The Artist's Story...

Here is the picture and story of Kumbeshwar Trade Center's master silver craftsman, Raju Shakya:


Silver Producer Mr. Raju Shakya

Raju Shakya was born to a poor Newar family in Patan, Nepal. His family could not afford for him to complete high school, so at the age of 13 he learned the skill of jewelry making from his friend. He started working as an assistant in 1993 making very little money. He married a woman on staff at the Kumbeshwar Trade School (KTS) in 2001, and his wife was shocked to find out how little money he earned for his labor. She advised him to establish his own workshop in their own tiny home. They requested a loan from KTS to establish the workshop and marketing support, and were provided with an interest-free loan of 15,000 Nepali Rupees (about $200). He started production in 2002 with this support from KTS/KTC. Due to their support and orders from their buyers, such as Tribe of One, the Shakya family's income has increased and life is getting better. Not only has Raju been able to support his own family, but he is now employing 10 to 13 men and 2 women as well.
Here are some pictures of the other producers who work in Raju's shop:

Yeshu Darshan

Darshan is a Sanskrit word meaning "glimpse", "vision", "divine presence", or "revelation." If a guru is coming into town, for example, one would say they are "giving darshan." It also carries the meaning that just a glimpse of their powerful presence brings spiritual merit or blessing.

Yeshu is the name of Jesus in Sanskrit.

Thus, the meaning of "Yeshu Darshan" is that God has given humanity darshan through Jesus..and in his presence we are utterly changed!

This carries a rich depth of meaning. The transcendent, eternal Creator actually entered time and space by becoming a human. Jesus is the complete and ultimate revelation of God. He said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." He showed us the power and authority of God by healing diseases and casting out demons and walking on water, and ultimately by rising from the dead. He showed the LOVE of God by living a life of love and then dying a sacrificial death to give us life.

How sweet this is - that the Almighty One, Creator of heaven and earth, King over all, stoops down to serve us and to reconcile us to Himself. The character of God revealed through Jesus is the most pure, strong, just, merciful, brilliant and perfect One imaginable. This is the Person who is ultimately in charge. What good news!

Namo Yeshu Ya

Several years ago, I was traveling through India and sat in on a teaching at the library of the Dalai Lama's temple in Dharamsala. He was talking about "refuge taking" which is the milestone of initiation into Tibetan Buddhism. He spoke of it as placing one's faith completely in the three jewels: the Buddha (as teacher) the Dharma (the teaching) and the Sangha (the Buddhist community). When taking this vow, one would say "namo _____ ya" (insert each of the jewels). As he spoke, urging the many westerners to take seriously the nature of conversion as a total and complete surrender of faith, I realized how Tibetan Buddhism is not just an ornamental idea that many here in the West like to think it is. No, it claims to give insight into the nature of reality and is a complete system through which to view all of life.

This convicted me to take seriously my own discipleship as one who has taken refuge in Jesus (Yeshu):

Am I truly trusting in Jesus, finding my refuge in His eternal love and faithfulness toward me? Or am I looking to myself or other people for my sense of security and worth? Am I letting the depths of the mystery of the gospel strengthen and nurture my soul daily? Or am I distracted by the cares of life around me?

Am I truly trusting His teachings, allowing them to guide and interpret all of my experiences, or only in certain moments when I'm studying or in moments of reflection? When Jesus says, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" or "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven" do I let the weight of these words pierce my soul and change my priorities and relationships? Or do I gloss over them as "hard sayings" and move on? By seeing the devotion of modern disciples to their gurus/teachers in India, I have a new model for the depth of discipleship we are called to as believers. I want to hang on every word of my Perfect Teacher, seeing them as jewels of purest truth to continually challenge and encourage and transform me into His image.

Am I truly living as a part of the Christian community with faith that we are truly Christ's body, the temple of God here on this broken planet? Or am I annoyed and frustrated with the church, giving up on His plan and scheming to come up with my own?

They're Here!!!

Check it out:

This one says in Tibetan "Namo Yeshu Ya" translated as "I take refuge in Jesus"



This one says in Sanskrit and in English Yeshu Darshan

Progress Report

Green Light!!!
I have just ordered 20 custom bracelets and rings from Kumbeshwar and they are on their way as I type.
How amazing - Within just a few weeks, I have been able to network with a small micro-loan based silver producer in Nepal and create my own line of Fair Trade jewelry to sell here in the States!!!
The world is shrinking every day, or flattening as some have said. What amazing opportunities are opening up right now...I feel like I'm just barely opening my eyes to see the strategic times we are now living in. Oh Lord wake us up to redeem the time and not slumber selfishly through it!
I am encouraged in so many ways right now. COSTCO is carrying their own line of yumyum FAIR TRADE coffee, roasted by starbucks. World of Good is setting up little displays of fair trade handicrafts in shops and health stores across the nation. And as I'm seeing more and more conventional grocery stores carrying organic products, I'm praying that hearts will be changed to have more discernment in their purchasing habits. There's no doubt in my mind that buying products that are spiritually healthy - that support and lift up the poor rather than exploit them - has exponentially greater wholistic health benefits than just buying organic... So I can totally see the organic movement leading straight into a fair trade movement. Amen, Lord, let it be!!!

Kumbeshwar Trade Center

I now have my seller's permit, so I'm good to go! The board of equalization was very helpful and everything went smooth. It took less than an hour and there were no hidden charges. whew! I am now totally ready to start business....

I have been emailing a fair trade certified producer group in Nepal called Kumbeshwar Trade Center and am looking into having some bracelets made there. Silver jewelry from Nepal is duty free, so i thought it would be a good place to start as far as imports go. I am ordering a custom design, similar to this one I bought in Kathmandu years ago:

got the license!!!

• ZONING CLEARANCE ($202.00) This was required by the city of Santa Cruz department of planning and community development. Since I don't have an actual site for my business, i had to get clearance for my home residency to be the base. Basically they wanted to make sure I won't have lots of people coming by our house or lots of packages being delivered all the time, disturbing the neighbors and the local parking situation. It was a fairly quick and painless operation - just fill out a simple application, answer a few questions and write a check for $202 big ones to the City of Santa Cruz. This is a one time fee as long as I am based in the current location.
  
  
• BUSINESS LICENSE ($145.15) Once I had clearance from the zoning department, getting the biz license was a snap. It is good for one year - I'll have to pay the same fee again next year to renew.

I'm now in business!!!
Well, one more missing piece - I need a resale number from the board of equalization in order to buy products wholesale. There is no charge for this, but the office is located in San Jose so I'll have to wait for this last step...

Running Total for start up fees: $424.15

It's Official (the name)

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I now officially can call my business "Tribe of One." The fictitious business name application went through quite smoothly:

COSTS:

• $30 to county clerk for filing fees
  
• $47 to Good Times newspaper for publishing the name weekly for four consecutive weeks to close the deal

The bad news is that I did not know I needed to be checked out by the planning department even though i'm registering as a home-based business, so I have to wait until monday to turn in the rest of my forms...

Genesis

This is the day I officially begin my business... It is the date I have written on all the paperwork I am submitting, at least. Today is step number one, moving beyond my wonderfully ambitious dream world and testing my ideas in the crucible of real life. Jesus, I submit all these forms and all these ideas to You. Unless You build this business, my work is in vain...

Main steps leading up to today:

• downloaded application for a business license
  
• downloaded application for a fictitious business name
  
• called 800-400-7115 and received application for a seller's permit from the board of equalization
  

Why?

All of my business form applications are sitting next to me as I type...tomorrow I will submit them and see how it goes. I have dreamed of starting a business for YEARS now, and finally it seems to be taking tangible shape. Why start another import business when there are so many already here in Santa Cruz? For one, there are no fair trade import stores here that I have found. None. Not one! Yet as more of us become aware of the working conditions in other countries, there is a growing itch in our conscience as we buy imported goods. The label says "Made in India." Who actually HAND CARVED this beautiful piece? Who spent hours embroidering this cloth? Under what conditions? How much did they get paid? Can they support their families with these earnings? Do they enjoy their work? What is their life like? What are their faces like? These are the questions we are starting to ask, and I long to sell products that provide real answers and a confident peace of mind with each purchase.

Walking through the streets of Delhi, India, I had a constant choice. Elderly beggars with quivering hands, lepers with seeping wounds, filthy little toddlers already keen on the ways of the street, lonely cripples calling out from tattered cloths along the roadway... Do I ignore them and look straight ahead as I push my way through, or acknowledge their humanity as fellow souls created in the image of God with value and dignity? It was an endless battle throughout my years of traveling through Asia, but again and again I found that as I looked each man, woman, boy or girl in the face with love, my heart grew more joyful and full. Jesus was there, and He was calling me to follow Him on the path of faith and love.

Tribe of One is part of my present journey down this path.