OneMaker: Hope for a Jewelry Business for Deaf Artisans in Kenya

Blog post by Jana Harp Dean, President of OneMaker and consultant to organizations starting businesses to employ poor women in developing countries.  OneMaker is a 501c3 organization that exists to be a tangible expression of God's love to poor women and girls vulnerable to trafficking and other exploitation by giving them opportunities through education and business ventures. Visit www.onemaker.com for more information.

Just last month, I had the privilege of providing strategic business consultation and training to DOOR International at their campus just outside Nairobi, Kenya.  Mike Buus, the president of DOOR International, dreams of starting-up a jewelry-making business that would employ 100 Deaf artisans in Kenya. 

Like in most developing countries, the greatest felt need in Kenya is for jobs.  The last estimated unemployment rate for Kenya was 40% (est. for 2008, reported in the 11/9/2010 report of The World Factbook). In a ranking of 200 countries from lowest to highest unemployment, Kenya ranks number 185. (The World Factbook, a CIA publication, 2010). Among the Deaf, the unemployment rate is even higher, perhaps even as high as 85%.

The president of DOOR International conducted an informal survey among the Deaf at a church service. He asked how many people in the room had a job.  No hands went up.  He then rephrased the question, “How many of you have a part-time job or a temporary job like painting a room for your brother for which you get paid?”  About 15% of the hands went up.  Although they may be skilled and hard workers, because employers don’t know sign language, the Deaf are hard to employ.  

To address this problem, DOOR has already started business ventures to employ the Deaf, including a rabbit farm, a fishery, and an organic produce farm.  DOOR wants to continue to create more jobs for the Deaf and expand its business portfolio to include a business that taps into an international market.

A jewelry making business does just that - taps into the international market - and has some other aspects that make it especially fitting to the context.  Basic jewelry making skills are relatively easy to learn and it takes a relatively short time to acquire them.  The tools and equipment needed for making simple jewelry are inexpensive and some raw materials are available locally. The global market for jewelry is large and the U.S. represents about half of the global jewelry market.  Exporting creates the potential for generating more revenue and more profit than a business creating products to be sold only inside Kenya would.

To start a jewelry making business in Kenya, there are many issues to work through, including a 50% tariff on any imported items, even raw materials imported to use in items to be manufactured for export.  Although there are many raw materials available to incorporate into jewelry, higher quality finishing pieces, like clasps, would have to be imported, at least initially.  Another major challenge is finding a business person to champion the start up. Over the week I was there, Deaf women demonstrated that they could master the skills required and, because they need jobs, were very much in favor of a business start up that would employ them. Those on the planning team love the idea as well, but, as in many Christian organizations, most of the staff had too many responsibilities already and could not take on more.

Over the week I spent with DOOR, several days were devoted to teaching jewelry making skills to Deaf women.  Mike had mentioned that the Deaf tend to be very attentive to detail and are eager to do a good job.  He was right. I have taught jewelry making skills to women from many countries and often through translators, but have never encountered a group that was able to master as many skills as quickly as this group. As visual learners, they noticed even the smallest details in the demonstration of the particular technique. They consistently asked for feedback and wanted to know if there was anything they could improve on.  They caught the concepts quickly and translated the concepts into completed pieces of jewelry.

 

Next steps:

DOOR has commissioned OneMaker to design 15-20 pieces of jewelry using materials available in Kenya plus some higher quality supplemental materials not available in Kenya.  Later this year, I plan to return to Kenya to teach the artisans how to make each one of those products.  In the meantime, we’ll keep praying that God will raise up a business manager.

The president and I will also work on the business plan together. Then, when the Lord has provided the business manager, I hope to provide training for him or her as well. I’m so honored and delighted to be able to be part of a business start-up that has the potential of blessing so many.  

Would you pray with me for:

• God to raise up a business manager to lead this business that would employ 100 Deaf people one day.
• Creativity and wisdom as I design 15-20 jewelry pieces.
• Retail buyers for these pieces of jewelry.
• Blessing on a business that would provide for the physical needs of Deaf Kenyan artisans and their families as they work in dignity.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog entry and for your prayers for these budding artisans and this business venture.  If you’re interested in receiving future updates on this or other OneMaker consulting projects, please email me at jana@onemaker.com.

Evening 1

Arriving in Africa feels a bit to me like moving from air to water. You know how when you dive under the surface of the water, your movement is in slow motion?  It’s like that here. To me, it actually has a quieting effect.  Having lived in slower-paced cultures, like those of Guatemala and Afghanistan, this environment feels familiar and comfortable. I landed and got in the visa line with my completed application and my $25, as new and crisp as I could find, and then I waited……and waited…..and waited.  I was one of the lucky ones who had a worker actually sitting at the desk processing applications at the front of the line.  Poor souls in the line to the right of me had no worker at all until one of them approached another worker to inquire about where this one was!

I wasn’t in a hurry so just enjoyed looking around at all the people in all the others lines to either side of me…..waiting.  There were Africans and Indians and British people and other westerners.

I learned that the Indians built a train line through here many years ago and many of them settled here in Nairobi.  They started lots of businesses and are now known as the “white Kenyans”.

Upon arriving at the campus, I learned how important security is here.  The walls had razor wire uncoiled along the top of them to keep would-be intruders out, but that’s not all.  There are two night guards and ferocious dogs that patrol with them.  Apparently, these dogs will tear up anyone who comes out of their building onto the grounds at night except the guards themselves.  If jet lag wasn’t enough to keep me in bed, the thought of those two dogs patrolling about was more than enough!  I was also told that paw prints of lionesses were often seen on the dirt road in front of the main compound gate.  And, interestingly, there are never any stray dogs loitering about. 

Click here to read complete post. 

heading for Rwanda!

The last few weeks have been non-stop, as John and Jason have been preparing to leave for Rwanda and Hanisha and I doing our best to keep up! It's exciting to see how the Lord has opened the door for us to do entrepreneurship training there.

The first class is on August 23! Check out the new website for the Center in Rwanda: http://www.bdcrwanda.com/. What do you think?

Why Sit Here and Die?

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?" II Kings 7:3


A story is told in II Kings of a crisis that fell on the nation of Israel after it was invaded by the King of Syria. This crisis created a famine that was so dire that a woman, out of desperation, ate her own child (II Kings 6:26-29). During this crisis, the prophet Elisha prophesied that God would restore the city, but because of unbelief, the officer of the king did not believe him.

Meanwhile, there were four leprous men who were at the entrance of the city gate, hungry and afraid to enter the city because of the famine. Lepers had a contagious skin disease that made them unclean according to Old Testament regulations. They were isolated from the population until they were healed (usually miraculously) or until they died. The only place these lepers could find food was at the Syrian camp, but they were afraid to go there because they might be killed by the Syrians. They realized that whether they stayed where they were, entered the city, or went where the Syrians were, they would die.

They mustered up their courage and took the path with the most chance for them to survive. They approached the outskirts of the Syrian camp. To their surprise, there was no one there. There was plenty of food and treasure, but no people. The Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and horses; the noise of a great army which caused them to flee. The Syrians thought that the king of Israel had hired the king of the Hittites and the Egyptians to attack them. After eating and getting their share of the treasure, the lepers went to the king of Israel to inform him about what had happened. This led the Israelites to plunder the tents of the Syrians, and the prophecy that was told by Elisha came to pass. The courage of the lepers and their refusal to die prematurely not only saved their lives, but made them heroes and saved the lives of others.

It can be easy to take a defeated posture during a crisis. With decreased revenues, unavailable credit lines, high interest, unemployment and the uncertainty of when all this will end, you may be tempted to throw in the towel. These are times when the entrepreneur should be most alert and ready for action. These are times of great risks and great rewards. Like the lepers, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Do not simply rely on what you see; trust in a God who can do more than you can hope, think, and even imagine. Trust in a God who can part the Red Sea, open blind eyes and raise the dead- a God who is still performing miracles in the life of the believer.

Do not sit there and die! Rather, with great courage, seek the Lord for wisdom and direction, adjust your plan to reflect the reality of the times, and like the lepers, press forward toward the direction where there is provision. Make those phone calls to prospective clients, send out those promotional materials, visit those customers, and call those creditors and vendors. What is the worst thing that could happen? Give it all you've got, and I guarantee you the Lord will meet you more than half-way. Who knows? Your success may lead to God using you to save the lives of others, or at least cause them to turn to the God who saves.

Copyright © 2008 Patrice Tsague
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

The Joy of Giving

That in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality (2 Cor. 8:2)


Although the United States has the highest percentage of charitable giving then other nations in the world it is also one of few nations that enjoy tax write-offs from such giving. Do we give because of the tax write-off or because we have a heart to give? The recent economic crisis has caused some to reduce their giving and others to even stop giving all together. Do we give because we have much or do we give because we are grateful for what we have?

Giving should be something we do out of joy not out of obligation. Giving should be a natural response of gratefulness and an expression of joy for who God is and what he has done for us. Unfortunately many kingdom business stewards give out of obligation, guilt or benefits rather than out joy.

The Apostle Paul planted many churches, some in very wealthy communities and others in poor communities, but those he planted in poorer communities primarily supported his ministry. Even though the churches of Macedonia suffered great afflictions and were deeply poor they nevertheless gave with great joy even beyond their abilities (I Corinthians 8:1-4).

Joy is an eternal peace and excitement demonstrated by an external expression of gratitude. Joy gives rhythm, flavor and a smile to our giving. Giving without joy is like operating machinery without the proper lubrication. It will not last. Joy makes your giving consistent and easy to be received.

How to give with joy?

1. First give yourself to the Lord - You cannot give with joy if you have not first given yourself to the Lord. Giving is a response to a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord. God does not need what you have; it already belongs to Him. What He needs is you.

2. Give to those people or things you love - For God so love the world that He gave us His only begotten Son. Giving is a tangible demonstration of your love for someone or some cause.

3. Give even in trials - Giving is not something you do when things are going well but it is a lifestyle. The habit of giving is not developed during good times but in bad times.

4. Give to purpose not to need - Need eradicates resources while purpose eradicates need. Giving is not what solves problems; rather it is purpose that solves problems. You should target your giving towards those people and organizations that are working to eradicate the need you are passionate about.

5. Give to good ground - Giving is an investment in eternity so therefore you must ensure that the ground is good so that it can yield the maximum eternal returns. Make sure that the person or organization you are giving to will carry out the expected mission with proper accountability.

6. Give out of what you have - Never give that which has been obligated to other things such as rent, car note, loan payment etc.... Other then the tithe giving should always be out of discretionary money. If you want to increase your giving then either increase your income without increasing your obligated expenses or decrease your obligated expenses.

7. Give as unto the Lord - Your giving is never to people or things but rather it is to God. Though it is administered by people and organizations you must focus on the ultimate receiver of your giving, and that is God. He will honor your heart no matter what the people or organization does with your charitable contribution. This ensures that your giving is unconditional.

Some kingdom business stewards give only enough to meet their tax deduction obligations while others give as long as they have to give irrespective of their tax deduction limit. Which one are you? If the U.S. government was to end the tax deduction policy today will your giving go down or remain the same?

A young biblical entrepreneur, after being blessed by several million dollars in a settlement, was led to commit above and beyond his tithe to kingdom work against his accountant's advice, who felt that he should limit his giving to his maximum tax benefit. This young entrepreneur recognized the fact that his giving is not based on any temporal benefits he may receive from the IRS but on eternal benefits he will surely receive from the King of Kings. To the King every gift is a tax write-off in His kingdom.

Tax write-offs are great and must be encouraged for it is better to give to a kingdom cause then to the IRS. However, it should not be the only basis for our giving. The joy of giving means that I give purely because it is my way of expressing my love for the things I believe in and my gratefulness to the God who made me a steward over His resources. It is the external expression of the peace I have on the inside and my gratitude to the Prince of Peace. All benefits that come with giving are bi-products of my giving not the reason for my giving.


Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

from Jason in Tanzania

Last night I taught a Kingdom Business seminar to about 100 local Christian Business people. They were about 60% business ladies. They really liked the seminar. Several said God touched their hearts. One guy said, "this is what Tanzania needs. We have been taught to give money by the church, but the Church has never taught us how to make money. Tonight many of my questions were answered. We need more of this."
I met with two govt. officials the District Commissionar and the Trade officer. They confirmed the need for training. The trade officer is a believer (a pastor even) and he said "our greatest need is to have our minds transformed. Our people are surrounded by opportunity but they can't see it."

Pray for Jason Benedict, RCE Strategist, and the rest of his time in Tanzania and Burundi.

The Africa Project

Here at RCE we have embarked on a Great Adventure we are inviting all of our Founders, Friends, and Regent Alumni to join with us!

This Great Adventure is the heart of Kingdom Business – transforming lives and nations through business – beginning on the continent of Africa!

Dale Neill, President of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), has invited Dr. John Mulford and the RCE Team to partner in a Great Commission venture. We’ll be creating Business Development Centers in the nations of Burundi, Rwanda, Benin, and Liberia, in association with the ICCC Global Trade Center based in Jerusalem.

Dale and Dr. John Mulford, RCE Director and former Dean of Regent’s Graduate School of Business, traveled to Africa in August to lay the groundwork for what we are calling "The Africa Project”: establishing Business Development Centers that will create profitable and sustainable SME’s that we believe will create jobs and a groundswell of Kingdom impact, beginning in January with the nation of Burundi – one of the poorest nations on planet Earth.

The Presidents of these four nations are Christians who have asked ICCC and Regent University to partner together to train emerging entrepreneurs in each of their respective nations. The goal? To establish thousands of businesses that we believe will not only lead to the transformation of these nations through business, but which will provide access to the other 49 (or 50, depending on your source) nations on the continent of Africa.

We begin in January 2009 in the nation of Burundi, intent on training entrepreneurs to plan and launch 1,000 small to medium-sized businesses over the next 5 years. In April of 2009, we start a 15-week course that will take the first group of Burundi students through the process of identifying a business idea, learning the functional areas of starting a business, and then provide coaching through the start-up and launch phase.

As you know, Africa has been the recipient of foreign aid for decades – a continent rich in natural resources that has benefitted little from foreign aid. Our purpose is to use ‘trade,’ not ‘aid,’ to literally transform these nations as well as the entire continent – teaching people to fish, ‘to feed them for a lifetime,’ not just a day.

Regent’s theme is ‘Christian leadership to change the world’ and we believe The Africa Project is an amazing opportunity given us by God to make a difference by going in with resources and depositing an entrepreneurial spirit that will help lift these nations from poverty and civil war to be a blessing to other nations – even Israel (more on that aspect later). God has placed Christians in top leadership positions in these four nations – leading their countries at a time of literally rebuilding their nations from nothing – and we have this window of opportunity to actually transform lives and nations through business as never before.

In order to capture this opportunity we need your help!
Time, Treasure, and Talent – these are the resources God has given you, and it is our desire to channel your gifts and resources through The Africa Project.
RCE needs to raise $200,000 by December 31st, 2008 in order to get on the ground in January. We are asking everyone we know to participate in at least 1 of these areas. When was the last time you had a chance to partner in the transformation of 4 nations that has the prospect of transforming an entire continent?
I just returned from Ukraine where I served in a Kingdom Business venture. For the past 3 months I was a Strategic Business Consultant with one of the largest financial institutions in the nation, helping to create a nationally-branded company in the real estate sector. Over the course of the past year, RCE has launched a business development center in Ternopil, Ukraine – there we have taught Biblical Entrepreneurship and now have emerging entrepreneurs in the process of writing business plans; we will be holding a Business Plan Competition in November of this year.

This experience has given us ‘on the ground’ competencies in launching Business Development Centers we hope can be replicated around the world. ICCC is in over 100 nations, and we believe The Africa Project will not only impact the continent, but also provide a Kingdom business replication model that can be launched world-wide.
As we embark on this Great Adventure, the RCE Team is inviting each and every person who reads this to partner with us in this huge Kingdom Business effort – because if all of us join together with what God is doing on the earth today, we can impact an entire nation – even an entire continent, if we do it ‘AS ONE’ (remember Gladiator?).

I will be keeping you posted on developments each week as we take this step of faith. Be in prayer, as the week of September 29th I am in Atlanta to meet with Os Hillman from Marketplaceleaders.org, along with Dale Neill, regarding The Africa Project. Later in the week I will be attending the Board of Governor’s Meeting in Chicago for Opportunity International as well.

Next week, on October 8th, we will be holding an RCE Executive Roundtable at Regent University where Dr. Mulford and I will be laying out more details of this incredible opportunity – you are invited, so please join us!
For the King and His Kingdom,

Tom Stansbury, MBA
Entrepreneur-In-Residence

Read introduction letter from Dr. John Mulford, Director of the Regent Center for Entrepreneurship

Be Prepared

I just finished reading a newsletter from a family that is called overseas to missions. (Business as Missions, I think...)

They've been planning to leave very soon but the newsletter was sent out to let people know their departure date has been pushed back, and they may not go until next summer.

Since they're open to staying in their new home in Asia, possibly for the long-term, they received counsel that it would be beneficial (and wise) to take some time now, before going, to PREPARE.

Now, of course they have been preparing all along, you see. They are prepared in many ways: they have contacts in the country, they've been raising support, husband and wife both feel called to this area... but there are also some red, or at least, yellow flags, that some friends and mentors have alerted them to. So, after much prayer and counsel, they have decided to postpone their departure.

Sometimes people can think up a billion reasons why they should stay 'home'--wherever that is--and let someone else go cross-cultural. But these folks are just dying to get over there and get to work--so why not let them? Well, sometimes 'saving' time in the beginning can really end up saving nothing at all.

Culture shock is real, but in my experience it's not really the hardest thing. (Except maybe when I came back to the States--that was a shocker in many ways!) ;) No, it's something called 'culture stress': a cycle of seeing a new culture, perhaps falling in love with it, but then over time slowly becoming tired out by wave after wave of new ways of doing things, new forms of politeness, new terminology (and a new language to learn!), different understandings of personal space, privacy, individualism... all of these things can take their toll on a resident alien, and it's good to (1) know what to expect, (2) have a strategy for how to deal with the stress, and (3) be in a healthy state emotionally and spiritually as well as physically, in order to manage the challenges with as much resilience and energy as possible.

I spoke to another acquaintance a couple of months ago about his experience working and living in another culture. He preferred to avoid what I imagine he might think of as 'psycho-babble' and just get the show on the road, diving right in to life in a second culture and learning as he goes. That's all well and good, but... it's easy enough to hurt and be hurt, give offense and be offended, even when one has learned all one can about the culture hosting you... I can't imagine trying it without much preparation. You can never learn all you need to know ahead of time, but it sure can help you make some sense out of what you didn't find in the Lonely Planet guide...

BAM folks are no exception to this rule. Whether we go as students, professionals or professional 'missionaries', it's helpful to head out with hearts and heads open to learn, but with some kind of framework on which to 'hang' all the new knowledge and experience we'll be learning as we go. I continue to wonder if BAMers will learn good lessons from the not-always-stellar history of missions, or if many are like the person who doesn't want to 'waste' time for 'unnecessary' preparation.

Anyhow, three cheers for the family who has humbly decided they need to learn more and be filled up before they are ready overflow and pour out in a new culture. And may I learn this too, and be preparing even now for our own return to Asia!

Continue praying for Cyd, her driver, this nation, and others working in the region

(Message from the local area)

From our last [news update] about Cyd, the woman who was kidnapped in Kandahar, Af. over 50 days ago, you may think that the affair is all over since there was strong indication from a couple of sources that she and her driver were probably killed. But to date there has still been no proof of death or life and we have heard from others that kidnappers sometimes use this tactic to play on people's emotions and get what they want. So, we are still praying for a miracle in Cyd's and her driver's lives and ask that you do the same. Thank you.

What is happening to Cyd also affects many other people here in different ways... big decisions [may be in the works] that affect many projects... in light of all this. Please pray for them, too.

Let's also pray for the situation in T.ibet...
Heavy Presence of Chinese Police Quells Rioting in T.ibet's Capital BEIJING, March 16 -- Chinese police flooded into the streets of the T.ibetan capital of Lhasa on Saturday to smother riots that have destroyed scores of Chinese-owned businesses and left at least 10 people dead. Officials demanded that the rioters surrender by midnight Monday, and shopkeepers cowered... (By Jill Drew and Edward Cody, The Washington Post)
I know it's not particularly BAM-related (though the fact that non-Tibetans are in control of so much of business in Lhasa is food for thought) but certainly timely. Thanks. --skye

Prayer for Craft Co-Op Founder

I just received the news that the founder of the Craft Co-Op, mentioned in an earlier post, is back in her home country for the next few months receiving treatment for a very serious recurring illness. Please pray for Ann,* that the treatment will be effective and that she will be able to return to the Craft Co-Op before summer.

Pray also for the women sewing for the co-op, that they will continue to work faithfully; pray for those who are overseeing the project in Ann's absence, that they will have wisdom and discernment to deal with issues that crop up, favor with local government officials, and protection from the enemy and his devices.

Please also pray for more orders for sewing crafts, as well as the issue of new salary requirements demanded by the government, mentioned in the previous post on the co-op.

Thanks!

Kidnapped in Afghanistan--sad news

Mizell family statement
February 28, 2008

George and Peggy Mizell, parents of Cydney Mizell, issued the following statement today on behalf of the Mizell family:

We are all heartbroken to receive credible reports of the deaths of our daughter, Cyd, and Muhammad Hadi, her driver, in Afghanistan. While these reports remain unconfirmed, we are beginning to accept that the hoped-for outcome may no longer be possible.

Cyd knew before she went to Afghanistan that it could be a dangerous place, but she went because she loved the Afghan people and dedicated her life to serving them. We are trying to understand why someone would kill a gentle, caring person who came to their country to help the poor. Many of the people of Kandahar came to love her almost as much as we loved her, and all of us share her loss.

We thank everyone who has worked so hard to secure her release and who now seek to confirm what we've heard. We thank everyone around the world who’s been praying for Cyd, and for us.

Please continue to keep our family and Mr. Hadi's family in your prayers.

For our initial post on Cyd's kidnapping, see http://kingdomentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2008/02/prayer-request.html

For more information, see http://arldf.net/newsposts.html

News from the Front

(from someone on the field in Asia*)

We have had some encouragement in the last few days that we believe is due in large part to the prayers of God's people. Several weeks ago we lost a key person at the craft center, a local man. He is a very gifted man in terms of language skills and his knowledge of the business. He came to work for us over 2 years ago, and was offered a better paying job recently. Though we hated to lose him, we are starting to wonder if this was really the best for our ultimate purposes here. Though we have had some wonderful discussions with him about the Lord, he is a very devout follewer of the majority religion here. But we are very excited to report that since he has left, things seem to have broken loose here. All the other workers are asking for the Sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17) and asking very good questions. One came up to me a few days ago and asked, for example, how he can be cleaned of his sin.

Sarah and Miriam have joined us from another developing country in this region, and have been particularly helpful as they have gone around visiting families. One of the men said to these two that he was living in darkness but now a light is shining in his mind as he reads the Word. He said that when he first met us, he knew there was something different about us--that our eyes were particularly different.

Please pray for these individuals who are searching, that they would find the One Who is drawing them near to Himself; and pray for those who are investing their lives to communicate His love and purposes in word and in deed to those who are living without knowledge of the assurance of forgiveness or understanding of our Father's love.

*Names, etc., have been adjusted

Prayer request for small sewing business

This comes from a friend who established a work in a town in Asia. The project is a really neat thing that has had a tremendous impact on some families and has blessed the whole community in a variety of ways.

I just got an e-mail from Anala* at the Craft Co-op*; the local government has threatened to shut us down unless we pay all the workers [a set monthly salary]. According to the law last fall, we could pay by the piece.

Pray for wisdom for the overseers as they deal with this new crisis!
If we pay by the hour...
(1) we do not have enough money to keep going.
(2) the women would slow down and spend their time talking, etc.

Also, please pray for more orders.

Thanks!
*Names have been changed

Why Coffee?

Many people asked me this question when I tell them about the company that I founded while completing my MBA at Regent University in 2006.

Coffee is a big industry. It is the second most traded commodity, oil being the first. Most of oil producers are wealthy and enjoying the benefits of their business. However, coffee is different, 75% of the coffee is produced by poor communities of developing countries. I want to created awareness of this unbalance.

There is not justice in the coffee industry. Of the $3 paid in average for a cup of gourmet coffee only 2 cents goes back to the grower. This is because of the huge gap between the coffee producer and the consumer. Ethnos Coffee works to close this gap. We are working with the Christian organization “Growers First” that actually does community development work among the producers, unlike many of the coffee certification agencies.

God gave us the dream to create Ethnos Coffee and also the responsibility to work on improving the lives of coffee producers. We actually are taking the first steps in extending our work to cocoa and tea producers. We want to work for what is fair for these coffee, cocoa and tea producers. Therefore we promote fair trade. Through Ethnos Coffee projects, we guarantee a Fair Wage to producers.

Another reason of why coffee is to empower disadvantaged communities by creating new markets for them, allowing them to stay in their context. I think we can make a contribution to massive emigration to the big cities or to other countries. God has given peoples of these coffee producing communities, unique talents. We want to help them discover their talents and to become self sustain.

If you are more interested in knowing more about fair trade or our projects, please visit our website at http://www.ethnoscoffee.com/ or post your question or comment on this blog.

Thanks,

Luis Vargas
Founder and CEO
Ethnos Coffee

A True KB Story from Nepal--Conclusion

Final Resolution
(See "A True KB Story from Nepal" for background, below.)

In case you are wondering what happened to the project or if Gita took everything. Hema after all this organized a meeting to bring together the church elders and Gita, which initially Gita refused to attend. Later, however, she was obliged to meet with them. Also, in the meeting a resolution was sought and it was decided that every asset of the company will be divided equally among Hema and Gita. Not a resolution we wanted but definitely something to be hopeful about.

Well, I was of the understanding that Hema learnt her lesson and she was going to start the company all over with proper papers and documentation. But after the incident, she left the country and does not ever want to start any business again. Of course she paid a month’s allowance as compensation to the employees but it was not something they were looking for. She now thinks that money was the evil thing and she should not involve herself with money matters ever again.

Gita wants to run the business on her own and I am not sure what is happening on that front at this point, as none of the employees wanted to work under her.

KB Story from Nepal; Observations

My personal Observations
Manika Baniya, Regent MBA
(See "A True KB Story from Nepal" for background, below.)


The answer as we see from the above scenario is ‘forgetting the obvious’ only because everyone and everything involved are Christians?

Maybe no check and balance – especially involving the local church at least in the board of the company and meeting once a week, etc.

I think the main issue is also trusting a single person completely and not taking time to check with others, or ignoring feedback. Gita was known to be harsh; in fact on one occasion when I visited the company, she thought I was there to join the company and was really asking me too many questions. But Hema chose to believe in her, blindly giving her all the control. There could have been a few more people responsible for the bank account rather than only Gita and Hema.

But the main important issue is not involving the main employees in the main business. Unless we do do that, a company could fail. If the employees were given the kind of confidence where they can openly share what they feel about the administrator, would the same thing have happened? One thing Hema forgot was that the company was not only hers even though she started it, it belonged to the locals and the employees and they should have been given a chance to voice their opinion from time to time. (But is that possible, or could it have created a chaotic working environment?)

Hema knew other local business people who were Christians and were in fact very successful in Nepal. But they were never told her plans and even consulted once during this whole period. They were veterans who had been running businesses for the past 20 years.

A True KB Story from Nepal (Parts I, II and III)

Happy Friday!

We've published 2 installments of this story on our blog at regententrepreneur.org, so I'll share that with you today. Thanks, Manika, for sharing your insight and experience with us!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a story in Nepal and I would like the rest of the details to be anonymous.

A very wonderful lady (lets assume her name to be Hema) started a kingdom business in order to share the love of the lord and also to provide employment to otherwise disadvantaged group of women who had no education and were suffering in their society and also in their personal and financial life. She was a foreigner with many years living experience in Nepal and a huge heart and passion for Nepali people.

The business grew and many deserving women got employment, their lives changed and their children were able to afford decent meals and go to good school. I had personally met with those women and they were very grateful for the opportunity they had to be work in a clean environment and also be able to get good income every month.

These women otherwise were often abused in their work environment and were never paid the said amount by their employer. Being Christians, they were often left without jobs and with added abusive family members. But thanks to Hema, their lives changed and one could see the changed color and happiness in their face and in their lives. They also learnt a lot about Lord in their work, conducted daily devotions, learned to give to the church and overall it seemed to be a very happy beginning for them.

Then Hema appointed Gita, a local educated Christian lady to be the Administrator of the business. The business grew to great measures, the products were amazing and they were able to find new markets every week. The products were popular even among the local users and their workplace became their selling point to many locals.

Gita was a very harsh women who never treated any of the workers with any respect. She was always rude and never took much interest in the scope of business and was always to herself. All the workers in the office greatly feared and disliked Gita because of her behavior to them. In fact some women told that Gita often mentioned to then that the company belonged to her and if they do not behave well, she will kick them out of the company. In fact, she was often heard passing very crude remarks like 'These women should be slaves, they should be given this kind of opportunity to work in peace'. the problem was bigger while paying them salary as Gita always thought the women were paid too high.

The women were paid a salary range of (Rs 4000 = Approx USD 60-70) which is a decent sum of money for unskilled women. In addition, the women got 2 days off to spend time with their family which was rare. they also got tea and snacks inside the office which was unheard of in Nepal.

On the other hand Gita was paid (Rs 15,000 = Approx USD 200) which was also unusually high for a semi-skilled worker in Nepal. Everyone in the office disliked Gita openly and even other women in the church and relatives knew about her nuisances.

But the only person who always praised Gita was Hema and was extremely please with her which no one else understood why. Her job was to manage the inventory and to keep the accounts which was not a huge and meticulous task looking at the business and also the involvement of Hema for the same.

So far things were normal. The company grew and time came to register under small industry. Hema without anyone’s consensus registered the company under Gita's name. As per the industry law, a foreigner was not allowed to own any small industry in Nepal and there was no other alternative than to register under some Nepali’s name.

The company grew everyday, in fact it became difficult for Hema to manage the company on her own and he often took help from her country’s people through short term trips. The demand for the product grew and as the company grew Hema became much more involved in the project and she made all decisions for the company with Gita.

Now the company kept on growing, there were many full time employees working full time and time came to register the company as an international business independently. Hema started the paperwork and was overjoyed that her company was been blessed to such extent.

She rented a huge new office space and kept on employing more people. The company had to show a balance of nearly USD 100,000 to make it international and Hema deposited the amount in the present company’s bank account (which is in Gita’s name if you remember).

But one day before Hema to submit the paperwork to the ministry, Gita decided to take control. She locked the office and took off Hema’s name from the bank account signatory. Next day when the employees came to work, the office was closed and Gita was not anywhere. When Hema inquired, she found out that Gita had decided to take control of the business and is not going to listen to anyone. In fact Gita’s husband came to the office and threatened the employees and Hema together.

Hema’s dream was shattered and she chose to withdraw herself from the company and any other issues. All the employees who were so happy and working for the best suddenly were jobless and without anything else to do.
So where did this company go wrong? Although this might not be the main cause, but I personally know a similar fate of many company and non-profit organizations after a while. Why is it otherwise difficult to see a company started by a missionary that has been operating for the past 100 years?