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The way we do business ...

First of all, thank you for shopping at our site! I appreciate your business and will do everything possible to make your shopping experience here a pleasant one.

Much of the wholsale silver jewelry represented in our store is hand-crafted in Nepal. The stones are genuine and semi-precious and most are from Nepal or India. The settings are sterling silver. The "925" stamp on the bottom of each piece is assurance that the metal is 92.5% silver. This is an industry standard. Although we started off with 100% Nepali silver jewelry, we now also import jewelry from India and occassionally other locations as well. We are very careful about who we choose for suppliers, only using those with the highest quality standards and those which treat their crafters fairly, and do not employ child labor.

The source of the beautiful wholesale sterling silver jewelry I sell on Our site is significant to me. From 1991-1993 I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal and grew to love the country. Nepal is a wonderful place and full of stunning hills, mountains and rivers, and beautiful people. I lived in a "mud house" for two years with a panoramic view of the Himalayan Mountains out of my back window. I could even see Mount Everest on clear days, 60 miles to the north!

Although in many ways, particularly aesthetically, Nepal lives up to its "Shangri-La" reputation, life there is very difficult for its people. The annual family income is only about $300 per year, there are few accessible hospitals and most of the people are subsistence farmers. One of the most significant problems facing the country is poor water quality. When I was there only about 20% of the population had access to a clean, reliable water supply and this contributes greatly to disease and malnourishment. My assignment as a Peace Corps Volunteer was to assist rural communities in building reliable, clean drinking water systems. During my tour I helped establish water projects that provided thousands of Nepalese with clean water, and the people I trained are continuing this work today. It was a very rewarding feeling, but I still feel as though I gained more through the experience than I contributed.

So how does one go from water engineering to selling wholesale silver jewelry? Starting an import business was the last thing on Our mind. But I had some influential friends who convinced me that doing so would be fun and help maintain my connections to Nepal. They were right! When I finished my stay in Nepal I departed with a bunch of products ranging from silver jewelry to Gorkha Knives to carpets. I even brought back about 500 wooden ties (most of which I still have)! The jewelry and particularly the rings were the biggest hit. The quality was excellent and I was able to offer them at very affordable prices. The one thing that really makes the rings special is the beauty of the gems. I haven't seen anything that compares.

All the jewelry from Nepal is made in a type of "cottage industry." There are 15-20 families in Kathmandu and in the surrounding hills who craft the silver jewelry in their homes. This is a means for them to generate extra revenue for their family at their own convenience.

In addition to buying some great stuff on this site, your purchase will also help crafters in Nepal whose livelihoods are very much tied to the export business. I also donate my time to Friends of Nepal (FoN). FoN is a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers that gives small community development grants to local organizations in Nepal. Some of the projects we have recently supported include:

Women's Rights and Micro-enterprise:Through Educational Development of Women of Nepal (EDWON), we helped establish a women's cooperative enterprise that helps poor, Dalit women to build their self-esteem and invest in their own community.

Income Generation for Disabled: We provided funding to a cooperative group of people with disabilities so they could start a business making and selling handi-crafts in their villages.

School Construction: An entire village in Dolpa District is building a school for their children. The focus of the school is teaching and thus preserving the ancient Bonn Culture. The village is in far western Nepal, 10 days walk from the closest road and very close to the Tibetan border. The Bonn Culture is a cousin of Tibetan Buddhism and actually precedes the Tibetan Religion.

Women's Health: We funded a local group to train health workers to screen women in remote villages for breast and cervical cancer. The project has been very successful and may be replicated in other parts of the region.

If you would like to find out more about Friends of Nepal, or make a donation (without buying jewelry!) please contact me.

If you would like to find out more about Friends of Nepal, or make a donation (without buying jewelry!) please contact me.

Back to the wholesale silver jewelry ... our specialty is helping small business owners, and individuals that would like a small business, to get started. About 40% of our customers have regular stores and boutiques, and the other 60% are individuals who have started a small business to generate extra money. In many cases it is a way to bring in resources to the home while keeping a strong family culture. What I mean is that a flexible-business model still allows full time moms and dads to be with their kids as much as they want or need to be. Individuals following this model sell jewelry to friends and family at work or through at-home jewelry parties, go to festivals and craft-shows or sell on a website or auciton site such as ebay. We have several thousand customers the world-over. I don't believe in gimmicks and treat every customer with respect because everyone has the potential to achieve their goals. So take a look around the site, even check out our competitors. And if you have any questions feel free to give me a call 401-709-4420.

About us ... we live in southern Rhode Island with our three children, 4, 6, and 3 months old. We have been doing this business full time for about 6 years.

I hope you enjoy your stay at our website. Please visit again!

Aaron & Yolie