Enterprise Nation

We tweeted the other day about the rise in number of sites helping artisans access new markets. eBay runs World of Good and describes itself as 'the world’s first online marketplace to convene thousands of People Positive and Eco Positive sellers and products all in one place.' Dreamaid.com allows customers to buy original hand crafted goods and helps artists to help themselves. And then there's www.nkuku.com run by husband and wife, Ali and Alex, who were heavily influenced by a trip to Africa.

Trip of a lifetime

Alistair Cooke was working in corporate finance and his wife, Alex, was employed at a furniture design company before heading to Africa to teach English.

It was during a year of traveling that Alistair and Alex began to meet some of the Artisans whose products they now sell. As Alex says:

"The idea came about in Africa but unfortunately the connections we made in Zimbabwe proved too difficult to follow through. We traveled onto India and met a family making paper out of recycled cotton. They were our first supplier. We know work with several small fair trade family run businesses and co operatives."

The company that was started in 2003 selects its suppliers carefully so they know once a trade relationship is open, it can evolve and new ideas be developed. The couple choose to work with traditional skills, using these age old skills to create contemporary products. Nkuku.com is planning to expand the range further to include new eco friendly and fair trade home accessories.

"We are primarily a wholesale business and promote ourselves in this sector by our stand and display at trade shows. We have a brochure which we bring out in Autumn and Spring, we also have the website. The retail side is promoted through affiliate websites such as Amazon and pr through home magazines and our stockists."

What's good news is that every sale made helps an artisan business to grow. Such as the images here which are a Savannah Leather shopper, hand made by a co operative in Rajasthan and A6 recycled sari journals.

We'll watch with interest as these sites and businesses continue to launch and grow. 

• Nkuku.com