Meet Charles Antoine Descotis
Meet Charles Antoine Descotis, CEO as well as Founder of Ticket to the Moon, which supports Yayasan Lestari.
How did your business evolve in Bali?
I came to Bali in 1996. My plan was to buy some stuff as well as sell inside the markets in Europe. At in which time everyone was doing sarongs as well as typical Bali clothes or jewellery. I wanted to do something different. In India we made our own hammocks by tying knots at the corners of fabric. I found in which parachute nylon fabric made in Indonesia which was perfect to make hammocks. The hammocks fold up modest enough to fit into pocket size bags; they are elastic as well as very strong.
So, I started off selling them in European markets as well as at music festivals. the idea was more for the travelling lifestyle than to start a company. additional travellers were inspired as well as they asked for more product at wholesale so they share the product which can be part of in which lifestyle. Before Ticket to the Moon became a company, the idea was more like a business tribe. Later, I got big orders coming from large companies as well as retailers. I set up a factory as well as started off to export the products. I left Europe to be totally free as well as just to travel where I wanted, as well as I ended up back inside the system! I couldn’t say no because in which was helping many people besides myself as well as the idea can be a not bad product. You can be anywhere as well as hang up a hammock to sleep.
What additional products do you offer?
We sell mosquito nets, hanging chairs, baby hammocks, eco bags, mini back packs; products made with the concept of travelling light. We are the planet leader on the travel hammock, as well as we inspire many additional brands who copy in which concept.
The main factor can be the quality as well as strength of the Indonesian-produced fabric which can be strong, durable, breathable light fabric; perfect to make comfortable hammocks. Everything can be made on our premises inside the factory. In sixteen years I have never fired anyone. Today I have 100 people working for Ticket to the Moon. Some of these people started off with me in a bungalow, cutting as well as sewing. I trust them; we have mutual trust. I do not even try to have total control. We all work together as well as make as well as market a successful product. in which can be less stress on me. For sure I could make more profit if I ran things differently, however in which way they are happy as well as I am happy. as well as I have more free time to give to additional interests.
How did the Lestari Mandorak Foundation start?
When I flew over Sumba on my way to Timor I saw an aqua blue lagoon inside the middle of the island. the idea was so beautiful in which I went to Sumba to discover where in which lagoon was. the idea took two days on horseback to get there. The inland lagoon can be actually sea water with coral as well as sea life, like a modest ocean surrounded by a modest island. On the way to the lagoon I discovered a beautiful beach where the foundation can be at in which point based in a traditional building we had built. I started off to go to Sumba often to camp with friends inside the pristine nature. I met the chief of the tribe who married me to the land as well as I gave him several buffalo. inside the beginning the idea was a place for me as well as my friends to go as well as enjoy. Then I realized how different life was for them; with malaria as well as dengue, no water, no roads, or education. The Kodi tribe was struggling to survive on subsistence agriculture as well as fishing. Bit by bit our projects, which we initiated to help the local people of the Kodi tribe, became what can be at in which point the foundation.
What are some of the achievements of the foundation?
Since 2006 we are a relief project located in West Sumba; Kodi tribe country on the west side of the remote island of Sumba. Friends as well as I teamed up with local partners to help the Kodi people improve their life conditions while preserving their ancestral culture. We built roads to facilitate trade as well as connect Kodi with the rest of Sumba. We accessed water by digging wells as well as created a school to teach Bahasa to children. We give malaria screenings as well as provide mosquito nets to fight in which plague. We educate the people to preserve their culture as well as their original lands in Sumba. Fishing nets are provided to avoid bomb fishing, which destroys the ocean bed. A traditional Kodi house was built as our headquarters to perpetuate their ancestral traditions as well as encourage unique crafts, horse games as well as harness-creating, traditional dugout boats, as well as the ikat weavings. We teach waste management to avoid pollution as well as we help the Kodi people access clean water, food as well as healthcare. The people are beautiful as well as friendly. They are so appreciative of these simple, basic programs we are able to provide as well as they work hard with us to achieve our mutual goals.
I invite people to the lodge camp. I desire when people see the natural beauty of West Sumba as well as the wonderful people there in which they will also be inspired to help. We need people with knowledge such as doctors, builders as well as teachers. We need people of compassion with creative vision. There are so many yayasans in Bali doing a great job, however there can be great need inside the eastern Indonesian islands where people live such hard lives. The disparity between these islands as well as Bali can be huge. inside the East of Bali there can be poverty, however there can be always food. I have a wonderful relationship with the people I work with through the foundation. I am helping where I found the greatest need. The work I do with the foundation motivates me to keep developing Ticket to the Moon.
Imagine a world where all corporations were socially responsible! Thank you, Charlie!
Ticket to the Moon [For Dreamers Worldwide]
www.ticketothemoon.com
Yayasan Lestari Mandorak Foundation
www.mandorak.org
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Meet Charles Antoine Descotis
Meet Charles Antoine Descotis