Getting Crafty with Mirembe Community College

[Guest]

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[cpbailey]

The Mirembe Community College fundraiser is done, and it was hugely successful.  It can fund two stations at the graduates beauty salon, giving about 10 girls a chance to practice skills and earn a living until saving money for a business or getting hired.  Then funds became available to provide for a catering company which will allow graduates of the cooking school to work!  There will be starter success packages for the next 7 graduates to start businesses, too!  The next project I was hoping would happen was the craft export project.  There is a projected surplus of about $4,000 which could go toward this...

Here is a list of things made in the past...baskets, mats , paintings, mottos, beadings, bags, table mats, chair backs, key holders, shoes, hats, money purse.  What do you think looks promising?  What crafts are popular in your region?

Colette

[cpbailey]

Would cloth gift bags be something people would buy?  It saves the hassle of wrapping gifts, especially after flying to visit for holidays.  Think party theme, holiday theme and African print options...

Colette

[Diane R]

I love to buy crafts from international artisans. In addition to buying items through Ahkun (which have the added plus of being made by Kiva borrowers), I've been a regular customer of Novica.  Of the sorts of items you've mentioned, Colette, I've bought and/or would be interested in purchasing baskets, mats, beaded items, table mats, and possibly some of the others (depending what they look like).  And I'll buy even more of the beaded items if we're talking about jewelry.   

I'd have to think about cloth gift-wrap bags, not sure I'd use them.  If they were constructed so they could have another use afterwards, such as for groceries or laundry, that might make it a more intriguing idea for me.  (Sort of a present-inside-a-present.)


--Diane.

[nuc]

in no particular order, some ideas and additions from what I've seen in fair trade or other shops:

candles.
silver/metal earrings, rings, bracelets, ... I guess any kind of jewelry.
artisan products for apartment decoration.
carvings.

[Skimmis]

Chess set, decorative AND playable.

[ulrike]

  If you wonder like me how traditional ugandan crafts look like, you can get an idea here:

  http://www.ugandacrafts2000ltd.org/purse.html

  And as for cloth gift bags and other objects an important item will be the fabrics available in Uganda.

  I made a quick trip to Kampala and came back with this photo

   


 Do you fancy any particular item with any particular fabric?

  I quite fancy the birds on the brown (?) fabric on the left side of the head of the lady, but no idea for which type of object.  Has somebody a proposal?

[cpbailey]

Here is one example of gift bags.  http://www.livingethos.com/?gclid=CJy09v-8rqkCFQE2gwodaFhlMg

Colette

[Amy-in-PHX]

Would cloth gift bags be something people would buy?  It saves the hassle of wrapping gifts, especially after flying to visit for holidays.  Think party theme, holiday theme and African print options...

Colette

Gift bags are a great idea, IMO, especially for those of us who travel for the holidays often.  You have to leave gifts unwrapped in case the TSA wants to inspect your luggage.  If you had some gift bags along, you could put the gifts into them after your flight, more simply and quickly than using paper and tape at your destination.  But I'm not a "marketing" expert and have no idea whether other people would buy these.  (They do have a downside, in that your gift recipient is likely to view the gift bag as part of the gift - so that person will get the benefits of re-using the bag, instead of the person who purchased it.)  If you Google "paperless gift wrap" you can see how many people there are doing this, and what they charge for their products.  I love the ones at www.livingethos.com - though I think she could have chosen a better web address.  It's not very memorable, for me.


Table runners, placemats and cloth napkins are the other crafts I see often, on sites selling crafts made abroad.  They would need to know what are "standard" sizes of these for the US and other markets.

I have bought jewelry through Novica, but that needs some excellent photography skills to show well on a website, if it's silver or metal.  Beaded items might work.

Macys has been selling baskets and table linens from Rwanda for some few years now.  Stiff competition, but perhaps Mirembe CC can do their crafts for lower prices.

[ulrike]

 I really like the offer on Livingethos. Perhaps an  option would by to contact   Josie Gaillard and to discuss with her if she thinks to add "african style bags" could be interesting taking into account her experience and if  yes,  it might even be possible to  integrate Mirembe gift bags  in her site, or  to sell them by living ethos to her clients. Since she is an ethic person she might be interested to join the Mirembe adventure.

Amy, I don't know if it's really a downside that the giftbag will be seen as a second gift: makes two gifts in one, makes gift bags more popular and is good for the planet.
Just thought that there is another advantage for giftbags when you travel: It's dificult to have nice paper available when you arrive, since the paper might get wrinkled in the suitcase. giftbags will better support journeys.  Here in France I have never seen or heard of gift bags. I personally love christmas paper but might perhaps take the option to replace part of the paper by gift bags if I found lovely ones and not too expensive.

[cpbailey]

Things are moving along with MCC and the craft project!  Florence has sent some pictures for review, and the potential partner organization has seen them.  There are some solid products ready for some closer review. 

The potential partner is Ahkun!  Ahkun.org has some fabulous products made by Kiva entrepreneurs, so it is a great fit for Mirembe Community College which is a former Kiva borrower (well, Florence is the borrower on behalf of MCC).  Anh-Thu, a co-founder of Ahkun, has graciously spoken with me on a couple occasions to map out a plan for the craft project.  Currently we are trying to get sample products to NY for that up close review.  Although there is a lot of work left to make sure that we have the right products with the right materials in the right colors at a price that works for all involved, it is a real inspiration to SEE the products.

If you live in NY, you might be interested in a collaborative fashion event to check out the kramas that a Kiva entrepreneur from Cambodia has made.  http://blog.ahkun.org/?p=1  I am a tactile shopper, so I wish I could be there!

I hope everyone is happy with the progress of getting Florence's women access to new markets for their products.  Ahn-Thu and I will post as we have news or something that KFers can help with.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Colette

[cpbailey]

Oh, if you are interested in seeing, touching and trying out the Kiva entrepreneur kramas in NYC, here is a flyer.  Maybe soon Florence's women will have their products in events like this!

[cpbailey]

Hello,

If anyone is making a trip from Kampala, Uganda to the USA, please let me know.  There are action items that can be done on behalf of Mirembe Community College's craft project.  There is one contact I am working on, but I like to have backups in case the timing doesn't work out.

Parties to this effort are:

Ahkun -- website with an event featuring Kiva borrower's kramas!  http://blog.ahkun.org/
KivaFriends -- a great website!
Mirembe Community College with Florence and her graduates!
Poverty2Prosperity -- a non-profit which makes loans on Kiva.org.  It has helped in the recent fundraisers for Mirembe Community College.  See Poverty2prosperity.org.

Colette

[wind5001]

Colette,

the effort you have been putting into this project is marvelous! Thank you so much for your time and energy. It seems like you are really coming close to bridging that gap for Mirembe Community College! Keep up the good work.

 

[cpbailey]

Oli,

Thank you for your positive thoughts.  I just know that KF is a place where somehow magic happens, and many a project seemed to hit bumps only to have a person with the right set of experiences, right travel plans or correct expertise to lend to get past those obstacles.  Anh-Thu from Ahkun has done importing to the USA and has experience lend to this, and  Ahkun already is a site for similar types of sales.  Poverty2Prosperity has helped raise funds to start product development.  KivaFriends has been a consistent source of support for MCC, and I strongly suspect KF members will support MCC by buying products!  Florence has trained some women, and she is working to produce samples. 

By the way, Florence has already hired some of her graduates to make samples!  These women are so grateful for the opportunity to work, and the local community is already excited with the products being made.

A pessimist sees obstacles; an optimist sees them as challenges.  -- Colette

Right now, we are  taking a couple challenges at a time and moving forward.  If anyone knows someone going to Kampala this summer, please connect us!  Although eventually, Ahkun is likely to need to send a person to Kampala for finalizing fabrics and verifying that the organizations are clear on things such as quality standards, it will probably reduce the number of trips to Uganda.  The original budget didn't provide for a trip to Uganda, but I have some new fundraising ideas should this become necessary.

Colette

[wind5001]

Thanks for the update, Colette!

I just put up a note on my Facebook wall. Let's see whether someone is going to Kampala.

[cpbailey]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let people know that the Craft Project is being worked on behind the scenes.  We have opened the net to try to find someone coming to the USA from Kampala.  So far no commitments; so if you know someone who might be able to help, please get it touch with me.

Ahkun had an event in NYC last weekend, and it showcased the Cambodian kramas from one of the Kiva borrowers.   Anh-Thu said it went really well.  There were a lot of organizations selling fashion products--great collaboration!  Hopefully, some day soon similar events will feature items such as purses, earrings, cosmetic bags, and gift bags from Florence's school.  Now that this big event is over, Ahkun is ready to work on the next things for MCC!

Ahkun has high standards--not only in quality control and materials but also for social impact.  I really love that this project has found a highly ethical organization to partner with!  In previous partnerships, Ahkun has had a representative locally to work side by side on product development.  It doesn't have one in Kampala, so a short trip to Uganda is a criteria for working with them.  Ahkun has a conceptual plan to help MCC  while providing her some of her graduates with a working wage.  The details of this need to be formalized on site. 

Anh-Thu is working up a budget for a representative to go to Uganda.  At that time we will know how much fundraising P2P and Ahkun will need to do.  If people have creative ideas on how to raise funds, please send me a message!   More brains or distributing the efforts to make lighter work--a good thing!

Colette

[ulrike]

Hi all crafty Mirembe Kiva friends!

 Have you been waiting (patiently or impatiently like me) for the photos of the crafts that might be sold one day by Akhun?  

 If so, here are some fo them! Naturally nothing is decided yet, the articles are not chosen  and all the work to prepare the validation of the articles is still going on. But these photos will give you an idea what kind of article may be available in some months and let you appreciate the beautiful objects that are made by the Kiva graduates.

                        Earrings made out of rafia and palmleaves                               and out of ??:

 

                       A  giftbag made out of kitengi                  and one out of cotton              
  

 

and one out of

 

Makeup bag made out of kikoyi                      and  a  colourful moneypurse

                          And a girl working on pencil bags                                and pencil bags
 

So if you have a brilliant idea to find somebody travelling from Uganda to USA and willing to take back some of the items that Anh-Thu finds the most promising for sell, don't hesitate to  share this idea with Colette!!

Ulrike

[carien]

Well they look great I hope they will be available soon. I will be ready to buy some.

[cpbailey]

We are expanding our contacts to find someone coming from Uganda.  After a preview of the crafts, we will be looking into a trip to Uganda.  Fundraising is a part of that...

Colette

[wind5001]

The makeup bag is absolutely gorgeous!!

Great work.

[Bena]

Don't know if this has been considered.  There is a USA Embassy Mission Office in Kampala.  If this is like most, the employees rotate frequently and also get paid trips back to their homes on a regular basis.  They are ideally located and one or more may be willing to bring some of the crafts back.

I am not sure what exactly is being looked for.  Is it someone who can just put these in their luggage?  With the baggage and weight restrictions these days on planes it might not be feasible.  If you are looking for someone who can just pack them up and ship them by sea, then couldn't Mirembe CC do that themselves?