Welcome to the Papillon Fairtrade website. We are super excited to be live. Papillon Fairtrade offers me the platform to introduce you to Mali and its people, as well as to share my love for writing, jewelry, cooking and high quality products with you. Today we celebrate the website going live, and the release of my English book My Camino.

I remember how easy it was to start a company in The Netherlands ten years ago. Just as well as I remember that it took about a year to get all the papers to start Papillon Reizen travel agency in Mali and to get the registration from the Malian Ministry of Tourism. Wow, how things have changed in a decade. There no more is such a thing as getting a business up and running within a few weeks in The Netherlands. My patience was tested on quite a few occasions, and there were a couple of challenges to deal with along the way. All of that has become part of the past and today I enjoy it being the right time to start this amazing new adventure.

Mali being such an important part of my life for the past eleven years, I am really pleased for this new way to share the beauty of it with the world. With friends and members of the Papillon Reizen team, a unique series of virtual tours of Mali, was created. We take you to well-known places and to hidden gems. We introduce you to the people, culture, architecture, history and to everyday life, to the art of bogolan, and to Malian food. While Mali is well-known for its many cultural, historical and architectural highlights, its kitchen is still a well-kept secret. Not much longer though! We have created four traditional Malian food experiences, which you can prepare at home.

Our products are not just about sharing Mali with you. When you treat yourself and your loved ones on a meaningful gift, we share the abundance by giving back to the beautiful people involved in the virtual tours, to the artists, and to Fanga School, a new era school project in Ségou.

Thank you for being here, I look forward to sharing Mali with you. Together we make the world a fairer place!