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OUR SOURCE OF STONE IN INDIA
India, a huge country, with a wealth of natural resources, has been quarrying, or 'mining' as they refer to it, natural stone for building and pavements for many centuries. The skills and craftsmanship involved in working with this material are evident in many monuments, temples, towns and palaces, and have been passed down from generation to generation.
The majority of our stone comes from the state of Rajesthan, in the northern part of the subcontinent. Rajesthan covers more than 2½ times the area of England, and part of it is desert. The two types of stone we supply from here are sandstone, and limestone. Geologically these have the same structure and formation as our own Yorkstone for sandstone, and Purbeck and Somerset stones for the limestone.
We use just two suppliers in India who we have visited, and with whom we are in regular contact. Our aim, as with all the products we offer, is to source top quality product, to sell at a reasonable price, and our partners in India have been carefully chosen to satisfy the many strict criteria we require. One is based in Jaipur, and the other in Udaipur. One of our suppliers exports all over the world, and has received numerous awards from the Indian Government for its achievements, the other is a much smaller enterprise, and we are their largest customer. One funds a local school, and the other has built a hospital, and we are proud to be associated with them both.
Sometimes we are asked if our stone is ethically sourced, or if child labour is involved. We are confident that there is no exploitation of the labour force, and that children play no part in the production of our products.
There is no argument with the fact that the average wage for labour in India is a fraction of that in the U.K. The quarrying and subsequent cutting and shaping of stone is a labour intensive operation, and it is the differential in labour cost that allows the Indian stone export industry to flourish and be viable. Those that produce the stone we buy are paid a reasonable living wage by local standards, their children are fed and educated, and our business alone provides the employment and livelihood for hundreds of families who might otherwise be unemployed, or living in poverty.
In the rural areas we have evidenced that many people struggle to survive off the land, and live a meagre existence, even today, which can be very upsetting. We hope that our tiny contribution to the economy of this beautiful State will one day filter through to produce some benefit for all who live there.
During the last few years we have visited scores of outlying quarries and workplaces which produce the variety of stone we now offer, and are always impressed by the pride, dedication and enthusiasm of those who work there to supply us with a product that is consistent in quality, size, thickness and colour.