Trade Winds: Fez, Morocco
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
The first line in my journal about Fez is: “I’m in the most amazing place I’ve ever been.”
I describe Fez as: A labyrinth that very soon after entering one of two things will happen. Either you’ll attempt to run to the nearest exit (if you can find one) or hope to forever wander throughout.
Upon arriving in Fez after a long hot bus ride from Tangier I found a place to sit and get some tea. As a tourist, especially one with a backpack in Morocco means you are never short of friends. Friends that want to give you tours, friends that know where to get the best hotel deal, friends for everything.
Chiang Mai, Thailand is a wonderful center of arts, culture, and history. Silk making has long been a tradition that the Thai people hold. In many areas around Chiang Mai, tourists and travelers are given the opportunity to see how a silk shirt, skirt, or scarf is made: from the silk worm to the loom, the Thai people love to share how this wonderful textile is created.
The seed of what ultimately has become Fair Trade Culture was planted passing through Istanbul, Turkey in May of 2004.
I sometimes wish my mouth could speak as fast as my mind, or that my fingers could type as fast as my thoughts. Only then would I be able to share with people how much I’ve seen, felt, learned, and experienced since the start of Fair Trade Culture. When Dominic and I decided to start this fair trade business, it felt more like a statement to each other than a business; one that we both knew opened uncountable doors for more people involved than we would ever know. That statement, put simply, is that ‘it’s about freedom’.
Thailand is a creative center composed of a culture that is not only artistic and friendly, but superstitious as well. My trip to the old capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya, was my first real glimpse of a history of the people who lived there. Ayutthaya is a short train ride from Bangkok, and is a fairly large city itself. The old charred ruins remain there from when the Burmese came in the 1700’s and burned the city down, and Ayutthaya remains a big tourist attraction today to Thai and foreigners alike. After visiting a couple wats, or temples, and playing with the elephants that provide a good income for the people that live there, I found a small shop on a not-so-busy street, run by a family known for making hanging fish ornaments out of palm leaves.
Koh Yao Noi is a large island that lies in the Andaman Sea on the west side of Thailand. The Sea harbors beautiful limestone cliffs that seem to carry a spirit that climbs to the heavens. The views are truly breathtaking and travelers from around the world come to share the beauty of the surrounding islands and beaches. Thailand welcomes these tourists and travelers, for the income provides the country with opportunities to build, grow, and upgrade current systems. Although Koh Yao Noi lives between Phuket and Krabi, two major tourist hubs, it still remains relatively undeveloped and traditional.
It was a hot and humid day in May when three friends and I decided to take a motorbike trip into the mountains of northern Thailand in search of some small villages and the arts and crafts they create. Only a larger dirt bike type could be used on this trip because the narrow roads were hardly roads and slick with red muddy clay. About 15 minutes of pavement driving out of the town of Pai, we were at a natural hot spring and a dirt road-path that ran past and far back into the forested mountains. After a quick break and some rehydration, we headed in. 
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