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Laurie Tassell
Klong Toey Cards

In this month’s edition of the DRG e-newsletter we feature a Perth venture that is making a difference to poverty stricken families in Bangkok, Thailand. The venture is called Klong Toey Cards and we spoke to its creator, Laurie Tassell.

Over a year ago, Laurie Tassell and his wife Libby made a decision that would end up changing the lives of those around them. As most of us here in sunny summer Perth spent last year’s Christmas with family and friends in backyards, beaches and pools, Laurie and Libby Tassell were in a Thai slum teaching kids English as a second language. While working in Bangkok, they encountered a young Aussie couple who were not only working, but living in the slum, trying to make a difference with the people. Inspired by this couple, Laurie and Libby decided to set up a card making business right there in the slum that would break the cycle of poverty for many desperate families.

“Basically where we started was we were in Bangkok teaching English as a second language to kids from the slum, and a young Aussie couple who actually live in the slum were buying jewelry from some of the women for employment and to give them a source of income. We suggested that what we should do was to set up a card making business in the slum for the ladies. So we went there and set up this business.”

Having spent some time working in the slum area, Laurie and Libby were well aware of the extent of the social problems and destitution effecting many of the families who lived there. They knew that providing some form of employment could make a big difference to many lives;

“The problem with living in a slum is there’s a lack of education and a lack of employment opportunities. So you have to provide both those things to actually break the cycle of poverty. So this project is actually breaking the cycle of poverty by providing employment. It also has a spin off effect within the community as well, because all of that money is being spent in the community – so it snow balls.”

Now retired, Laurie and his wife went about working out the process they needed to go through to create this business for the women living in the slum. With a university background in art and design it was decided that Libby would create the designs for the cards, Laurie would source the materials, and they would create a card making room for the women to actually make the cards to be sold.

“What we did was a team of four of us went up and Libby and two others did the teaching of the girls and all the designing while I sourced all the materials. The idea was to source the materials in Bangkok that they needed to make the cards, because the materials in Bangkok are so much cheaper than the materials here in Perth, and it’s not financial to send them up there.”

One of the first challenges was finding somewhere in the slum that could be used to set up the card making facility. “The card making room is a bit like an oasis in the middle of the slum to be honest. We are very fortunate that we were able to get hold of a community centre in the middle of the slum and put some air-conditioning in, lino on the floor and some benches - and its all fallen into place”.

Since the 1st of July last year the business has grown to employ 30 women, both full time and part time, on a fair trade basis - being paid double the minimum wage. The project has the benefit of not only providing an income to families, but that money is in turn spent within the community, and the effects are already starting to show; “Since July 1st last year we’ve sold about 45,000 cards that they have made. What we are now seeing are things like families being fed properly for the first time. Something like 80% of the women were either involved in prostitution, drug selling or had been in jail for one of those things. And there are kids actually going to school for the first time, some nine year olds who were having to go and work are now being able to go to school. So a whole range of things have happened.”

Once the women have made the cards, they are brought back to Perth and Laurie starts selling them to church groups, Rotary and businesses. “Some businesses have bought 400/500 cards. We also have a lot of people who will take 20 or 30 packs of cards and then take them to their work and give them out amongst their work mates. People love it. So we rely on a network of people – for instance a young couple in WA bought a whole box, which was 1600 cards, and they went and sold them amongst all their friends and it took them about 2 weeks to do that.”

Once an effective networking strategy is in place, the ultimate aim for Klong Toey Cards is to make it a business owned and run by the women themselves. “The goal is to make them as independent as possible, so it is their business and it’s not our business – that’s what we are working towards. In the coming year our goal is to provide a steady rate of employment. We’ve actually offered to buy from them 30,000 cards a year and give them a set payment each month. Libby will continue to create the designs and send them up and we will be one of there customers, so they can build their own customer base. Ultimately they have to have control.”

Although quite modest in describing their role, it is clear that Laurie and Libby Tassell have actually gone out and done what a lot of us think about doing during the Christmas period – helping others more needy than ourselves. The effects of their contribution radiate amongst the families they have helped, and shine as an example to us all.

This year as part of our DRG Christmas mailout, our clients will receive a Klong Toey Card. For more information on Klong Toey cards, or to buy some cards for your business, email elizabeth@davidreidgroup.com

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