About Sephari Free & Open Global Market Place

The inspiration for our name - Sephari - comes from a Swahili word "safari" meaning an overland journey.

Several years ago here at Sephari Global Market Place we dreamed that we could build a bridge to international merchants, offering our service of open access to American ecommerce. Our dream began when Patrick Islip, CPA, Managing Partner of Islip + Company, Certified Public Accountants in Sacramento, California sat one day in his office and thought, how could he create a business that helped small merchants internationally. Sephari Global Market Place began by leveraging the improvements in modern communication methods. The internet, email, cell phones with cameras and text messaging provided the mechanism for building the bridge. The bridge has built a new global village partnership website where international merchants can sell their merchandise and share their uniqueness and their culture with the rest of the world.

Every purchase made on Sephari Global Market Place helps a small merchant and at the election of the customer, a portion of the purchase will also benefit a non profit organization. That single purchase is designed to create several benefits:

Firstly, the Sephari customer gets a unique item made from a distant land and they get to explore and learn something about the item, how it was made and who made it. The customer gets to be part of another culture and gets to meet a new person in the world, the merchant. The customer will also receive a unique item to share with family and friends and the intrinsic benefit that their purchase can facilitate an economic change in the world.

Secondly, the Sephari customer gets to elect a portion of the proceeds that can be used as a contribution to their favorite charitable organization. The customer receives a tax deduction for their contribution to their employer's scholarship fund, church, children's school PTA group or to a local public radio station.

fair trade market. They get to tell their story along with sharing their country and culture with us. They also gain increased publicity and demand for their products. The small merchant gets to benefit with out a cost to them. They also get a Sephari Global Market Place Guide for International Trade and Exportation. The merchant obtains access to new markets with no risk.

Sephari Global Market Place's mission is to be the premier global market place where buyers explore, exchange and experience different cultures and regions... A place where sellers from distant lands display their unique merchandise and share their story and their culture with buyers from all over the world...A place where buyers find unique gifts for family and friends... A place where sellers can increase their lifestyle.... a place where nonprofit organizations receive additional support and buyers receive tax deductions while contributing to their favorite organization... a place where marginalized producers find opportunity and customers feel that warm glow from being helpful to another human being. And to be a profitable socially responsible company that leads by example... being a profitable successful company we believe acts as a good role model for our merchant partners because it is our mission to help them become a successful profitable business.

Sephari Global Market Place is part of a worldwide movement that is striving to improve the livelihood of people in developing countries through the expansion of fair trade. Around the world there are artisans who make exquisite items but find it difficult to enter developed markets. Because many of these items are hand crafted, these artisans cannot provide products in sufficient quantity for mass distribution. In addition, it is often difficult to move goods from the remote villages in which artisans live............ to consumers in the developed nations.