Kalistan

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Kalistani News in Brief: Del Valle leans heavily into Cotton;
House Ananto launches major service Grant; More Gaduri ships come off Line in Kaliburg
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
May 30, 5739


Xia Martinez, lead model for Del Valle Casuals, shows off new summer line in Sulari last March

Del Valle Leans heavily into Cotton
Del Valle Casuals has released their new summer line to clothing stores across the nation. And for the first time, cotton represents a major part of the fashion line's textile source. "Since investing in Xsampan cotton, Del Valle has made a real effort to begin using the textile and working to popularize it across the nation," said Donna Reynolds, who is a buyer for the fashion house's Casuals division. "And it is really enjoying something of a moment in Kalistani fashion, as more people begin utilizing the fabric. Who would have thought of cotton as a cutting edge textile, but in Kalistan, which has to date primarily worn linen and hemp canvas cloth in the summer for a very long time, cotton is a bit of a novelty that people are starting to buy more of."

In fact, says Reynolds, Del Valle Casuals has made a serious bet on cotton, basing its entire summer on 100% cotton and 50-50 cotton linen blend fabrics. The line was previewed for buyers and fashion writers during last March's Sulari Fashion Week, where Del Valle Casuals not only unveiled its all cotton women's fashions, but also introduced the Sulari fashion world to its newest model, Kauffman Agency's Xia Martinez, who hails from Yoshimi. "Xia has signed with Del Valle to be the face of its brand for the next three years, and we are thrilled to have her modeling our clothes. She has the body of a surfer mixed with a classic movie bombshell and the presence of a goddess. And, since Xia is a little older (Martinez is 33), she is showing that the 20-somethings aren't the only ones who get to have all the fun. Del Valle Casuals is thrilled to have Xia modeling our clothes. And to be honest, they look great on her."

The bet appears to be paying off as Del Valle Casuals reported that May was its most profitable month in 4 years, as people are already beginning to order either House direct, or are flooding into outlet stores to snatch up the summer outfits from Del Valle Casuals. Casa Del Valle (KalSiE: CDV), which is Del Valle Casuals' parent company, reported stock price increases of more than 2 percent last month, in a time of year which is usually a bit of the doldrums for the company. "Cotton is paying off for Del Valle" said Reynolds. "Its still not outselling Linen, of which there appears to be an inexhaustible demand. But owning cotton is still viewed as a bit of a status symbol for Sulari glitterati, and its even finding its way to Kaliburg, so the Company's choice to base its summer line on the high thread count cotton seems to have been an excellent one."

House Ananto Launches Major Service Grant
Her Highness, Princess Jennifer Ananto-Rosenfeld announced earlier this week that House Ananto will be launching a new major grant designed to encourage continuing public service. "We have decided to form a new endowment, called the National Service Endowment, to give civil society organizations the opportunity to actually form plans for community or regional improvement that perhaps the National Assembly hasn't thought of, but which need to be done anyway," said the Princess, who serves as Director of House Ananto. "Civil Society can put together small to medium projects which will have an impact on their communities and which have an ongoing commitment for at least five years. The Civil Society organization may then apply for funding from the Endowment to get the program funded. And then they can run it."

The goal is to allow civil service organizations across the nation to pitch in to make the nation better. "This can be any program you think your community needs. Whether it is helping out with early childhood literacy initiatives, or opening a pet clinic, or trail improvement and maintenance, or even something like voter education, House Ananto wants to help the Citizens of this nation make their communities better. Civil Society organizations tend to communicate with the people directly and are great at organization and mobilization of their members. So it makes sense to work with them on local projects which may not catch the eye of the Government or the ear of the Emperor."

The Princess said the endowment will be opened with more than $200 million Imperial Pesos supplied directly by the Royal Family. "Awards will be made from the interests that can be drawn off the endowment." House Ananto will appoint a Board of Directors to administer the fund, and will charge it to create guidelines and procedures for distribution and ongoing support of the funds. "We would like to prioritize those who are committed to longer term projects, over one-off projects. Applicants should expect to present a full plan for the project, including community impact data and a budget for the program. Regular reporting of performance will also be a part of the grant." The Princess said it will be open only to Kalsitani non-profit civil society, charitable service, and civic volunteerism organizations and organized National Clubs. All money will be directed toward service provision, but 10% may be used to fund overhead. Privately generated matching funds would be encouraged.

More Gaduri ships come off Line in Kaliburg
As the Gaduri Navy continues to stand up, more ships are rolling out of Kaliburg National Shipyards in Kaliburg. KALMILINCO spokesman Trevor Lawton said workers are on schedule. "We are producing the smaller ships first, which are both the cheapest, as well as easiest to build here in Kalistan. We can usually lay in and fully construct Kalsitan's designs in 1-2 years, and we have all 6 dry docks producing ships day and night, three full shifts a day. Following construction, the ships go through another six months of quality control and armament before being sent to Gaduridos."

Lawton said Kalistan could work faster with more steel from Gaduridos. "Currently we aren't sure whether they are stepping up their steel production to supply us with what we need. But Kalistani ships are built of lighter carbon fiber steel that is armor plated with sheet metal. The sheet metal is what is more or less trickling in right now, though the National Foundry in Sulari is keeping up with our orders." Lawton said if Kalistan knew that Gaduridos would increase its supply of steel to help offset the cost of the ships, they could pick up the pace even more.

"Production will get much more intensive as we move up in class of ship. The frigates and destroyers will be huge projects for the National Shipyards, and will take a very long time, which is why it is important to get Gaduri steel into Sulari to be processed into parts we will used here at Kaliburg sooner rather than later." Lawton said the building has given KALMILINCO the ability to hire more than 2000 additional tradesmen in Kaliburg, while the National Foundry reports that they have hired an additional 750 workers, and the National Naval Artillery Center at Reynolds, which makes the armaments have brought on 350 more workers. "This is a major multi-year project between Kalistan and Gaduridos, and is aimed at helping Gaduridos stand up its navy."

@TheRepublic