Beleza – Local Fair Trade Boutique

Beleza is a fair trade boutique owned and operated by Philip and Sarah Dail, supporters of MorLove. In 2003, Philip Dail began working with a village of women in Soatanana, Madagascar, helping them sell their handmade woven raw silk shawls and scarves. Soon he realized the global potential of helping individuals and communities market their crafts as a means to support themselves more effectively. Philip opened Beleza in November of 2005 and a year later Sarah-his new bride-joined him.

The most dramatic impact has been made in the poorer developing nations, as would be expected. And the Dails not only support these families and communities economically, but their frequent visits also provide invaluable emotional support and fellowship.  Often working through their churches, the Dails continually involve others in this ministry of encouragement around the world. They are both committed to serving others and showing them genuine care and love.

Beleza is currently working with eighteen family groups or coops from Uganda, Kenya, Madagascar, Brazil, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Costa Rico, Peru, and the United States. This number is constantly growing as they network with people around the world.

You can now shop from Beleza online at their new online store which features the following items and more.

Alpaca Metal and Semiprecious Stone Necklace          Alpaca Metal and Agate Ring by Nilson

Aluminum Earrings by Jay

Brass and Alpaca Metal Ring by Nilson

Madagascar, Daewoo and Neo-colonialism

So what do Madagascar and South Korea have in common? On the face of it, very little. The former is a country in development, the second is an economic power. One is in Africa, the other in Asia. The Malagasy have uncontaminated land. The Koreans lack cultivatable land. Madagascar has 28 inhabitants per square kilometer. South Korea has 493 inhabitants per square kilometer.

However, the Malagasy government recently signed an agreement with Daewoo Logistics, the shipping and natural resource development arm of Korean conglomerate, Daewoo, to lease 1.2 million hectares of cultivatable land for 99 years to grow corn and produce palm oil. This is an area nearly half the size of Belgium and over half of all cultivable land on the island.

Deals like these are understandable. Asian countries are looking for food security for their growing populations. Countries with undeveloped resources are looking for revenue and job creation. Unfortunately this deal seems to be one-sided because, under its stated conditions, the land is being offered for free. That’s right…zip, nada, zilch.

Deals like these smack of neo-colonialism in Africa. Will Malagasy citizens benefit solely from wage-slave farming jobs?  Will tax levies on subsequent farms generate revenues for the government of Madagascar? Perhaps, but, at what cost? Yet another African rainforest will be clear-cut for profit.

Subsequently I won’t be buying Daewoo products…if I can help it. I suspect that now I’ll have nightmares about bulldozers, displacement of indigenous peoples and trade slavery.

‘Delicious Peace’ in Uganda

Trade Not Aid

By now, the phrase ‘trade not aid’ is (or should be) commonplace in our conversations. In the case of Africa, ample evidence exists to support that most financial aid from wealthier nations does not reach its poor, hungry, sick and uneducated. According to Ugandan journalist, Andrew Mwenda, between 1960 and 2003, Africa received 600 billion USD in aid, yet poverty is still widespread. Corrupt bureaucracies, war, the failure to invest in infrastructures, crushing debt and the lack of self-incentives continue to siphon aid money from the Africans who need it most. Instead of continued addiction to foreign aid and subsequent debt, what if Africans utilized more of their vast natural and human resources to empower themselves economically?

At the 2007 TED conference in California and its sibling, TED Africa 2007 in Tanzania, leading proponents of wealth creation for Africa were showcased. Along with Mwenda, economist and author (Africa Unchained) George Ayittey, pioneering Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and others asked us here in the West to see beyond typical media portrayals of African helplessness. Instead, we should be looking to stories of self-reliance and ingenuity that show how Africans themselves are healing their continent from the inside out.

Many such success stories are surfacing across Africa. One that caught my attention is the Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative of Uganda, the best example of trade not aid I know. Mirembe Kawomera (meaning “Delicious Peace” in the Luganda language) had its beginnings in a request for neighbors to put aside old differences. In 2004, Joab Jonaday (“J.J.”) Keki, an Abayudaya coffee farmer, walked door to door asking his neighbors to come together to discuss collectively improving their lives. Previously, these fourth generation coffee farmers had struggled to survive on the low prices offered by local markets. Keki reasoned that if there were marketplaces with higher prices, every farmer could realize higher returns. Subsequently they formed Mirembe Kawomera to combine crops, refine techniques and seek new markets. Through the joint efforts of the cooperative and the fair trade Thanksgiving Coffee Company in California, the cooperative has been a success, growing to over 700 members. They have increased coffee yields and now fetch four times the former price.

They are investing profits in land and equipment, diversifying to include vanilla beans, offering microfinancing to members and contributing a fixed percentage of every sale to a variety of community public health and education projects. This new economic prosperity is only part of their success. From the beginning, they realized that theirs is a unique story. Their current, elected leadership represents each religious group within their community. The co-op president is a Jew, the vice-president, a Christian and the treasurer, a Muslim. They are all African and, in doing something together that none of them could have done alone, they have become self-reliant to build a sustainable business.

The example of Mirembe Kawomera is a blueprint for fair trade that can be applied to opportunities throughout Africa and the world. Given the current climate of class inequity, religious competition and war, a successful, African cooperative with interfaith members should be an inspiration to all of us.

Related links:

Visit the Mirembe Kawomera website for more on ‘delicious peace’. You can watch a video about the cooperative and buy their excellent coffee there.

Andrew Mwenda, Let’s Take a New Look at African Aid (video), TED 2007 Conference.

Andrew Mwenda and 3 others arrested in newspaper raid, Global Voices Online, April 28, 2008.