Lanka Kade

Lanka Kade wooden toys are handcrafted by skilled artisans using non-toxic paints and sustainably sourced rubber wood. 

A UK based family business, Lanka Kade has grown through a real partnership with the makers. Set up in 1984 to maintain and develop local craft skills in Sri Lanka and provide stability and security in work, its ethos has supported and transformed the local communities. Interest free loans have been provided to producers to increase their capacity and improve the tools they use, meaning that they can employ more people. 

Their educational fund provides milk and school books for children in the whole community to give them a good start in life and make sure they aren't missing out on education through lack of funds. After years of support and an increase in fair trade jobs one community decided they could now fund this themselves and asked that support be given to another school. They wanted another community to have the benefit that they had seen. 

Lanka Kade reduces its environmental impact by using renewable energy sources, replacing plastic with paper offcuts for packaging, and minimising shipping frequency. The wood is natural wastage from rubber plantations as trees are cut down when they stop producing latex so that new ones can be planted. Offcuts are transformed into the smallest animals in the collection, while sawdust provides local farmers with growing material.