Support, and shop from, artisans overseas without leaving your home this Christmas.
Georgina Wilson-Powell
Wed 2 Dec 2020
Missing the shopping buzz you get from a foreign holiday? Coming home laden with treasures that you found handmade in a market, or bought from a master craftsperson?
Eco-friendly travel company, Intrepid Travel, are collaborating with Local Purse, a new virtual shopping start-up designed to support tour guides and artisans in holiday destinations affected by the pandemic.
Through live shopping, customers can visit artisans around the world, ask questions, learn about the culture and history behind the products and buy what catches their eye.
Buy direct from Berber rug artisans in Marrkech via the live shopping experience
Kicking off with a virtual shopping experience in Morocco, Local Purse is running two pilot tours (8 & 9 December), one around spices found in Marrakech and the other will focus on traditional Berber rugs.
At the latter, you will meet Aziz Mejbar who was born and raised in Fez but moved to Marrakech 35 years ago. He started his own rug store Dar Mjber six years ago. The rugs are sourced from different tribes from all over Morocco and hand-made by the women of the tribes, making each rug unique.
These will take place as a special group broadcast, giving users a taste of the more personalised one-to-one experiences that will be running in 2021.
During this pilot, the proceeds will go to the local guides, artisans, and NGOs. Both tours visit Al Nour, a social enterprise that offers artisan skills training programmes and childcare for disabled women to help them attain a sustainable livelihood.
Image Local Purse's live shopping experience enables you to meet artisans and buy directly from them as if you would on holiday
Local Purse was founded by entrepreneurs Lola Akerstrom and Sara Mansouri. Intrepid is their launch partner and we are providing all the logistics on the ground.
Åkerström, who is also a visual storyteller and travel domain expert, says: “Local guides and artisans are often the most memorable people we meet when we travel. They teach us about culture, traditions and share the crafts they created with love. This is a way to give something back without having to leave your home.”
“Intrepid Travel is the leader when it comes to responsible and ethical tourism within the industry, and we are honored to be partnering with them to pilot this project with their certified local guides and vetted artisans,” she adds.
