Hello ,

Greetings from Slovakia. I'm here at the EU outpost of Ancient Wisdom, AWGIfts EU.
Regular readers will know about our central European adventure.

Our young dynamic team in action. We are trading really internationally here - it's great B2B enquires and deals every day from everywhere from Cyprus to Croatia to Holland and everywhere in between.
The English language website AWGifts.eu run by webmaster Matej is certainly generating interesting customers from places I never even knew existed. Just like in the UK the flower soaps are a huge hit here, we have sold out, but a container from China arrives next week so we are gearing up for that.

Meanwhile in the UK - OK I know - it's the Royal weekend, all of Europe and half the world are following the drama of Meghan's Dad and how it can't make it.
Whether you are a Royalist or a Republican or even a publican :) you will no doubt join in the fun. Its sure to boost interest in wedding season stock, so we have listed a few wedding favour deals below.

Also.. great news a container of bags from India arrived in the UK. Perfect timing as the plastic debate reaches new heights.
We have lots of life-time use bags, and now you have to pay for plastic bags most in places. Morrison just stopped stocking single use plastic bags, so you have to folk out 60p even for a multi use bag.
Now is the time to stock bags guys.. especially the one that are eco friendly, and help employment in poor places.

This brings me to Mr Chatterjee, our main man in India and his eco-friendly factory in Serampore. Serampore is a town on the banks of the Ganges in Bengal.
The people there are lovely, but it's one of the poorest places we trade in. I met Mr Chatterjee about 18 years ago, over time gotten to know him, his family and his team very well.

Here he is with Tomas (our marketing wizard) at the children's home.
Mr Chatterjee likes to drink whiskey, so I usually buy him a bottle of Black Label from duty free. After a long day working with his design guys at the factory, we generally retire to a high roof terrace over looking Serampore and order in some take-away food. There are no restaurants here at all, so he has made a nice area with pot plants and led lights. I call it the whisky terrace, we sit and drink with the guys from the factory and sometimes the local big-wigs will call by to see the English guy. In the hot humid evening air with fireflies and the odd mosquito for company we chat about life and put the world to rights. One time over whiskey Chatterjee asked me if I'd like to see the various places in the area that he supported.. a lot of charitable organisation operate here in a very ad-hock way relying on very much on local businesses to offer what support they can. Mr Chatterjee is a nice guy and does more than most.

He took me to all-sorts of places, a mental home in an old tumble down a colonial house - where an old lady hugged me and wouldn't let go. A hospital desperately under funded - with mattress-less beds, a medical guy who treated blind people for free from basically a shack. It was like a trip round hell, I was both heartbroken, and traumatised by it all - I mean how on earth can you make a difference.

Then we went to the children's home, Chatterjee was friendly with the local police chief who we met. He told us about the home run by a guy called Mr Kundu where they take street children to keep them from the clutches of the begging gangs. The gang leaders come from the big cities looking for desperate people, especially children to go to the city and tap on taxi windows - the more pathetic the better. Mr Kundu he said, was a good guy we should meet him.

So we went there, actually not far from the factory, twenty ragged children (from two to twelve years old) in a tumbledown shack. No electric, no running water, no toilets even. We asked them what they wanted, and they asked if we could patch up the roof because in the monsoon there was almost nowhere dry to sleep.
Here was somewhere we could make a difference.. working with Mr Chatterjee and Mr Kundu maybe we could give twenty kids a real chance in life.
Yes we fixed the roof, we actually put a new roof on and redecorated everything. That was four years ago, since then everything has been fixed - water, electric, toilets, shower kitchen. Then we moved on to the quality of life and education, each bottle of whiskey on the terrace brought new ideas.. Now we have an English teacher - and after 18 months they can all speak decent English, this year a computer teacher and an art teacher. They all go to school every day, and two of them are top of their class in school.
When I visit now, I feel the love, it's like a big happy family all keen to show me what they have learned and what they can do.
So this is where our charity focus is aimed at Ancient Wisdom.

Anyway back to Mr Chatterjee, he is both our agent in India and owns a Jute & Cotton factory. Making in the main bags, which brings me back to saving the planet by not using plastic bags.
Jute, I'm sure you are aware is practically the most eco-friendly textile you can find. The jute plantations mega eco.. Studies also reveal that the CO2 assimilation rate of jute is several times higher than that of trees. At the same time using jute bags are saving the oceans wildlife. Plus bags production creates employment in this very deprived area of India.. plus some of the profits go to help the children's home..

So it's like a win-win-win situation, so for goodness sake stock some eco-friendly Indian bags. If you want to earn a little good karma, stock and sell those bags.
Of course - you don't have to buy from AW, there are lots of companies importing really good bags from India, but I invite you to check and compare our deals below..

Over the years we have helped improve the children's home and Mr Chatterjee has also been for a long time helping improve his factory and working environment of his workers. As you know we always check out the working conditions of the factories we deal with, in India it's very important and more than a few times had to cancel pending orders. But the factory here has good working conditions, there has never been under age workers, or under paid, or bad working conditions. In fact Mr Chatterjee treats his staff like a big family, if anyone needs help they will get it.
Here are some pictures.. from yesterday..

At least at AW you have a bit more confidence (I hope) that your supplies come from a decent company.
The only problem is having to drink all that whiskey on every visit :)

Hope you have a right royal weekend.

Take Care,
David

PS: Don't forget another Bank Holiday is very close..

it's almost the weekend.. And we can't wait for the Royal weekend, lots of flags and people in suits going crazy over some wedding. To celebrate we are running a Flash Deals until Monday midnight. 3 for the price of 2. Grab these deals now, they don't last long.. when the wedding is over... It's over.

BUY 3 for Price of 2 on our range of wholesale bath bomb Hearts you will never want to leave your bath. If you are looking for a high-quality handmade bath hearts that look and smell great then you have come to the right place.

We have many fragrances to choose from such are floral additions and body glitter.

Flash deal BUY 3 for Price of 2 Ancient Wisdom's own manufactured Chill Pills. They are mini bath bombs, toss them in the bath for a mini fizz, or use them as a bathroom decoration. Quite a fizzing product .. and fast selling.

The vibrant colours can stand out anywhere so you don't have to worry about them not being noticed in your store. Not only that but it also has plenty of space, perfect for the day trip, city breaks, the comfortable strap makes it easy to carry all day long.

Nepal Sling Bag the range of bags are designed to complement each other and make a great display - an attractive price point means regular sales and happy customers.

Looking good at festivals, on the beach, down the pub or on that protest march

Made with an ethnic jacquard fabric these bags are for world travellers who just know how to look cool in any and every place. Perfect for uni, for the office, or the beaches of Goa.

Everyone needs a bag all year round so they are sure to be a great seller. They will even make a beautiful gift.

Nag Champa is probably the best selling incense on the planet! Everyone should stock it as an essential item. The original Blue pack made famous by the patronage of Satya Sai Baba is now only one of a whole range of incense and other scented products made with this distinctive fragrance.

The healing powers of salt baths are still valued to the present day thanks to well-documented health benefits by ancient Greeks. And when choosing a salt to soak in, the pure Himalayan variety reigns supreme!

A big stack will look amazing in your shop, with a few rolled up and tied ready to go. These classic old favourite Indian rugs, always sell well, sure to boost your sales. Also giving you a great profit margin