Check Imports, Inc. / Baskets of Cambodia! started by introducing a successive upward bias in the price paid for these baskets. Our only request- "Let's make something we can all be proud of." Instead of being a burden, this request freed our makers to be the best they could, knowing that this would guarantee a sale, along with a fair price. We have found that when the workers are treated fairly and with respect, their product will speak for itself. This is discussed further on our business philosophy page.

Cambodia is basically a flat plain surrounded by moderate mountain ranges. This plain was to a large degree under water as few as 10,000 years ago, being then part of the Mekong Delta. Even today much of Cambodia resembles a swamp, especially in the monsoon season which starts normally after the Cambodian New Year in April, and lasts into September or October.

 

When the rains subside, the plant responsible for Baskets of Cambodia begins to take shape. Its Cambodian name is 'la peuk', although it is also known by its latin name - calamas solicifolius. This plant is found growing wild over all of Southeast Asia and is especially prominent in baskets from Indonesia. There is a big difference though.

In Oudong Province, in central Cambodia, a group of makers let us admire the beautiful Khan Cher smoked baskets they have created.This basket style has been made for centuries throughout Asia, and is made from bamboo, which when lightly smoked preserves the basket for years of use.

The reed 'la peuk' is harvested most ideally at a thickness of about 1/4", slightly green to start. After natural drying, the Cambodian 'la peuk' turns a light, clean yellowish hue- brighter than the baskets of neighboring countries, giving them a much cleaner appearance.

In September of each year, our villagers bike as far as 50 miles in any direction in order to harvest 'la peuk' of the highest quality. It is then brought back to the villages to dry and begin to prepare.

The thread that ties the baskets together is cut from the long strands of 'la peuk'. When the material is ready local village women gather under bamboo huts and pass the day making various styles of baskets.

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Not only are the baskets made completely without electricity, but even the measurements are made by approximating hand or arm lengths

By late Spring, the sources of 'la peuk' are usually exhausted, and the rain clouds begin to circle. Soon the rain will begin again, and the percentage of submerged land in Cambodia will increase from 10 to 30% as the ground becomes saturated.

Our shipments must be at the port in southern Cambodia before this happens, as the roads out of our growing areas often become impassable during the rainy season.

The last obstacle to leaving Cambodia is the Port of Sihanoukville, where corruption still slows down progress in Cambodia. Customs rates are among the highest in the world and most of the payments are not recorded. We complain and only hope that the corruption entrenched in the current government will soon be subject to more accountability. In the meantime our goal is to keep our businesses up and running.

The great majority of people in Cambodia are honorable and extremely hard-working, and that has been a major key to our success .

 

Thank you for your support!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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