It has been almost three weeks since returning from Nepal and the time has really gone too quickly! Catching up with friends and family has taken the majority of the time, but Stacey and I continue to do follow up work for Dhaka Weaves. We started school last Monday, now we are really crammed with readings, projects, work and life!
Stacey and I bought several Dhaka Weaves products while we were in Nepal and brought them back with us to Fort Collins, CO. We have three goals: 1- to see what the consumer response is 2- to promote the product to small companies that we believe will want to sell it and 3- to make a profit that we will send back to Dhaka Weaves, which will then be used to educate the weavers in basic health, hygiene and investment education.
So far the customer response to the textiles has been awesome, people just love it! This is a great thing because it means that there is market opportunity. The challenge we face is, is Dhaka Weaves ready to have international buyers? Unfortunately, at this point the answer to that question is no. With no manager and no marketer Dhaka Weaves does not have the capacity to make partnerships without a middleman. Currently, we are the middlemen and our communication has been cut off! With Rita out of town (we think because her email is full), Pritiva (Rita's daughter) without email and having a baby soon, and no Internet access at Dhaka Weaves, we have not been able to communicate with them. Stacey tried to call Ratna the other day, but access is not easy and he was unable to get through. If just trying to talk is this complicated, what does that mean for business? We have to move slowly, think strategically and learn along the way. It is going to be very complicated, but it is possible!
We have not had the time to promote the products to other small companies, but with the help of Carolyn Fineran we hope to have a showing in Denver soon. The sooner we get this stuff done the better because, although we only have three classes, the work load is very time consuming and we have to complete a thesis on top of that.
We are selling the products we brought back very quickly and still working on making our money back. The good news is that if we continue to sell at the rate we are selling, we will have our investment back and make some money to send back to Dhaka Weaves. Before leaving Nepal we discussed this possibility with the board. We wanted to know where the money would go if we were able to send some back. Because of the situation with the weavers union, they thought that it would be best to spend the money to directly benefit the weavers, we agreed.
Last weekend we set up a table at the Cupboard and were very successful! We will continue to set up tables to sell whenever and wherever we get the opportunity. While at the Cupboard we had several valuable conversations that gave us insight into what customers think about the product. Customers also gave us ideas on where and how to continue selling Dhaka Weaves. From now on I will let you know where we will be when we plan to sell!
Throughout the semester we will continue to do follow up work for Dhaka Weaves. We will write a case study, documenting the history and evolution of Dhaka Weaves and promote the product. Again, this has been and continues to be a very valuable learning experience! We are both very thankful that we have this opportunity to learn and grow and thank you for joining us.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Leaving Nepal
Sorry it has been so long since we have informed you all of our activities. We have been so busy the last few weeks tying up loose ends and trying to get everything completed. We really need more time to accomplish all of our goals, so we will continue to work with Dhaka Weaves over the next couple of months.
We were able to help Ratna and Bindue get started on creating a coding system and documentation of their product designs. We were also able to turn in the application for Dhaka Weaves to become a member of Fair trade Group Nepal (FTGN). It will really be a monumental accomplishment when Dhaka Weaves is accepted. When FTGN was established in 1996 there were 17 founding members, to this day there are still 17 members. No other organization has been accepted, although I don't know if any have applied. Ideally Dhaka Weaves will break the club and, hopefully encourage other organizations to apply for membership. Expanding FTGN so it will have a greater impact across the country.
In Nepal, it seems that the smaller groups really struggle to get noticed, most of the FTGN organizations are huge NGO's that employ several hundred workers. Some have producer groups out in the villages where the producers do their work at home, this decreased the overhead and enables the organization to lower their costs, sell the item for a lower price and still pay a fair wage. Smaller organizations with more overhead costs, less employs and lower production struggle to keep their prices low enough for big buyers of Fair Trade. It is a situation that needs to be addressed, but the question is where to begin?
Yesterday we had a goodbye lunch with Mohini and Shyam Badan, the other two board members. It was spectacular! They are both such vibrant ladies with energy, intellect and motivation. Whenever we meet I always feel inspired and honored to have had the opportunity to work with them. Unfortunately Rita had to leave town last Monday for Delhi. Her son got very sick and it was critical for her to be with him. He is getting better, slowly, and hopefully she will be able to bring him back to Nepal with her in a weeks time. It was unfortunate that we didn't' get to say goodbye personally, but totally understandable and I am sure we will continue working with her and see her again sometime in the future. We did get to see her daughter, Pritiva, who has been a tremendous help! She worked with Dhaka Weaves as the manager and designer for 10 years, until 2000 when she got married and moved to India. She just happened to be in Kathmandu for our entire stay because she is pregnant and wants to give birth in Kathmandu, near her family and friends.
Now Stacey and I are in the Hong Kong airport gawking at the speed of the Internet and the cleanliness of the building and the bathrooms! In Kathmandu there are about 50 public toilets for a population of over 3 million people! I used one once, and never again! I is amazing how your perception of clean changes depending on where you are, where you are going and where you came from.
I am looking forward to getting back, but sad to have left. We met such great people! Most Nepalis hospitality is astonishing, they are so welcoming and friendly, making me feel completely at home. The general attitude in Nepal is to 'wait and see,' now I think that this causes several problems and so do many Nepali's, but again, what to do? When there is no government to establish and implement rules and regulations, how does one get heard and who is supposed to hear it? So, I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens...
Thanks again for all of your support. We have had a very successful and great learning experience and hope to be able to share more with all of you when we get back. We plan to keep this blog up and running while we work with Dhaka Weaves and continue with our progress.
Take care...
We were able to help Ratna and Bindue get started on creating a coding system and documentation of their product designs. We were also able to turn in the application for Dhaka Weaves to become a member of Fair trade Group Nepal (FTGN). It will really be a monumental accomplishment when Dhaka Weaves is accepted. When FTGN was established in 1996 there were 17 founding members, to this day there are still 17 members. No other organization has been accepted, although I don't know if any have applied. Ideally Dhaka Weaves will break the club and, hopefully encourage other organizations to apply for membership. Expanding FTGN so it will have a greater impact across the country.
In Nepal, it seems that the smaller groups really struggle to get noticed, most of the FTGN organizations are huge NGO's that employ several hundred workers. Some have producer groups out in the villages where the producers do their work at home, this decreased the overhead and enables the organization to lower their costs, sell the item for a lower price and still pay a fair wage. Smaller organizations with more overhead costs, less employs and lower production struggle to keep their prices low enough for big buyers of Fair Trade. It is a situation that needs to be addressed, but the question is where to begin?
Yesterday we had a goodbye lunch with Mohini and Shyam Badan, the other two board members. It was spectacular! They are both such vibrant ladies with energy, intellect and motivation. Whenever we meet I always feel inspired and honored to have had the opportunity to work with them. Unfortunately Rita had to leave town last Monday for Delhi. Her son got very sick and it was critical for her to be with him. He is getting better, slowly, and hopefully she will be able to bring him back to Nepal with her in a weeks time. It was unfortunate that we didn't' get to say goodbye personally, but totally understandable and I am sure we will continue working with her and see her again sometime in the future. We did get to see her daughter, Pritiva, who has been a tremendous help! She worked with Dhaka Weaves as the manager and designer for 10 years, until 2000 when she got married and moved to India. She just happened to be in Kathmandu for our entire stay because she is pregnant and wants to give birth in Kathmandu, near her family and friends.
Now Stacey and I are in the Hong Kong airport gawking at the speed of the Internet and the cleanliness of the building and the bathrooms! In Kathmandu there are about 50 public toilets for a population of over 3 million people! I used one once, and never again! I is amazing how your perception of clean changes depending on where you are, where you are going and where you came from.
I am looking forward to getting back, but sad to have left. We met such great people! Most Nepalis hospitality is astonishing, they are so welcoming and friendly, making me feel completely at home. The general attitude in Nepal is to 'wait and see,' now I think that this causes several problems and so do many Nepali's, but again, what to do? When there is no government to establish and implement rules and regulations, how does one get heard and who is supposed to hear it? So, I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens...
Thanks again for all of your support. We have had a very successful and great learning experience and hope to be able to share more with all of you when we get back. We plan to keep this blog up and running while we work with Dhaka Weaves and continue with our progress.
Take care...
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