The exciting world of international business

Hamjambo!

I'm sorry for the recent dearth of posts. Since Alex went home my workload has doubled and I'm scrambling to fit in all the work and fun that I want to accomplish before I go home. For those of you who have been asking, I leave TZ on April 29 (so soon! Sob!), and then I'm off to Washington DC to impose on the hospitality of my friend Matt. I get back to Canada on May 5.

Also: Is anyone interested in buying bracelets, coasters, or cookbooks? If so, could you let me know by the end of the week? Bracelets and coasters are $2.50 each, and cookbooks are $8 (I think, I have to double check).

Anyway, business:

As I've mentioned, there are two Educare women's groups: the Machumba mamas and the Nazareth mamas. The Nazareth mamas were doing the cookbooks, but since they've been printed they haven't had anything to work on. But Alex and I didn't know how to help them before, so we concentrated on the Machumba mamas.

Now, however, we're integrating the Nazareth mamas into the safari project at the same time as we expand that enterprise. "Um, that sounds like a lot of work and a bit of a risk, seeing as how you've barely gotten the business off the ground," you're probably thinking. And you're totally right, but Alex and I really think it's the best thing for both groups: the Machumba group has always been a bit small (only 5 mamas) for the safari plan to really roll.

To begin with, the Machumbas were making bracelets and coasters for a company called Maasai Wanderings (MW). They are able to make one batch of 30 gifts (15 bracelets, 15 coasters) each week (6 items each). This is totally fine for one company in the low season, especially because MW also buys gifts from some Maasai women. But in the low season, it doesn't amount to much, and we have also started working with Soko Adventures (SA), a company run by a local couple. And Donna, the wonderful Australian woman who runs MW wants us to make lunchboxes for her company. Each lunchbox would take one mama a week to make (about eight hours total, working two hours a day four days a week). It would be hard to add that to their brtacelet- and coaster-making without slowing down gift production, but it's too good a deal to pass up.

Meanwhile, we also had the problem of what to do to help the Nazareths. So we decided: why not get them to do the same project? It solves both problems.
So right now, the Nazareth mamas are learning the banana trade, and they're learning fast! We've brought in Mama Caro, who originally taught the Machumba mamas. She's a great teacher, and the mamas are incredibly fast learners. After four lessons, their coasters are basically ready to sell, and I was blown away by the quality of their first bracelets on Friday. I am ridiculously proud of them. Alex, I wish you were here to see it.

As soon as they're fully trained (which is going to be way sooner than I'd expected), the Nazareth group will be in charge of making the bracelets and coasters for SA. Since there's 12 of them, they'll begin slowly: making three products each per week, so that we can ensure quality even though they're so new. By the start of high season (June), I hope that SA will want to up the size of their orders, because by then the mamas will be able to work more quickly. Irene at SA has already broached the subject of larger orders, so as long as they're happy working with us for the next couple of months I'm optimistic.

Giving the SA business to the Nazareth mamas will free up the Machumba mamas to start learning how to make lunchboxes. I met with Mama Caro on Friday to go over possible designs, and will meet with Donna this week to sort out the details. Once they've learned how, the Machumba mamas will be creating boxes and gifts for MW. That will keep them busy all summer, I think. In the even longer term, I hope that the mamas will be able to arrange lunchbox deals with even more safari companies. Most operators use either cardboard boxes or tupperware-like containers for their picnic lunches on game drives. Our lidded, woven boxes will be more environmentally friend and more beautiful than either of those.

If everything goes according to plan (and if each of you could cross your fingers, I'd consider it a personal favour), both groups should be busy and profitable for years to come. A small portion of each sale also goes to Educare to help fund future projects. The best part is that the mamas will hopefully be able to run this business themselves (with Mr Shija and Geoffrey, who speak English). I have created order forms, accounting charts, weekly schedules, and all the information I think they'll need to keep things running smoothly. I'll also keep helping through email for the next little while to make sure that the various phases of the expansion go as planned. But beyond that, I don't think much outside help will be needed.

This is the most important thing for me, and I think Alex feels the same. We both want this project to belong to them, not us; we're just here to help get the ball rolling. We came to share our resources, skills, and time, but that would all be wasted if the mamas didn't benefit in the long term from our visit. It's the old teach-a-man-to-fish situation. But it's more than that. The whole time I've been here, I've noticed that Mr Shija and the mamas have tended to look at Alex and I as if we're experts, deferring to our judgment. The mamas just don't have confidence in their own abilities when it comes to businessy stuff. I, on the other hand, have a huge amount of faith in them. These women work incredibly hard, running households, growing and selling produce, taking care of their animals, raising their children, and working on the banana products on top of that. Alex and I have done the planning and writing and that sort of thing, but the mamas' work is the heart of this whole project, and it truly is their business.

I want the safari project to make them lots of money, but more than anything I want the mamas to be proud of themselves and feel confident, and know that they are the reason for their success.