Look no Further! SomSom Brand has quality hand made products that are one of a kind that serve a greater purpose with each purchase. Lets face it, we all get caught in trends whether its whats in, something you created, or something you're bringing back. Many times these trends start from big time fashion designers that distribute their products to retailers and eventually to the consumer (YOU). B
ut how many times have you made a purchase that serves a short purpose being worn a couple times and then discarded, lent out to never be seen again, forgotten somewhere, or any other scenario where you forget about it and move onto the next purchase? Were not saying that by making a conscious purchase these things cannot happen, but, you will at least know that your purchase helped someone in a positive way by giving support to the families and the traditional way of life of the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand. At this point you may be asking yourself, Who are the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand and why would I care? The Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand are located outside of the city of Chiang Mai. The six main groups are the Hmong, Karen, Mien/Yao, Lahu, Lisu, and the Akha. each tribe has many similarities but differ by their dialect of the Thai language and most noticeably the Traditional costumes that each tribe wears. The women of the hill tribes make everything by hand using the natural resources they have available to them. These tribes live in secluded areas in the highlands and their homes are constructed of wood planks or bamboo and thatched roofs made of grass. Their main source of revenue historically was the growing of the Poppy plant to produce O***m. History-
The poppy was introduced into Asia in the 7th and 8th century by Arab traders. The Poppy became popular immediately but was not grown on a large scale till 150 years later. The hill tribe people noticed that the growing the Poppy was a quick way to make money to provide for their families and grew it throughout the mountains of Northern Thailand. Throughout the 1960's to the 1990's northern Thailand became part of the the notorious "Golden Triangle" which provided the majority of the worlds o***m and he**in. The Thai government was concerned about the production of poppy but was also trying to prevent communist ideals from taking over their country which took most of their focus. This enabled private armies run by local warlords to move in and take the hill tribes territory to grow their own Poppy and build laboratories to turn o***m into he**in. The hill tribes only options at this point were to work long hard hours for little pay, not work and be unable to provide for their families at all, or leave. In the 1980's the king of Thailand King Bhumibol Adulyadej put a ban on the growing of poppy which significantly reduced the drug trade. In 2003 King Bhumibol declared a war on drugs that proved to be successful by apprehending many drug lords and putting an end to many large scale o***m operations. Present-
King Bhumibol educated the hill tribes on growing new crops such as coffee and tea to provide for their families. These crops brought new hope to the hill tribes who could now make a safe and legal living to provide for their families. The hill tribes also greatly rely on the sale of their hand crafted items to earn money for their families. SomSom Brand-
SomSom Brand created our company to help the Hill Tribe people solve the problem of waiting on tourists to visit to earn a living, while being able to offer one of a kind hand made items to people worldwide. We visit and stay with the hill tribes at least twice a year to indulge in their customs and to create opportunities for the people. The hill tribes set their own price for each item and sell it to us. We then ship it to back to the Tampa Bay area and make it conveniently available for you! Since each item is hand made each piece is truly unique and each purchase contributes to maintaining a lifestyle that has been around for hundreds of years. SomSom Brand loves the idea of giving back to make a difference and is the driving force behind the company. We hope to encourage our customers and everyone else in the world to make their fashion purchase decisions consciously when possible. By doing so you get beautiful hand made fashion apparel and accessories while contributing to a positive cause. Contact Info-
Phone- 888-55-SOMSOM
Email- [email protected]
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