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Support Local Business in Asia

02/18/2008 1:19 pm

Buy Local: Cross the Big Pond: Buy Local: A Reader Shares a Great Idea

Traveling sustainably to Asia doesn't start at the airport. It starts with a philosophy you may already have for supporting local farmers, vendors and businesses.

Once you arrive in Asia, you can turn on your Buy Local mind set again. Of course it's harder in unfamiliar territory, but if you do your homework, you can look back on your Asian travels knowing that at least most of the time, you were helping local producers, vendors and businesses.

Even the most green among us has sometimes succumbed to the familiarity of a McDonald's in a place like Bangkok where the lure of something familiar, air conditioning and a sense of security that at least the ice is probably safe, finds us seduced by those golden arches.

But equipped with knowledge and the joy of adventuring beyond the ordinary makes the difference between a "nice" vacation and amazing experiences.

We are finding more and more opportunties for our travelers to make choices for buying local in Asia.

Contributors to this blog will keep posting ideas for acting on local/global/local possibilities.

How have you been "buying local" in your Asian travels?

Nancy Harkrider, Editor, Contributor

Reader Comment 01/24/2008
Very cool idea about the local, global, local concept! We travel to Asia a couple of times a year (lucky us!) and I've made a habit of asking Asian people in my neighborhood what they recommend for shopping local in Asia. I keep a notebook with suggestions, adding to it every time we are in Asia. Looking forward to more suggestions on helping local businesses when we travel.
Aimee, Surrey, BC

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