Artisan Countries

Afghanistan

Once the center of world civilizations, and at the crossroads of flourishing international trade routes, Afghanistan is now one of the poorest nations in the world. After thirty years of conflict, its people endure one of the world’s lowest income levels at a mere $900 per annum – despite a quadrupling since the fall of the Taliban regime. The country has been devastated by war and not yet rebuilt...

Find out more about Afghanistan

Ghana

Situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, the Republic of Ghana is home to a varied geography that includes savannas, woodlands, forests, a coastal line, cave systems, mountains, wildlife parks and nature reserves.

While Ghana's overall poverty rate has declined in recent years, the three regions in the north —the Ashanti Uplands, the Akwapim-Togo Ranges and the Volta Basin — have seen only a marginal decrease...

Find out more about Ghana

India

India, the world’s democratic giant, is a sprawling subcontinent of languages and cultures, home to well over one billion people. It has brought forth ancient wisdom, from astronomy to mathematics, as well as enduring art forms. It was the birthplace of four major world religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism – and was home to the Mauryan, Gupta and Mughal empires, and their massive achievements...

Find out more about India

Kenya

Though Kenya is the safari capital of the world and the business hub of East Africa, the majority of its 40 million-plus inhabitants are subsistence farmers and pastoralists. Nairobi and Mombasa have fibre-optic cables: the talk of the town is the stock market or tea auction. But most Kenyans live in the countryside of savannah and bush, almost half on less than a dollar a day...

Find out more about Kenya

Pakistan

The Indus Valley – the watershed of “five waters,” or Punjab – has been a cradle of civilizations since the Bronze Age Harappa, one of the oldest on record, nearly 5,000 years ago. From the mighty peaks of the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges, across the fertile plains of Lahore to the deserts of Baluchistan and the filigreed delta around Karachi, Pakistan produces every mineral, wood variety and crop required to create artistic grandeur....

Find out more about Pakistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a landlocked nation of 27 million people that borders Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. Since establishing independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan has faced many challenges including widespread poverty and civil unrest. It was once, however, the center of the great Persian and Sassanid Empires that stretched across Central Asia and the Middle East, home to the warrior-king...

Find out more about Uzbekistan

Sri Lanka

Known as “Serendib” to the Arabs and “Ceilao” to the Portuguese, Sri Lanka has a recorded dynastic history stretching back 3,000 years. It was mentioned in the Hindu Ramayana as early as the 5th century BC. The Mauryans brought Buddhism in the 3rd century BC. After the Chola invasions – and the establishment of the Jaffna kingdom in the medieval period...

Find out more about Sri Lanka

Swaziland

Swaziland is a small land-locked kingdom bordering South Africa and Mozambique. With a rolling landscape of stupendous geographical variety, it measures no more than 200 kilometers from north to south. It escaped incorporation into the Union of South Africa...

Find out more about Swaziland

Mexico

The Olmec, Mayan and Aztec empires left brilliant legacies of architecture, spirituality and civilization. They were the first in the world to domesticate beans, corn and tomatoes. They erected pyramids, complex irrigation systems and vast cities. On the eve of the arrival of Cortes...

Find out more about Mexico

Tanzania

Tanzania was one of the first homes for homo sapiens, as well as many of the first hominids that preceded it. It has been a major hub of commerce and cultural exchange for millennia. In the nineteenth century it was integrated at various points into German, British and Portuguese colonial systems...

Find out more about Tanzania

Colombia

Colombia’s landscape is incredibly diverse, encompassing the Andes Mountains Range, where most of the urban centres are, as well as plains, two coastal regions (Pacific and Caribbean), and the Amazon Rainforest. This wide range of habitats makes Colombia the world’s most biodiverse country by square kilometre...

Find out more about Colombia

Morocco

Spanning from the Atlantic Ocean to the mountainous regions and on to the Sahara desert, the Kingdom of Morocco in North Africa is one of only three nations (along with Spain and France) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines...

Find out more about Morocco

South Africa

South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent and is marked by several distinct ecosystems. From scrublands to lush winelands, pristine beaches to craggy cliffs to forest, lagoons and mountains — this country...

Find out more about South Africa

Peru

Peru is an extremely biodiverse country located in western South America. What the country so fascinating are the multiple layers of great civilizations still evident throughout. From the cobblestone streets preserved from the era of the Conquistadors to the ruins of the lost city of...

Find out more about Peru

Ethiopia

The ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE and established a socialist state...

Find out more about Ethiopia

Madagascar

Situated off the southeast coast of Africa, Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. Having developed in isolation, the island nation is famed for its unique wildlife. Traditionally, the Malagasy economy has been based on the cultivation of paddy rice, coffee, vanilla and cloves...

Find out more about Madagascar