although its often overlooked in most 'developed' country's, many 'tribal' cultures around the world practise scarification instead of tattooing, as it requires no tool others then a sharp blade...
personally i prefer scarification to tattooing for both ideological reasons (it uses the bodys own repair mechanisms to produce the pattern rather then introducing a foreign substance into the skin) and practical reasons (i like blades more then needles), but its not that easy to find a skilled artist here in the UK (last time i checked at least) - they are out there tho...
Kalima are very good, I got my implants done by him.
http://www.kalima.co.uk/
no associations etc etc