ExporThai: Fine Thai Products

WHO WE ARE

ExporThai is a family-owned company started in 1998. At first, we started sourcing and trading a variety of "Made in Thailand" products. Soon we discovered our love for working with the artists and craftspeople who create the handmade products popular among tourists and merchants. Now these products are often called "OTOP", or "One-Tambon-One-Product" items. (A "Tambon" is like a western "County".)

There are plenty of retail and wholesale outlets here in Thailand selling to visiting travelers and merchants. Few have an eye for quality. Few have interest in the welfare and well being of the artists and craftspeople who create the unique Thai wares. Almost none understand the rigors of import/export procedures, international shipping, and quality control.

So, we decided to open our Internet store ExporThai.com. Now merchants like you all over the world have access to these special Thai treasures - without leaving home. And, you can buy them from people who care about the artists, who can get the import/export right, and who understand quality - us!

WHAT WE DO

ExporThai is a wholesale merchant of Thai and Southeast-Asian arts, crafts, and cultural artifacts. We choose products and sources of supply that support native arts and crafts. We also make sure they are products that sell well in import/export, home decor, or specialty stores.

We spend much of our time traveling around Thailand, meeting artisans and craftspeople. We learn who is doing what, why they do it, and how they do it. When we buy, we become friends and supporters. We pay our artisans a fair price for their goods, and we charge you a fair price.

Some things you see here, you might see on the street in Chiang Mai, in the market at Hat Yai, or maybe even somewhere else on the Internet. Many other things you see here, you'll find nowhere else in the world. In either case, once you buy from us, you'll be glad you did. ExporThai was the first, and we are still the best in quality, customer service, and satisfaction.

We want you to buy items for your store that your customers can feel good about buying, and that will give you a fair profit. That's why we pay attention to quality, design, price and selection.

Virtual Hilltribe Museum

The Virtual Hilltribe Museum is a project of the Mirror Art Group of Chiang Rai, Thailand to document the rapidly changing cultures of hilltribe people in northern Thailand. While countless volumes have been compiled about the touristically popular hilltribe cultures, almost all of these works have been written by Thais or Westerners and, therefore, carry the bias and mistakes of an outsider. The Virtual Hilltribe Museum is the work of the tribal people themselves.

While conventional wisdom holds that technology destroys traditional culture, we believe that empowerment of minority cultures via media and technology is essential for their survival. The Virtual Hilltribe Museum is a forum to stimulate interest and educate all people interested in learning about hilltribe cultures - Thais, Asians, Westerners, and hilltribe alike. As designers of the website - from photographs to content to HTML layout - the members of the hilltribe.org team have accepted responsibility to represent truth and priority as seen from the point of view of a tribal person. While most of the English parts of the website have been translated, those who can read the Thai version of the website are reading the voice of the tribal people themselves.

The Virtual Hilltribe Museum is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.