About us

Our Customers

Our customer base ranges from very small to larger retailers, hotels and restaurants, country and regional wholesalers, distributors and importers throughout the world. We serve our customers through consistent quality, timely delivery, low pricing and the flexibility to serve your needs at all times. Our customers often share an interest in socially responsible entrepreneurship and products that are made from local renewable materials under conditions of fair trade and a very short supply chain.

Our Philosophy

We are dedicated to the development of small and medium, mostly family-owned businesses in the Asian countryside. We aim to bring artisans, craftspeople, farmers and villages throughout Asia closer to the global community and to you. This, while upholding fair trade practices as well as the competitive standards of the global market place.

Our Goals

In doing so, we wish to bring a positive contribution to both you, our customer, and local small manufacturers. We strive to

-	provide you, our import and wholesale customer, with products that are interesting, innovative, and profitable
-	connect international wholesale customers and local Asian small manufacturers through facilitating international sales of local goods and services
-	support local manufacturers in improving product design, quality control, labelling, packaging and cataloging according to international standards
-	contribute to the development and sales of environmentally friendly products utilising local renewable materials
-	contribute to improving the living standard of rural manufacturers, farmers and service providers
-	widen our activities to other areas where increased inter-cultural understanding and economic growth are desired

Our Partner Artisans

The artisans whose products we present operate small family workshops within rural village areas in our direct vicinity, and the rural home village areas of JediCreations team members. We share close professional and personal relatationships with our artisans as we work together in developing and maintaining quality and timeliness of products as well as growing the sales levels of products that help maintain and grow family income.

We consider our artisan entrepreneurs to be the vanguard for raising the standard of living, as well as the level of education and technology in the countryside. As sales grow, rural manufacturing invariably includes the participation of the village community, thus benefitting wider portions of the village.

While our manufacturing artisans are in fact small scale, this does not prevent us from competing for larger volume manufacturing. Together with our partner artisans we are in a position to network the manufacture of large volumes throughout arrays of villages - while upholding quality standards to the highest level. And together with our partner artisans we take pride in fullfilling this job.

Business Development Services for Partner Artisans

In addition to actively promoting, marketing and exporting our artisans products, we support our artisans with professional advice in areas ranging from product development and packaging to process development and questions related to business administration. This support is part and parcel of our professional and personal relationship with our artisans.

Manufacturing

In mid 2006 JediCreations added a modest research and development workshop for exploring and testing improved alternative bamboo processing techniques. The workshop also supports local artisans and craftspeople in generating properly dried and treated bamboo sub-components, it stocks manufacturing sub-components and acts as an artisan coordination and product assembly location for the manufacture of larger orders. While we at JediCreations might not strictly be a manufacturer, we are strongly involved in product development, the coordination for just-in-time sub-component manufacture and the final assembly of bamboo related products such as folding hand fans, bamboo hand parasols and bamboo garden and patio parasols. We perform similar functions with artisans manufacturing other products when the need arises.

Fair Trade

We follow and promote the principles of fair trade, in which artisans and craftspeople receive a fair and decent price for goods produced under fair and decent conditions. It also means that goods are never received on credit or "on consignment" and artisans are paid both in advance and immediately upon completion of manufacture. Further criteria include child protection, gender equality, environmental awareness and protection, and work-place safety and health.

Community Development

While the terrible events of 9/11 shook the world, nothing much has resulted in adressing possible underlying reasons, found mainly in the negative side-effects of globalization: economic depravation, cultural distress, religious mistrust. It is our humble belief that economic well-being, or raising the standard of living in those places that perceive to be on the lower end of these globalisation effects, will improve the situation - for everyone. A lot of high-ranking persons mentioned this shortly after 9/11. Some continue talking, others lack financial support, and yet others continue to focus on an indefinite "war". So not very much is happing on the real issues. We intend to contribute to the real issues. And we do this while upholding economic competitive principles.

Of course, it is easy to critise. Our own problem, of course, is that we are small and will we make enough difference? But if we all think this way, we will all get nowhere. Every drop counts. Your and our drops *will* help fill buckets.

Aside from practicing fair trade, part of our operational profit goes to rural village development. Specifially for supplemental teaching via satellite link for intricate high school topics, remotely tought by specialised teachers. We also support the sub-district's annual youth soccer tournament which brings together almost fourty teams every year around October.

Our Name

Our company and web site name prefix JEDI stands for Joint Economic Development Initiative. While the keen observer may perceive some ideological similarities, we are not connected to other more well known namesake characters or their proponents. May we note that it is perfectly fine (legal) to share a same name with others, when activity, product or service is sufficiently different. We are JediCreations™ Village Crafts and Home Decor, by JEDI International, Ltd., the international joint economic development initiative. We are a small, private, limited liability company with a business philosophy encased in active socially responsible entrepreneurship.

Background and Future

Our company was created and remains guided by a small group of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and export development professionals looking for a non-subsidised, commercially viable and direct way to foster SME growth in the rural non-farm (RNF) sector. As the inititive gains success, a good portion of company shares is now gradually being transferred from the initial founders to the full-time export team members, while one founder remains in place to guide further growth and widen the initiative. Another portion of shares remains reserved for eventual co-ownership by partner artisans. Both export team members and artisans are required to show a positive track record in order to become shareholders.

The Team

In the past four years, our export team has grown to consist of nine positions. Ms Supaporn Pochuay manages operations and handles all customer relations since 2004. She is also repsonsible for final quality control. Ms Sunisa Phetsana handles artisan relations, shipping and packaging since 2005. She is assisted by Ms Priyanut, Mr Witsanukarn and Mr Jamlong. The two gentlemen also handle the R&D workshop. Since 2007 Ms. Kanittha handles accounting, government relations and image processing. Mr Jan Willem Roeloffs handles business and technical development, trains team members and supports artisans in product and business development since JediCreations' inception. We are currently looking to fill two full-time positions. The team is augmented by qualified part-time assistants and craftspeople. At normal operating levels, our independent partner artisans and craftspeople comprise approximately 180 persons, with a majority of women as small business owners as well as employed craftswomen.

Rural Rice Farming

Welcome to SanSaket™ Farm. Ultimately, the key to improving the standard of living of farmers in rural areas requires increased of income from - farming. Situated in the middle of rice fields with 6.5 rai (1 hectare or 2.6 acres) of arable land under our responsibility, we are making a start at introducing higher value bio-rice to our neighbours who at present rely strongly on the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. We aim to offer full bio-quality "hom mali" jasmine rice within a number of seasons. Kids are welcome to come ride on the water buffalo's and feed the ducks and the fish. Seasonally, city visitors are welcome to experience the steps of growing daily spices and tending to the needs of the rice field, ploughing, snail gathering, water control, rice planting, natural fertilising, harvesting, the semi-annual harvest celebration. Please contact us before visiting.

Our Location

JediCreations operates from within the village community. Its office, workshop and farm is is located inbetween two small farming villages in rice fields on the border between Doi Saket and San Kamphaeng districts, about 25 minutes from Chiang Mai airport and Chiang Mai city, Thailand. You are welcome to visit us. Please see "contact us" for details. We do not operate a retail showroom.

Products and Services

In addition to the product ranges that we present on our web site, we supply a full range of handmade articles from northern and northeastern artisan manufacturing, and canvas most items that our customers require. We are looking for additional importers, distributors, wholesalers and retail outlets interested in a regular supply of our artisans products. For clients who visit locally, we are happy to introduce you to our village artisans at work. We welcome your suggestions to further improve our product range and services.

Support us and our Artisans

If you like to support us and our artisans, a very good way is to help promote our web site to interested visitors. We appreciate if you would mention us to your friends or place a link to us at your personal blog or bookmark site, or other appropriate places.

In case you visit Chiang Mai and would like to volunteer a few hours as English speaking resource person at the district high school, we and the school highly value your initiative.

We welcome your question and comment!