Danish House in Damascus or the World Fair Trade Organization. These grants are always used to optimize our company to improve our impact for the artisans we work with.

Hvordan er vi miljøbevidste?

Raw materials used are always sourced locally. When you buy objects from our artisans, you are avoiding major industrial processes that are damaging to the environment because most of our artisans work from home or from small ateliers. Our business model ensures small-batch production and boutique manufacturing, and they rely heavily on renewable agricultural inputs. For example, our Syrian bedspreads are woven with cotton sourced from Hatay right at the border to Syria. The farmers are subsidized by the Ministry of Agriculture in Turkey and then the cotton is sold to our weaver in Hatay who produces the bedspreads. That way, the artisans are not producing for production’s sake, but only catering when there is a real demand, in an effort to minimize the collective negative impact that all production has on our environment.

Hvor opererer vi?

Vi har base i København, Danmark. Vores kunsthåndværkere i Afghanistan er baseret i Herat og Kabul. Vores kunsthåndværkere i Tyrkiet er baseret i Istanbul, Ankara og Hatay.

Hvor kan i købe vores produkter?

Vores produkter kan købes på vores hjemmeside og vi sender til Danmark, øerne og resten af verden. Vores produkter kan også findes i en række museumsbutikker samt butikker i Danmark og rundt omkring i verden. Se venligst hele listen her

Sender vi til hele verden?

Ja. Vi sender til hele verden. We sender med GLS i EU og til resten af verden bruger vi DHL.