Business Practices of the Third World Bazaar

The Third World Bazaar is a family business that purchases products from around the developing world and sells directly to consumers in the Ottawa area. We operate a Bazaar over a six week period where our products are sold in a large barn, with a festive atmosphere. We bring to our customers a wide range of exotic and interesting home décor, garden, musical instruments, art, furniture, and a wide range of other products.

We buy the majority of our products directly from the Artisans and Craftsmen in the source country. We try to maintain very low operational costs; for example we handle all shipping and transportation ourselves; wherever possible we reuse packaging and integrate old materials into our operation. This is a barn we are operating from!

This allows us to pay fair prices to the producers, buy in reasonable volume, maintain product variety and remove the various middlemen. Core to our business success is maintaining a good relationship with our suppliers, paying them a good, fair rate and providing advice on changing trends in Canada. Many of our suppliers have been selling to the Third World Bazaar for over 20 years. This form of commerce is often called "Fair Trade".

The Third World Bazaar is a family operated business, run by Peggy & Dick Bakker, together with their children; Case and Anneka. Up to 2003, the business had been operated in the Kingston area by Paul and Evelyn Gervan (Peggy's brother). The new owners have carried on a similar business model of direct purchasing and direct retailing. Peggy and Dick are continuing to purchase from many of the same Artisans Paul and Evelyn had supported. The business is now situated next to Bakker's General Store which is operated by Henry Bakker (Dick's brother). Yes, lots of family involved here!

Over the past five years the Bakker family has traveled to, and purchased directly from producers, in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Cuba and Thailand. We also supplement our inventory with purchases from wholesalers who travel to other countries. Where possible we attempt to buy from importers with similar business practices. We also source certain craft items from Canadian producers directly.

During our travels we attempt to source products that reflect our interest in culture, craftsmanship and history. The world is a varied and interesting place with many different things to offer; we hope you can find something that reflects your interests as well, at the Third World Bazaar.

Packing

Shipping product around the world involves a lot of packing materials. This year we have made an extra effort to reuse as much of the original packing material as possible. This does involve a little extra work and organization on our part, but it also reduces costs, lowers waste and enables us to keep our prices low. We hope you will understand and appreciate why your art work is wrapped in reused paper or plastic.