12 years of hammocks - for freedom, the good stuff and enjoyment

I have always liked the hammock culture. The journey began 12 years ago when we didnt only just liked them but also started living on them. We started by selling a different hammock brand that already existed. As the years went by, it became clearer and clearer that it was time to start our own brand with our own philosophy behind it. Therefore, we created the hammock brand "Hamaca" which you can buy on Hammockheaven or through our resellers. The choice of name was given - in Spanish it means hammock and in Latin America hammocks have an obvious place in peoples homes.

We have learned over the years through experience especially from travel. We learned that the foreign aid system is nothing but bullshit. It solves no problem to drive around in fancy Toyota Land Cruisers, organize fine dining events and live in palaces surrounded by barbed wire. This is what much of the aid money goes to unfortunately, which we have seen in our travels. If you want to help for real - then neither taxes nor aid from large relief organizations is an alternative.

The alternative is to give people jobs! Giving them the tools and knowledge to fend for themselves - not to become dependent on state powers and grants.

So when we have been looking at the productions we have had the requirement that it should be a place where people like going to their jobs  - that the factory is managed in a "fair" way. It is a necessity not only for consistency but also to ensure the quality of the products. Here you can see my interview with Marta who is supervisor of hammock factory in Colombia.

Another important aspect is that - whenever possible - find creative ways to reduce environmental impact. Preferably by using something that already exists - like recycled cotton. The cotton in this case comes from garments in the US which then is made into yarn in Mexico and sent to the factory in Colombia. This is not only using something that already exists - this also means that we dont need to use land to grow cotton. Huge quantities of water is used for producing cotton - which means that the recycled cotton is a much more environmentally friendly option than the organically produced one.

Recycled cotton and "cadejos" along the edge - with attention to detail.

I've never enjoyed working in a large organization being hired by someone else. I prefer my own race even if we are not allowed to operate the business how we actually would want to. But we get a lot more freedom. Our business model looks a little different because it is based on being "mobile" to suit our nomadic life.

Those who get jobs from us are also self employed. So no one owns anyone. We do what we can to make things float so most people who work with us have done it for quite some time. I guess that they enjoy it. Which is a part of our philosophy of course.

The cornerstone of the business is that we should sell high quality products that people want, which is extra colorful and with beautiful though through details. Therefore we actually spend quite a lot of time to work with the design. It is one of my favorite pieces of the business. When we were in Colombia last year I made new a new design for a hammock that was fairly easy to produce but had fine handcrafted details. There it was - the Artesano-hammock.

Because our livelyhood is hammocks we must make sure its smooth selling them. It should be easy for our resellers. Therefore we offer dropshipping and an affiliate program so that anyone could make money on our hammocks without having to buy stock from us.

We also think that anyone should be able to find a hammock that suits that person, so we offer an extensive range of all kinds of hammocks to be sure to appeal to all tastes and requirements and also that you should be able to find hammock related products such as hanging chairs, stands and hammock ropes etc. Therefore, there are 100's of products in stock, which is sent out from our Cambridgeshire warehouse for quick next day delivery which you can see on www.hammockheaven.co.uk

I hope you find that hammocks are wonderful necessities. If you like them and want to help us to continue to live a little more free and peaceful nomadic life on them, you are welcome to shop at www.hammockheaven.co.uk or tell people that we exist. Recommendations are everything for us!

I have written an article about 12 ways of using hammocks - they are so much more than just a colorful piece of cloth to hang between two trees in the summer. In countries where hammocks are traditionally used they are placed in the homes. Once you discover how comfortable and flexible they are - there is no turning back!

New hammocks have arrived

New hammocks were delivered to us today! We are photographing them from now and a couple of days. Soon you will be able to buy them on www.hammockheaven.co.uk

Some of the new hammocks

Children having fun playing with the carry bags..

Artesano hammock - true craftmanship

Summer is not finished yet. Its been a very long one..we had two really hot weeks. Well, its perfect for hammocking and swimming and we dont mind it at all.

Although many of us are happy with the long summer we just want to remind you that hammocks are as good indoors as outdoors. In traditional "hammock countries" hammocks are an obvious part of the interior design - mostly used in lounges and terraces as well as bedrooms. 

You will find hundreds of hammocks and hanging chairs on www.hammockheaven.co.uk for immediate dispatch.