If You Can't Travel To Bali - Then Bali Will Come To Us

With the recent lockdowns in Auckland, many of us are desperate for a change of scenery. Sure we can’t travel abroad but we can travel locally in our gorgeous country. We can also work with charities such as the Kindness Project to bring diversity to our gallery. In March we are pleased to host Kindness Furniture who will bring a bit of Bali magic to our galleries.

Kim talks to founder Gary Parkinson:
What is Kindness furniture? Kindness furniture was born out of travels to Bali and falling in love with the authentic handmade range of furniture and homewares! I was looking for a new direction where business could be a force for good! Enabling and empowering others with the motivation that what was offered was kind for the planet also! Hence the name!

Where is the furniture made? The Balinese people are gentle, humble, caring, very skilled in crafting natural materials and recycling what’s available! The more I travelled (mostly in the villages) the more I realised how the sale of these unique products could benefit the
village economy and generate a ripple effect.”

Tell us about your passion to reduce our carbon footprint to help the planet? As a consumerist society our obsession for things is straining the planets ability to survive! Using materials that are not planet-friendly and take hundreds of years to break down once discarded! Through our offerings not only do we help people survive in time-honoured traditions, we also become part of the solution for being kind to the planet! We have wonderful partners in Bali that ensure the sources are genuine and the supply chain has integrity!

How is the Kindness project helping and where do proceeds go to? More than ever Bali is really hurting right now with the huge drop off in tourism with normally bustling tourist spots reduced to ghost towns! Most struggle just to get food on the table so any orders made for products that we sell have a lot of impact! We support an orphanage started in 2009 by a passionate local teacher called Ketut whose father donated the land and with the help of family built the first simple building and took in 7 children! There are currently 29 children from 6 to 19 years! For funding they are reliant on local donations which have almost dried up because of Coronavirus! By purchasing these Balinese products you are helping these small villages and this orphanage in particular.

What is B1G1? The Kindness Project is linked to the Global Giving Initiative, B1G1. B1G1 helps businesses become a real force for good. It means we are able to embed giving right into our operations. With B1G1, more than 2,300 businesses from 43 countries have made 176+ million impacts. Together with our customers we are making a massive difference!