The Sedentary Nomad Fair Trade Policy

How much goes back to the artist?

The Sedentary Nomad abides by fair trade practices as we feel that they are more empowering and sustainable than a charity model. Rather than paying the artists a percentage of sales should we sell the item, they are paid long before their work arrives on our shelves. Typically we meet with the artists and select the items we wish to purchase. We negotiate with the artist to arrive at a fair price and pay them a 50% deposit up front. Upon delivery of the finished work, the artist is paid in full.

What is a fair price?

We look at a number of factors when determining the price. There are the obvious costs which one can easily calculate such as the raw materials, packaging, transportation and number of hours required to produce the item. Then there are the less tangible costs such as ease of acquiring raw materials, fragility, completion of work on time and overall quality of the finished goods. We consider the cost of living and the inflation (especially in Zimbabwe). Finally we consider the costs incurred to import the item and the price we believe that we can realistically sell for.

There are some products that we do not buy simply because the marketplace could not bear the selling price needed to pay the artist a fair price. This can occur for a number of reasons such as duties paid on the item are very high or high level of competition from other countries for the same product. In these situations we explain the reasons for not purchasing and help them develop products which may use the same skill set but that would be more profitable for them.

My friend was in Africa and said that it was really cheap. Why are your prices so high?

There are a number of factors that come into play here. The first and most obvious difference is that we incur many costs that individuals don’t.

Getting it here…

Freight alone nearly doubles the price that was paid. While the $2000 your friend paid for their plane ticket can be considered here, they generally do not pay specifically for freight unless they have excess luggage.

To ensure that the work we buy arrives to Canada safely we must package everything very well. Here we pay both for the packing materials (cardboard boxes, wooden crates, shredded paper, brown paper, nails and packing tape) as well as a fair wage to the people who do the packing.

Once the shipment arrives, we have to clear things through the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. As an individual you are exempt for up to $750 of goods purchased. As a business we have different requirements. A customs broker is paid to complete extensive paperwork that documents what we are bringing into the country. Canada Customs often wants to inspect the shipment to ensure that the goods are not in violation with agreements such as CITES or containing agricultural materials that may be detrimental to Canadian producers. This can cost over $600. Once the inspection is complete we are then required to pay any duties or taxes that may be applicable. This can be anywhere from 7~20% of the price paid.

Despite our best efforts to pack everything as best as we can, there is always a certain amount of breakage. Since we do not send this back to the producers we must absorb it in the cost.

Commitment to Fair Trade

The next considerations are the responsibilities we have as a Fair Trade business. As the name implies, fair trade businesses pay a fair price for the goods produced. This price is based on the local economy, the amount of work involved, the cost of the raw materials, the quality and often, individual considerations (e.g. an artist who lives in town pays more rent than the one who lives in a rural area).

One of the most enjoyable experiences that tourists can have is going through the markets and bartering. Unfortunately some people are not aware how low is too low. One artist said, “If I refuse, [the customer] will go to [my neighbour] Fidon and offer him the same price. It depends on which of us needs the money most. A street seller who is hungry will sell his $380 [Zimbabwean dollar] sculpture for $80. He needs money quickly to eat that day, so he has no option.”

Financing is another key element of fair trade businesses. Just as small businesses in Canada struggle to get financing through banks, it is nearly impossible for most of the artists we work with. The deposit is key to helping artists who are talented but do not have a large amount of money enter the marketplace. Most of the pieces we sell are custom orders. We work out a fair price for the items then provide a deposit to help finance the production of the work. Usually a 50% deposit (depending on the history) is given upfront, with the balance being paid upon delivery. . While this may not seem like an additional cost, one must consider that between the time we pay the artist their deposit to the time that it is on our shelves ready to be sold, up to 6 months can elapse. We pay interest to the bank throughout.

Getting it to you…

Then there are the costs of selling it to you. Everything from the rent of our space where you can explore the goods to the bags and/or boxes for packaging have to be accounted for. Occasionally customers break things and sometimes individuals decide to take things home without paying for them. Lastly, to ensure that we can continue to create sustainable employment opportunities for our producers and serve you, our valued customer, we need to pay our staff and management a fair wage also.

My friend was in Africa and said that it was really cheap. Why are you’re prices so high?

There are a number of factors that come into play here. The first and most obvious difference is that we incur many costs that individuals don’t.

Freight alone nearly doubles the price that was paid. While the $2000 you’re friend paid for their plane ticket can be considered here, they generally do not pay specifically for freight unless they have excess luggage.

Once the shipment arrives, we have to clear things through the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. As an individual you are exempt for up to $750* of goods purchased. As a business we have different requirements. A customs broker is paid to complete extensive paperwork which documents what we are bringing into the country. Canada Customs often wants to inspect the shipment to ensure that the goods are not in violation with agreements such as CITES or containing agricultural materials that my be detrimental to Canadian producers. This can cost over $600. Once the inspection is complete we are then required to pay any duties or taxes that may be applicable. This can be any where from 7~20% of the price paid.

Despite our best efforts to pack everything as best as we can, there is always a certain amount of breakage. Since we do not send this back to the producers we must absorb it in the cost.

The next considerations are the responsibilities we have as a Fair Trade business. As the name implies, fair trade businesses pay a fair price for the goods produced. This price is based on the local economy, the amount of work involved, the cost of the raw materials, the quality and often individual considerations (eg/ an artist who lives in town pays more rent than the one who lives in a rural area).

One of the most enjoyable experiences that tourists can have is going through the markets and bartering. Unfortunately some people are not aware that insignificance of the difference between $6 (Canadian dollars) or $9 to them can make a substantial difference to the seller. One artist said “If I refuse, [the customer] will go to [my neighbor] Fidon and offer him the same price. It depends on which of us needs the money most. A street seller who is hungry will sell his $380 [Zimbabwean dollar] sculpture for $80. He needs money quickly to eat that day, so he has no option.”

Financing is another key element of fair trade businesses. Just as small businesses in Canada struggle to get financing through banks, it is nearly impossible for most of the artists we work with. The deposit is key to helping artists who are talented but do not have a large amount of money enter the marketplace. Most of the pieces we sell are custom orders. We work out a fair price for the items then provide a deposit to help finance the production of the work. Usually a 50% deposit is given, depending on the history. While this may not seem like an additional cost, one must consider that between the time we pay the artist their deposit to the time that it is our shelves ready to be sold, up to 6 months can elapse. We pay interest to the bank throughout.

Finally there are the costs of selling it to you. Everything from the rent of our space where you can explore the goods to the bags and/or boxes for packaging have to be accounted for. Occasionally customers break things while other individuals decide to take things home without paying for them. And, to ensure that we can continue to create these employment opportunities for our producers and serve you, our valued customer, we need to pay our staff a fair wage as well.

*$750 if you are gone for over 7 days.