Apikri is a fair trade organization that was set up in 1987, founded by 25 handicraft small producers and NGO activists who assisted them. Most of our products are eco-friendly and each of them indicates value of culture and art. APIKRI`s products are made by Indonesian professional artisans so that they look luxury and elegant.

At first, Apikri was the abbreviated name for Indonesian People’s Handicraft Marketing Association. In 1989 Apikri’s name was changed to Indonesian People’s Handicraft Development Association, because the problems of small producers were not only in marketing. In 1990 Apikri’s name was changed again to Foundation for the Development of the Indonesian Handicraft Producers, which is abbreviated “Apikri“. Marketing facilitation for small producers is held by Apikri, Inc. The first showroom, is named TPB (Tempat Pemasaran Bersama) or Joint Marketing Place. This change demonstrated a significant increase in Apikri’s activities and progress. In 2002 Apikri’s name was changed again to be Apikri Cooperative as Apikri Foundation unified with Apikri Cooperative. Despite some name changes from the first setting up until now, Apikri has always been concerned with fair trade. As the main value Apikri works with fair trade philosophy: Fairness, Transparency, Accountability, Sustainability. Since 1989 Apikri has been working with Fair Trade Principles : 1) Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers 2) Transparency and Accountability of Fair Trading Practices and Payment of a fair price 3) Commitment to Gender Equity and Ensuring good working conditions 4) Providing capacity building 5) Education opportunities for workers` children and Respect for the environment 6) Promoting fair trade. Apikri has a vision: to be a fair trade voice, to empower micro-small handicraft communities in Indonesia with a mission to improve business capacity building for micro and small handicraft producers, to facilitate market access for micro and small handicraft producers, to strengthen micro and small handicraft producers as actors in the dynamic national economy, to strengthen fairness in trading as an instrument to achieve democracy in economic life.

The general strategy is community empowerment by a market-driven approach. Mission statement: do development to find a market and do a market finding to develop a community. Community empowerment of Apikri through marketing approach is done in 3 ways: helping micro producers who make fair trade handicraft to find and create their market themselves, meeting micro and small producers who make fair trade handicraft with potential markets, facilitating export marketing by fair trade value. At this time, people who receive benefits directly are more than 200 micro-small producers in Yogyakarta Special Province and Central Java (Klaten, Wonogiri, Pacitan, Secang, Pekalongan, Banjarnegara). Some of the producers live in villages and slum areas as the implementation of the Apikri purpose, and one of fair trade principles is to empower the economic life of disadvantaged producers. Besides marketing facilitation with the fair trade value, producers get benefits from business capacity building, design development, design information, financial support, fair trade awareness, fair trade implementation assistance. Apikri focuses on export market of fair trade handicraft products and facilitates the members and participants to be active in the local market with the fair trade value. Our fair trade handicraft products for export can be seen in our catalogue in this web site together with the fair trade handicraft products for domestic. Until the end of 2006 Apikri worked with 17 trading partners which are mostly fair trade buyers in 12 countries (Europe, North America, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia). Most of Apikri’s trading partners are fair trade buyers of chain stores, not brokers, agents or distributors. Apikri, running fair trade principles, gets 50% advance payment from the trading partner for every order and gives the balance payment of 50% to members or participants who have the order. The balance payment to the members or participants is done after the products are sent and evaluated in the warehouse.