economics

Usually people say that there are two seasons in Malawi: the rainy season and the dry season.  From Nov - March it's the rainy season which means: planting crops, mangos, flooding and the slipperiest mud you've ever seen.  From April - October the dry season means: harvest, temporary wealth, tradtional ceremonies, cooler weather, fires, smoke, dust and respiratory sickness.  Being here in late Jan/early Feb this trip, I'm reminded that there is actually a third season...the hunger season.  

The hunger season starts at this time of year and can go until April/May.  The reason hunger season strikes now is that some 80%+ of the population here are subsistence farmers meaning they grow their own year's supply of food for their families.  Problem is that their supply of maize (the staple food) often starts dwindling dangerously low this time of year.  A family may have had a bad crop, maybe rodents got into the homemade silo of reeds and grasses, thieves could have raided it in the night or some of it could be lost any other number of things.  Fact is, that come February many families must supplement their supply of maize by buying it at market.  Because demand is high and supply is low this time of year, prices skyrocket.  Add to this the global economic recession and the current economic crisis in Malawi and you have the hunger season.  

The silver lining in this for my Dsenyo trip is that we are able to provide business to a vast number of people at a time when they need it most.  We often mention that Dsenyo works with more than 70 women and artisans here in Malawi.  Well, that's only part of the picture.  We actually contribute economically and support many many more families.  We buy chitenje (the African textiles) from over 30 women at the fabric market providing a boost to their businesses, we buy lining fabric from the local textile mill, and notions from local shops and second-hand denim from vendors at the open air markets.  We purchase phone units from the women with mobile businesses moving around on the streets.  And this list goes on.  It's really fun to shop for materials for Dsenyo and it's really rewarding to see the excitement of the vendors when we make large purchases.  With giddy excitement they thank Tamara for being a good "sister" and bringing them business from Dsenyo.  There are lots of hugs, special Malawi handshakes, smiles, dancing and singing.  It's nice to be able to be a small bright spot in the middle of the wet, muddy hunger season.  In the vendor's words "it's a miracle" for them!

This TED talk was shared with me the other day. It is one of the best explanations of why the AID INDUSTRY is broken that I have heard. What's even better, is that the speaker uses Malawi as the example. The problems presented here are exactly what I witnessed while living in Malawi and why Dsenyo has chosen the approach of social enterprise and Fair Trade. The simple answer to the broken aid industry is always corruption, but that's not the whole story or even the real reason behind the broken system. Take a moment to watch this video...be inspired and be enlightened!

Guess where this week's episode of "The Amazing Race" took place?

Yep...MALAWI!  I am pretty excited about this for a number of reasons:

1. Watching footage of Malawi and the people just makes me smile
2. They visited the main market in Old Town and even went to the fabric section to work with the tailors.  This is where I buy the fabric for Dsenyo's products!
3. Tourism plays a key role for countries as they develop.  Because Malawi is a land-locked country and is a bit off the beaten path, their tourism industry is pretty tiny.  Any exposure, like this show, is great for Malawi!  

Episode 6: Watch now Episode 7: Watch now (also in Malawi!)

Sometimes people get confused and think that Fair Trade threatens the Buy Local movement. I'd like to propose quite the opposite and state that Fair Trade in fact compliments and strengthens the Buy Local movement. This is because Fair Trade, and Buy Local, and Buy Green for that matter, are all equal partners in a much greater movement which is BUY ETHICAL.

I don't know when it became okay for business not to be ethical or to not serve a real need, but somewhere down the line things have gone wrong in many cases. We are all too aware of this at the this moment in history with our current economic situation and the irresponsible actions certain industries and large corporations.

However, there is a silver lining. People at the grassroots level are responding in positive ways. All of these movements (fair trade, local, green) combined are building social awareness about how our everyday consumption impacts people and planet. That instead of seeing consumerism and capitalism as all out negatives, we can use them as powerful tools to care for the people and environment around us.

Want to dive in deeper? Check out this info-packed infogram about Fair Trade v. Buy Local from Ethical Ocean (click read more)...

 

By Ellen Arkfeld, guest blogger, who is interning with Dsenyo this summer.

Fair trade can seem like something beyond our reach, a word thrown around and printed on labels that we know is good but don’t fully understand.  But fair trade is pretty simple:  pay produc

Social entrepreneurship is an attempt to use business tools and strategies to solve social, economic and environmental problems.  Then, instead of measuring success only in terms of monetary profit, success is measured in terms of social capital. Read a great definition of social enterprise and social entrepreneurs here. It's an exciting movement that Dsenyo is proud to take part in.  However, if you have kept an eye on this topic over the past few months, the media has uncovered some not so pretty sides of some of the social entrepreneurship movement's biggest success stories.  Take a quick read of this article from the Harvard Business Review about the current downfall of leading social entrepreneurs and what it should have people like myself reflecting on. Namely, we as social entrepreneurs have a great responsibility to our patrons, customers and the public in general to not overstate our impact.  The whole movement is based on transparancy and accountability and those high principles need to be honored.

Lessons for Social Entrepreneurs from the Microfinance Crisis

Posted by Timothy Ogden on Friday Apr 22nd at 10:09am
Are you sowing the seeds of your own ignominious end?

"Two of the most inspirational stories in social entrepreneurship have taken quite a beating recently. The microfinance industry has in just a few years gone from making headlines for the Nobel Peace Prize to stories about limited impact, allegedly abusive tactics, client suicides, government crackdowns, major lenders struggling with insolvency and the forcible removal of Mohammed Yunus as Managing Director of Grameen Bank. Just this week, Greg Mortensen came crashing down as investigative reporters documented exaggerations, inaccuracies, and shady financial practices. These reversals may seem sudden, but they were years in the making. In both cases, the blame can be laid at the feet of the protagonists of the stories.... (read full article here)"

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am in Malawi right now and was pleased to stumble upon a copy of “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” at a friend’s house where I was staying in Lilongwe. I hadn't met William Kamkwamba, author of the book, yet, but did know that he had help writing his story. Before reading the book I was a bit concerned that his voice might not come through strongly and that it would be written in the polished English of a native speaker. As I began reading, I quickly started enjoying the sound of William's very Malawian voice coming through clearly. I enjoyed endearing English phrases you hear only in Malawi and the Chichewa words inserted throughout the text.

This is a story of resourcefullnes and ingenuity in the most desperate of circumstances. Malawi is indeed a poor country, but the story that doesn't get told often enough is how rich it is as well. There are many youth like William in Malawi who are bright, talented and creative. Unfortunately, more often than not, they don't have the opporutnity to realize their full potential. I am thrilled that William's story is being shared with the world and that he now finds himself with opportunities that will enable him to fulfill his dreams. My hope is that more of his counterparts will also find ways to see their own hopes become a reality.

View all my reviews >>

I started sponsoring a child from Haiti with Compassion International as a young college student.  Ever since then, Haiti has always held a special place in my heart.  Today, with news of an earthquake that has devestated the country, affecting at least 1 million people (1/3 of the country's population), I am saddenned.  It has been an upward battle for this poor, developing country, and just as they were making progress in areas like health and political stability, this is an incredibly huge setback to say the very least.  Right now Haiti is in crisis mode and the international community is acting quickly to provide assistance.  I urge you to conssider a donation to World Care which is active in relief efforts in Haiti. 

In addition, Dsenyo is donating 20% of online sales for the month of January to World Care for Haiti.  You can shop online at our Etsy store and we will donate 20% of your entire order.

Note: I wrote this blog post this summer on July 14 from Domasi, Malawi while I was staying in Ndwiasa Village.

I fell asleep to the sounds of African drumming and women singing all through the night. Didn't sleep much actually, which is fine, because I rested under my mosquito net, curled up on my reed mat, and loved hearing the sounds of the initiation ceremony in the background.  There is a primal and instinctual connection I feel to the people here.  I feel this especially on days like yesterday when I had the opportunity to dance with the village women as they began the ceremony initiating a young woman into motherhood.  I think about the history behind these traditions and how far reaching...

I moved back to the Boulder area about a year ago, after being away for eight years. As a resident of the City of Lafayette and Boulder County, I have been impressed and overwhelmed by the opportunities to progress my art career. I have found avenues to be part of a studio tour (EBCA), help found a new artist-owned cooperative (pARTiculars), participate in fundraising for a non-profit through my art (Art for a Cause) and gain PR coverage of my activities as an artist (Southwest Magazine, Sept 2008 issue).

Given all of this exciting activity, I was pleasantly surprised to see two recent articles in the Boulder Daily Camera covering a national report by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) which named Boulder/Longmont area the #6 Artsy city in the U.S.. You can read the complete article titled, "It's Official: Boulder's Arty" here.

In response to the NEA article, Malia Thompson with the Boulder County Arts Alliance followed up with an editorial about how economically valuable artist are to our community. Not only does art enrich our spirits and expand our minds, but it is also a healthy economic engine. Art events (gallery shows, plays, concerts, galas, etc.) not only benefit the artists involved, but also the community entities (restaurants, hotels, retail businesses, and more) which support guests visiting the shows. Thank you Malia for sharing this insight. I hope it helps us develop a more complete understanding of the important role that the arts play in our society. Read the full editorial titled, "Art Community Needs Local Support" here.