Who We Are

Joseph Stern is a family-owned raffia distributor based in the US and Canada, currently operating under the fourth generation descendants of founder Emil Elder. Our mission is to provide North America with an organic and renewable plant that can be used recreationally, whether that be waterfowl hunting, basket weaving, paintball ghillie suits, or decorative floral arrangements. We guarantee to only source raffia from the African island of Madagascar, assure the highest quality material, and keep our team as small as possible to provide customers with the lowest pricing.

Our competitors often source lower-quality raffia options from Asia and South America. Some even sell synthetic grass. They do this to offer more competitive pricing, but they also sacrifice quality. Because our team is small and we have been purchasing raffia from Madagascar since 1915, we can afford to charge less on the highest quality product. It’s important to us as a family that we maintain our grandfathers’ values in the company: affordability, sustainability, and prime quality. These virtues are our top priority and can be attributed for the long standing success of our company.