Our wood ARTISANS

Kemala believes in long-term and mutually beneficial collaborations with our partners artisans. at the beginning of our journey in 2014, we worked with 2 groups of artisans from Central Java to produce all of our woodenWARES. we are delighted to bear witness to the growth of both groups in terms of number of members as well as their quality of life. now, around 7 years later, kemala works with a total of 4 wood artisan groups located in central java and bali, involving some 100 artisans in total.

In order to minimise the cutting down of trees, Kemala uses the roots of plantation teak trees and other leftover tree off-cuts to make cutting boards and coasters.

MEET eko:

Eko is a young and dynamic artisan whom we met by coincidence when we passed by his village. He moved from Lampung to Yogyakarta in 2010 (in his early twenties) to work for a friend in the handicraft business. Fast forward 5 years, Eko made a leap of faith and decided to go independent. When we started working with Eko in 2015, his team consisted only of three people. Eko himself, his brother in law, and a friend from the village. Now, 10 years after he went independent, his team comprises some 20 men and women, working on the shaping and finishing process of the wood, all of whom are either his friends or neighbours. We value the fair and sustained partnership with Eko, and we are so happy to see that he is thriving and bringing employment opportunities to the community in which he lives. Now Eko makes a living not only from producing woodenwares but also from car rental services. Eko and his wife have one young daughter, Putri, who loves cats and playing outdoors.

MEET DWI:

Dwi (far left in the picture above) is passionate about wood and has been working in the industry for more than 15 years; firstly with a company in Vietnam and then, much like Eko, he decided to work for himself. When we started working with Dwi, he had a core team of 4 people, including himself, taking care of all of Kemala’s production of wooden serving boards. Now, Dwi has a team of 15 people strong. Dwi is keen in working with us to create new designs and products because he believes that to stay relevant, one should continually innovate. To make Kemala’s small and functional pieces, Dwi works almost exclusively with off-cuts of plantation-grade (Perhutani) teak wood. By doing so, Kemala helps to limit the cutting down of trees and reduce overall wastage in our production process.