As with most stories, this one begins a long time ago. Dharma Exim's President, "Bob O.", served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from late 1967 until April of 1970. All of his service was in the I Corps tactical zone, which included the provinces of Quang Nam (Danang), Thua Thien (Hue) and Quang Tri. Most of Dharma Exim's products are sourced from this area.
Now, fast forward to 1985-88. Bob, busy with a career and family, had left the war experience behind, or so he thought. However, upon returning to Pennsylvania, after graduate (MBA) school and cutting his business teeth in high technology corporate America, he became involved in an organization determined to pay tribute to his local county's fallen servicemen. He served actively on the Board of Directors of a Vietnam Memorial Commission and had the satisfaction of seeing the completion of the beautiful and moving memorial located in his hometown. It was during this period that Bob started thinking about returning to Vietnam. At about the same time, Bob met Dharma Exim's Vice President, Steve S., who, at that time, worked full time and was also Bob's student in an evening business class at a local college. Their friendship grew and matured over the years, during Steve's time at graduate school and later as a management consultant based in NYC (Steve's hometown). Steve began traveling with Bob to Vietnam after hearing Bob's stories of his adventures there.
Bob finally returned to Vietnam in September, 1994. During that first return visit, he met Nguyen Xuan Phu and Ta Anh Tuan. They are the Vietnamese side of Dharma Exim, and share responsibility for sourcing, quality and shipping. These two fine family men are very special to us. It was also in the early 1990's that Bob began exploring Buddhism, not so much as a religion but as a philosophy and a way of life. He approached the subject by participating in programs at a monastic training center in the Catskill Mountains of New York. During his early return trips to Vietnam, Bob began seeing connections between Buddhism, practice items, art, commercial applications in America, and the benefits to the Vietnamese people through the fair exchange of goods and services. Dharma Exim's initial imports were seiza benches and Buddha statues - all handmade in central Vietnam by Buddhist craftspeople. Dharma Exim began exporting good will and business knowledge from the very first trip back to Vietnam. Bob worked at a Buddhist - managed orphanage near Hue, and taught business subjects to college students in Hue and Danang. On their annual return visits, Bob and Steve still lecture on various business subjects and actively support the orphanage. The orphanage connection is not very obvious, but it remains an important element of Dharma Exim's strategy and mission. We support the orphanage in various ways, including monetary contributions. Being Buddhist run, they receive little active support from the government. Being located near the Buddhist "capital" of Vietnam, Hue, means a more powerful karma is realized by all these interrelationships. Most of the craftspeople and artists are located near or in Hue. Dharma Exim's logo, the 8 point lotus flower, is carved into the wooden fence surrounding the orphanage. So Dharma Exim, then, represents the integration of philosophy, business, humanitarianism and global awareness. Our vision was forged in the fires of a turbulent past and is pursued with the hope for a better world. Dharma is the Buddhist word for truth, and Dharma Exim's success rests upon a solid foundation of trust, wisdom and harmony between people, not governments nor their ideologies. Dharma Exim's unique and high quality products are sold through various channels, including a monastery, specialty retail stores and online through eBay. All our products are fairly traded. We pay the asking prices of the craftspeople, accept all risk for damage, pay all shipping and customs costs to acquire the products, treat and store them until they are sold.Return to the Dharma Exim Home Page.
