Beginning Google Maps Venture

http://www.mbendi.co.za/indy/ming/plat/af/sa/p0005.htm#Facts

http://www.miningweekly.com/article.php?a_id=68889

rare earth minerals and china: http://www.mmta.co.uk/economicsFacts/Articles/MiningJournalReview/RareEarths.pdf

Tying Up Loose Ends

Taiwan’s Poverty:

Less than 1% below poverty line. (Meet Minimum standards of living)

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Taiwan-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.html

However, there is a new face of poverty

http://www.tpic.org.tw/EBulletin/showact.asp?EActID=1246

Those who have the ability and the skills to work but can’t find a job are the new poor. They are too well off to benefit from the social welfare resources, but have a predicament financially that makes them unable to make ends meet.

But Back to the Shipping Question for Tracking:

http://www.2wglobal.com/www/productsServices/index.jsp#

This one has a GREAT site for shipping and their video “from factory to dealer” outlines exactly how everything is done and tracked”. Sort of Like Source Map but not quite there yet.

Elabortated Cargo Policy and Tracking here:

http://www.2wglobal.com/www/productsServices/productsServices/oceanTransportation/index.jsp

For Airline Tracking: http://cargotracking.utopiax.org/

Has links to all airplane carriers

Or here: more legible and user friendly http://www.cargoserv.com/tracking.asp

Here’s software available to do such a thing:

http://www.cargowise.com/solutions/enterprise-webtracker.shtml

AS for GPS tracking: http://www.liveviewgps.com/?gclid=CJuh47fax5QCFQRJFQod5HPwlQ

And Networking:

http://www.freightwatchusa.com/

New Steps

-how many people practice handicrafts currently/could potentially practice
-how much money is being made selling handicrafts/how much money could be
made
-given a single small town or a small market, what are the economics of the
business? how many people are working, what kind of conditions do they live
in, how many people do they support, how many items are produced, what are
the prices, what is the annual income
-and more specifically for this taiwan project, what kind of numbers could
we expect in terms of sales?

www.suedafrika.org/craft.doc

How crafts directly impact Poverty

http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:Amzgp8YE_x4J:www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/conferences/CD_doNotOpen/ADC/final_paper/235.pdf+how+many+in+taiwan+practice+craft&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Crafts industry was one of the major items that brought Taiwan sufficient economic development

(9% average growth per year) to bring international acclaim of an “economic miracle”

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tw.html#Econ

Taiwanese Data.

Inclucding GDP per capita, how many have telephones, GDP growth (from which yearly craft earnings can be projected (as in the link before it was 9% of growth).

http://ntww1.csir.co.za/plsql/ptl0002/PTL0002_PGE157_MEDIA_REL?MEDIA_RELEASE_NO=7121993

Company that does Craft Related Povery Alleviation

http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/social_delivery/sothebys.htm

Basically what we want Taiwan to do, expect these Londoners focus on high quality crafts (auction) instead of high volume trade.

“This is a case of taking a traditional skill and adapting it to what the market wants,” says Carole Hoch, deputy director of poverty alleviation projects within the Department. The purpose of the program is poverty alleviation through the creation of jobs, with “poverty nodes” targeted around the country.

Khumbulazulu is three years old and is affiliated to the 15-year-old Siyazisiza, a non-profit company established to revive traditional art forms and techniques and create sustainable jobs.

The aim of the project is not only to apply modern designs to traditional crafts, but also to teach business skills – how to price the items and not reduce prices under pressure and how to market the products, with the aim of becoming self-sufficient.

http://www.itd.or.th/en/node/704

On Pro-Poor Tourism, which might also generate revenue

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0438/is_4_37/ai_n13775092

South Africa has also apparently made a craft poverty alleviation program

HUBS are a village’s best friend

The final question on the shipping model is how to reduce costs?

The best way would be for the crafts market to ship in bulk to a few key places in Europe, Asia, and America and have the distribution hubs send again from there. Without need for thousands of point to point resources, a lot of money could be saved by shipping in bulk.

Best places from Taiwan would probably be Berlin, Germany (central western Europe); St. Petersburg, Russia; Shanghai, China; New York, USA; and Los Angeles, USA.

Crafts of Taiwan:

http://www.ntcri.gov.tw/eng/index.asp

http://www.marimari.com/content/taiwan/best_of/craft/craft.html

Assuming the best selling things are paintings and ceramics, Taiwan would best have two forms of a crafts market. A local market, and an international website where they can sell materials.

Since it is cheaper to text and since almost everyone in Taiwan has a phone, it would be relatively easy to just send a pictures via textmessage to a website. Subscribers to the website, could recieve messages containing newly uploaded pictures of catagories they subscribe to: paintings, food, clothing, utensils, etc.

As for the international shopping site, upload a picture with a camera for high quality products that cost more.

What is a Craft

Defining “Crafts” (The Term Trade is often used as well).

A craft is a skill. It may refer to a trade or particular art.

“The term is often used to describe the family of artistic practices within the decorative arts that traditionally are defined by their relationship to functional or utilitarian products or by their use of such natural media as wood, clay, glass, textiles, and metal. Crafts practiced by independent artists working alone or in small groups are often referred to as studio craft. Studio craft includes studio pottery, metal work, weaving, wood turning and other forms of wood working, glass blowing, and glass art.

Mostly, the term craft is reserved either for things made by hand or for high maintenance objects. For mass production, such items are named: goods or products instead of crafts.

On the highest end of crafts:

- For Clothing, high end material is referred to as Haute Couture.

- For High end crafts, the term Art is most often used.

So who are the people who practice crafts?

Mostly it is groups of people in poor/rural countries such as Ghana: http://www.studiomateceramics.com/index.htm

Or Vietnam: http://www.vietnam-holidays.co.uk/aboutvietnam/tcraft.htm

“Traditional village crafts have been described as a driving force in the betterment of the Vietnamese countryside. But a recent survey indicated the only 32% of the traditional crafts have been successful while 42% are in a slump and 26% have nearly disappeared.”

This problem mainly is due to pollution. Craftsmen are inefficient at recycling and minimizing wastes (specifically food processing, and cotton/fiber processing).

http://www.vnbusinessnews.com/2008/06/village-crafts-need-better-support.html

But nevertheless, craft village development is a key element in the government’s new poverty alleviation program.

http://www.vnviews.com/vietnam-travel-misc/craft/Vietnam-The-Craft-Villages.php

Crafts in Germany: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED341832&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED341832

This summarizes a book on the economies of Craft for poor people: http://eh.net/bookreviews/library/1131

And BEST for last: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=joseph_stiglitz

Summarizes something called Craft Economies. http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=joseph_stiglitz

And a great view of global crafts exports (in MAP format): http://www.exportbureau.com/industry_trade_statistics.html?industry=artcraft

For crafts in specific, here: http://www.exportbureau.com/industry_trade_statistics.html?industry=artcraft

In short, most economies still based on crafts are those that are “infant economies” this is not to be confused with “infant industries”. Crafts are an efficient way to boost economic standing of the entire village/country with minimal damage if the government is willing to regulate certain things like pollution.

As for how much money is at stake or how many lives crafts influence: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2420/context/archive

Crafts are good labor for those who work for themselves. For “Craft” Haute Couture goods, or other things that are handmade by some, but sold by others, it’s terrible for the workers. They don’t make them on machines or looms so it can’t be categorized as “goods” but they aren’t beneficial to the makers either.

In fact, there is even a World Crafts Council to promote crafts: http://www.craftculture.org/archive/alfoldy1.htm

In an attempt to spread global peace through crafts. (Sounds a little hippy but eh)

Rethinking the Shipping

Let’s revisit the Shipping Model.

Before in our previous assumptions, we had a 25lb shipment with only 5 items. This is because we assumed that the artisans would ship either metal or ceramic art pieces. But since as we saw previously, that shipping was too much for heavier international pieces unless there were wealthy people willing to pay.

So let’s reassess and assume that Taiwan will ship clothing and Jewelry only. These can weigh from .5lbs to 1 lbs (to be conservative- some jewelry pieces will only be several ounces).

Alright, therefore there should be around 25-30 items sold.

If we go with the cheapest shipping (DHL) per item, shipping is anywhere from $10.89 to $5.45.

And yet this is only valid if we remember this is the pricing for a 25lb shipment which is divided into several parts. The shipping companies charge higher premiums for lighter packages (non linear). The cheapest thing to do, is to either ship massive amounts of lightweight products (clothing), or several heavier products (woodwork).

Or, if the village, is lucky enough to have semiprecious stones – jewelry is the best model for efficiency.

Text Messaging in Taiwan

Taiwanese text messaging is actually cheaper by far than calling. Actually it is very common in Asia to text rather than to phone, however, I can not seem to find the pricing on these websites (English version).

Cellphone providers: http://www.cellular-news.com/coverage/taiwan.php

Cost for Taiwan Mobile: http://english.taiwanmobile.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1112767987515&pagename=English/Page/engDescriptionPageT

Mobitai: http://www.mobitai.com.tw/mobitai/profile/englishframe.htm

Trans Asia: https://wwwesc.tat.com.tw/english/rate/index.asp

Vibo: http://www.vibo.com.tw/CWS/English_04,,,,.html

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/charge/

Cell phones are very popular in Taiwan. It is not uncommon for people to have two cell phones. Taiwan has one of the world’s highest rate of cell phones per people. It is referred to as the Shou ji which translate roughly to handset. Because of their high use, phones in Taiwan have many functions and are becoming cheaper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Taiwan

http://www.rangeroamer.com/countries/Taiwan.aspx

http://www.ehow.com/how_2042693_use-cell-phone-taiwan.html

According to Britannica Online, there are approximately 1000 cellphones for every 1000 people in Taiwan.

Raw Data: http://search.eb.com/analyst/compare

http://search.eb.com/analyst

Possible? Only if you’re already rich

Economic Model For Shipping

If we try to estimate costs of shipping for let’s say a 25 lb box internationally, this could be a day’s worth of shipments by a local market of artisans. Notice, I’m estimating this to be a SMALL day’s worth of shipment. If each product is around 5lbs and there are five products sold, the break down of how much it costs to ship internationally is as follows.

All of these are from Cambridge, MA to Taipei, Taiwan via express (large box):

DHL 272.35 dollars

The US post Office 146.00 dollars

Fed EX 298.55 dollars

UPS 296.19 dollars

As evident, US postal is cheapest but probably not viable because it is based in the United States. The best carrier to use then, would probably be DHL.

However, if craftsmen are selling relatively cheap products, then the shipping itself is more expensive than the product. Divided out:

25 lbs/5lbs per item = 5 items sold.

DHL: 272.35/ 5 = 54.47 per item at best

FedEx: 298.55/ 5 = 59.71 per item at worst

At around 55~60 dollars per item being shipped, most people would not be willing to pay that much shipping for an item unless it were high quality products such as gems or artwork. Any heavier, and the shipping costs increase.

Taiwan then is at a bypass. The best thing for it to do would be to ship/sell locally and save on shipping prices. However, this may saturate the market unless it sells disposable/ daily used goods.

With International selling, they make much profit if shipping prices are paid for by buyer. However, since shipping prices are close to 60 dollars, most buyers are only willing to pay that rate, if what they buy is very valuable ~ 500 dollars.

With gas prices increasing, it is highly likely that shipping costs will increases as well.

Conclusion? Unless they are working with Ivory/pearls/precious wood there is no point in Taiwan villages attempting to sell internationally.

Ways to Deliver a Package

Best Way to Ship Things From Taiwan:

Options:

1. DHL (http://www.dhl-usa.com/home/Home.asp) is a Deutsche Post World Net company of Germany that provides international Mail, Express, Logistics and Finance. Their International Rate Zone Table is here: http://www.dhl-usa.com/using/2008%20PRR%20INTL%20ZONING.pdf
   and their Rate Guide is here: http://www.dhl-usa.com/resources/DHL%20Retail%20Rate%20Guide%202008.pdf

2. Shipping International - http://www.shipping-international.com/

3. US Postal Office – http://www.usps.com/international/prioritymailinternational.htm
   Allows delivery to Taiwan: http://postcalc.usps.gov/default.aspx?Mode=Intl_Single&CID=10418
   However, most probably doesn’t allow delivery FROM Taiwan
   
4. There IS a Taiwan Postal Service, but there is very limited literature (in English) about pricing and services: http://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/u_english/index.jsp?ID=2
   The Red Mailbox is for non-local Mail. The Taiwan Post office mails letters mostly. Packages mostly go through UPS and FedEx.
   
5. UPS -http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/shipping/time/service/shipping/index.html
   
6. FedEx -http://www.fedex.com/us/

Both UPS and FedEx are priced within the same index and offer Freight Shipping, Airline Carriers, and International Trucking. U.S. Postal Service is MUCH cheaper, but unfortunately, it only takes things there, I don’t think it takes things BACK. Refer to the Links below to compare prices.

Shipping Consultants.

1. Compare Shipping Quotes: http://shipping-to.com/’
2. http://www.homeshipping.com/international-shipping.asp

High End Retail

For developing countries selling ethnic (relatively low quality) items, the market is open for mats, rugs, jewelry, and decorative pieces of art. However, for more developed countries such as Italy, France and Japan who make high quality expensive custom tailored shoes, clothes and screens, the market is smaller and therefore closed in form.

For Example, Kenya may have a website open for jewelry for multiple people because the pricing is relatively affordable for everyone. The Shipping used is UPS or FedEx. However, handmade shoes and clothing

UPS Shipping (http://www.comomilano.com/ and

http://www.bontoni.com/)

Are too expensively priced for every day shopping. Ready to wear handmade things can be bought online and paid with Visa or MasterCard and shipped also by either UPS or FedEx. Usually though, for custom Made clothing or shoes (http://www.forzieri.com/usa/all_cel.asp?c=usa&find_spec=handmade%20shoes) it’s very difficult to have anything online (because one has to have very precise measurements) and usually the customers are wealthy enough to fly out themselves and go to their favorite custom tailor/cobbler to get clothing/shoes made in Italy.

It therefore then, is not a matter of Italian stores can NOT put items online, but because everything has to be custom tailored, it makes no sense to put anything online that is “ready to wear”.

However, there is a new generation of Money. Old money did not flaunt their wealth. They wanted things custom made and that no one knew how much they paid for it. New Money wear Prada, Gucci, Vera Wang etc. where everyone can know exactly how much they pay for it. These are also all handmade custom tailored Couture clothing, but it means that small shops are dying in Italy.

In terms of Art in Japan

Extremely expensive silk screens are sold via retailers online. The art of silk-screens is dying and local artisans are selling through retailers instead of through themselves. Also there are still street markets in Japan where art can be sold but mostly, it is through websites like : http://www.red-maple.jp/