I am now back in UK and it is time to reflect on the first part of the week in Uppsala. The Ethics Roles in Interaction Design in Developing regions workshop was part of wider conference Interact 2009 whose aims were to bring together Researchers and Practitioners to consider issues of Human Computer Interaction.
Our workshop was made up of practitioners and researchers some of whom were Masters degree or PHD students whilst some were University lecturers. Several themes emerged over the course of the two days and were captured as a resource for Researchers to draw upon "before they go"
Whilst some questions remained an answered too. Is there a role for ICT in international development? How do we know this? Are Researchers in this field out there to find answers or to provide solutions to problems and if so whose problems are these anyway?
What is the role of a researcher in such circumstances? What are the things that a Researcher must know before they go? How do Researchers organise access? What is in it for the community and practitioners, sure not merely shiny beads?
An issue that was raised at this workshop that is often overlooked is one of disability in the developing world. Whilst here in the West a lot of work has gone into protecting the rights of people with disabilities, this is not necessarily no in many parts of the developing world. Chui Yin Wong a Malaysian ICT Professor presented a paper on enabling deaf people to access mobile technology you can read it here
Going back to the issue of defining problems Martin Konzett, Martin Tomtisch and Thomas Grechnig, presented a paper on their Research in Zanzibar in which they attempted to enable Seaweed Farmers to earn more for their produce, but failed (for now).
What this Research highlighted in my minds eye is the importance of understing how communities in developing regions are organised. This involves asking questions of what we have observed to be going on as opposed to wading in with a solution,as there is always a reason and often a good one why things are done certain way.
It is of course impossible for Researchers to know everything that there is to know and as well as the consequences of their presence or Research on the communities in the developing regions. Organising access is always a delicate matter, there issues of Culture and Perception and how you over come those.
The Ethical issues involved in Interaction design for the developing regions were very high on the agenda, with the starting position of "DO NO HARM" as an accepted rule of thumb. It was agreed that where ever possible Researchers and Practitioners should avoid reinforcing "IMPERIALISTIC ATTITUDES", seek to foster equitable practices through participatory design
The hard work starts now to continue building a resource that will allow Researchers and Practitioners to learn from each other. Yes you have guessed it the resource is technology based the first of which is a Twitter hash tag #design4dev and a Twitter league, with many more to come, when the rest of the conference draws to a close.
Would be interested in hearing your views on any of the issues raised here
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Tuesday 25 August 2009
Human Computer Interaction for development
I am in Uppsala Sweden this week where we are considering how technology can aid development, further details are at https://sites.google.com/a/lkl.ac.uk/idfdr/thee
Some of the emerging themes are
Capacity building, and whose capacity really needs building.
What is the role of a researcher and who determines the agenda of what gets onto the research agenda?
Is it right to give people interactive white boards for class rooms when they can't afford water?
How important is the understanding of the organisation of local communities by those coming in to carry out projects?
Who should broker access to communities and politicians?
Would love to hear your views on some of these
Some of the emerging themes are
Capacity building, and whose capacity really needs building.
What is the role of a researcher and who determines the agenda of what gets onto the research agenda?
Is it right to give people interactive white boards for class rooms when they can't afford water?
How important is the understanding of the organisation of local communities by those coming in to carry out projects?
Who should broker access to communities and politicians?
Would love to hear your views on some of these
Sunday 23 August 2009
Ethics, Roles and Relationships
By the time you get to read this I will be at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, where I will be presenting a paper on Ethic, Roles and Relationships in Interaction design in developing regions https://sites.google.com/a/lkl.ac.uk/idfdr/papers.
As you can imagine , this is very exciting for me but a great opportunity for me to share my experience and knowledge on a much large platform.
At the centre of this two day workshop, is the need to examine the ethical issues, that may affect the ability to build strong relationships, and design sustainable programmes for the developing region.
My paper will examine issues that NGOs, charities need to bear in mind when designing programmes for the developing regions.
My central message is, before you get started, take time out to understand the needs of the people ( beneficiaries) they are best placed to understand their needs. Be mindful that policies that have worked elsewhere may not necessarily work in your chosen location.
The local chieves, the community at large are important and include them at the outset otherwise you may end up wasting your time and money and worse still maybe denied permision to operate in the area.
What if you build a facility that the lcoals will not use because you failed to consult them, and gave the facility the wrong name? this was the case of someone that called a community centre a lodge, when according to the local community a lodge is a place people go to have sex outside of marriage! Could this have been avoided? Of course, only the people behind th project did not speak to community!
I will keep you psoted on my progress
As you can imagine , this is very exciting for me but a great opportunity for me to share my experience and knowledge on a much large platform.
At the centre of this two day workshop, is the need to examine the ethical issues, that may affect the ability to build strong relationships, and design sustainable programmes for the developing region.
My paper will examine issues that NGOs, charities need to bear in mind when designing programmes for the developing regions.
My central message is, before you get started, take time out to understand the needs of the people ( beneficiaries) they are best placed to understand their needs. Be mindful that policies that have worked elsewhere may not necessarily work in your chosen location.
The local chieves, the community at large are important and include them at the outset otherwise you may end up wasting your time and money and worse still maybe denied permision to operate in the area.
What if you build a facility that the lcoals will not use because you failed to consult them, and gave the facility the wrong name? this was the case of someone that called a community centre a lodge, when according to the local community a lodge is a place people go to have sex outside of marriage! Could this have been avoided? Of course, only the people behind th project did not speak to community!
I will keep you psoted on my progress
Saturday 25 July 2009
Thursday 23 July 2009
Sunday 5 July 2009
Friday 3 July 2009
Handmade straw hats from Madagascar
These hats are a must have in my opinion. There are fun to wear are made of the finest Madagascar raffia. you can fold them for ease of travel without damaging them.
There are simply the best protection from the sun because they cover your back and neck which are often susceptible to sun burn
Jane the Lady Toast Master had this to say about our hats last year I saw Ida the other day at a business forum and couldn't decide between two hats, so I bought them both - read the rest at her blog http://www.personal-equilibrium.co.uk/news.asp?id=44
The hats come in a variety of colours and here are some of them
At Royal Ascot
At this year's BBC Gardener's World live these hats stole the show as you can see there was a queu of people wanting to try them on and were our best sellers
The hats are selling fast, place your order now to avoid disappointment. The rest of the summer maybe as hot as this week and you will want to be protected
There are simply the best protection from the sun because they cover your back and neck which are often susceptible to sun burn
Jane the Lady Toast Master had this to say about our hats last year I saw Ida the other day at a business forum and couldn't decide between two hats, so I bought them both - read the rest at her blog http://www.personal-equilibrium.co.uk/news.asp?id=44
The hats come in a variety of colours and here are some of them
At Royal Ascot
At this year's BBC Gardener's World live these hats stole the show as you can see there was a queu of people wanting to try them on and were our best sellers
The hats are selling fast, place your order now to avoid disappointment. The rest of the summer maybe as hot as this week and you will want to be protected
Friday 26 June 2009
Thursday 25 June 2009
Taking another woman's husband to meet my mother
Ah well! This was truly interesting. Having completed the search for Ethical coffee mother dearest invited Tony for Sunday lunch.
Mother was nervous as she wasn't sure what to cook and I reassured her that Tony appears to eat anything.
Tony was nervous too, and asked a lot of questions, like what shall I wear, what shall I take your Mum, should I wear a jacket and before we got through the gate he asked if I was sure he was dressed appropriately for meeting your mother!
I reasure him that he had absolutely nothing to worry about, luckily he saw the funny side to his nervousness:-)
Sunday lunch has always been a big deal at home but the stakes appeared to have been raised on this occasion, in fact I can't remember whether mother got into such a fuss when I took Nigel to meet her for the first time.
It was a nice sunny afternoon and lunch was served in the garden. I got the chance to catch up with my cousins whom I had not seen for a while and Tony appeared to be having fun too and true to form he ate whatever was put infront of him. He got into a long discussion with one of my cousins and didn't appear to want to live!
Sadly we had two government officials to meet so we hit the road again. The last person we saw was the Managing Director of the Uganda Coffee Agency. We put our findings to him and asked him a few uneasy questions.
To be fair to him he answered our questions as honestly as he could and admitted that he was aware there were shortfalls in the system before asking us if we could help resolve them!
Having seen the state of some of the factories, this would be a tall order we said. We assured him that on the one hand what was required to turn things around was a simple case of hygiene and bean handling and on the other hand requires a complete overhaul of the factories.
We agreed to write a report with our recommendations upon our return to the UK and to explore ways in which we could help.
We hit the Road to Lake victoria with Fred who curently lives in Uganda until further notice. I don't know what it is but I absolutely love this place and a trip to Uganda is never quite completed until I have been to Munyonyo.
Mother was nervous as she wasn't sure what to cook and I reassured her that Tony appears to eat anything.
Tony was nervous too, and asked a lot of questions, like what shall I wear, what shall I take your Mum, should I wear a jacket and before we got through the gate he asked if I was sure he was dressed appropriately for meeting your mother!
I reasure him that he had absolutely nothing to worry about, luckily he saw the funny side to his nervousness:-)
Sunday lunch has always been a big deal at home but the stakes appeared to have been raised on this occasion, in fact I can't remember whether mother got into such a fuss when I took Nigel to meet her for the first time.
It was a nice sunny afternoon and lunch was served in the garden. I got the chance to catch up with my cousins whom I had not seen for a while and Tony appeared to be having fun too and true to form he ate whatever was put infront of him. He got into a long discussion with one of my cousins and didn't appear to want to live!
Sadly we had two government officials to meet so we hit the road again. The last person we saw was the Managing Director of the Uganda Coffee Agency. We put our findings to him and asked him a few uneasy questions.
To be fair to him he answered our questions as honestly as he could and admitted that he was aware there were shortfalls in the system before asking us if we could help resolve them!
Having seen the state of some of the factories, this would be a tall order we said. We assured him that on the one hand what was required to turn things around was a simple case of hygiene and bean handling and on the other hand requires a complete overhaul of the factories.
We agreed to write a report with our recommendations upon our return to the UK and to explore ways in which we could help.
We hit the Road to Lake victoria with Fred who curently lives in Uganda until further notice. I don't know what it is but I absolutely love this place and a trip to Uganda is never quite completed until I have been to Munyonyo.
Friday 19 June 2009
In search of ethical coffee- Are we there yet?
On the way back from Eastern Uganda we made a detour to a tea plantation. this was really interesting for me as I went to the Secondary School on the adjacent hill and we used to come jogging through the tea plantation every afternoon by way of practice.
Tony had never seen a tea plantation it was therefore a real treat for him. Our guide told us that the tea plantation was now owned by a Ugandan Asian. It was late afternoon and the tea pickers were out, we observed that there was a health centre and a school, within the grounds although the housing seemed a bit tired and slum like
We spent the following day on a coffee farm in a place called Bugerere, this was an upmarket set up with certification from UTZ
and later that afternoon we caught up with the Quality and Regulatory Manager at the Uganda Coffee Development Agency and he is pictured here with Tony
On Saturday we hit the road to western Ugandan and 6 hours later we were at Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Union. We were met by their Executive Secretary John Nuwagaba who run through the history of their co-op. He told us that the coop was fair trade certified and was part of Cafe Direct, where they currently hold 5% shares and are hoping to increasing these in the coming year.
Tony is pictured here left to right here Hassan our guide, the chairman of the Coop , John Nuwagaba
We were then told that the farms and factories were 16 KM off road so we headed in that direction and this is what we found
Something that we found puzzling was that co-op secretary informed us that they were working towards organic coffee production and had applied for and granted funding from Rabo bank in the Netherlands to pay a consultant Alan Tulip to teach them organic farming methods.
This co-op didn't look like it could afford artificial or chemical fertilizers of any sort and were already growing their coffee without chemicals! Why did they need to put the much needed funding into something they had no need for?
Please take a look at the state of their facilities below and you may well agree with me
Coffee bags inside the coffee factory were stored on bare ground as opposed to a raised platform to allow for ventilation
coffee beans on the floor, it was unclear whether these were discarded or awaiting packaging
and this what the exterior of the coffee factory looks like.
We found this visit really distressing, specifically because two high profile UK based organisations are involved in this factory/cooperative
Whilst writing this blog this article came out in The Times today.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/article6531246.ece
May I suggest to Cafe Direct that they should first and foremost aim to improve the conditions of the growers that are affiliated to their programmes. In addition they should seek to have Value Added to the coffee at the point of production.
That would be a much better proposition for the famers, the countries where the coffee is grown would collect more by way of revenue. Taking raw products and returning them as finished products for the farmers and local to consume is a tad patronising I think.
We found and brought back coffee produced and packaged in Eastern Uganda and it we have enjoyed it very much. Ultimately this what the growers want
Tony had never seen a tea plantation it was therefore a real treat for him. Our guide told us that the tea plantation was now owned by a Ugandan Asian. It was late afternoon and the tea pickers were out, we observed that there was a health centre and a school, within the grounds although the housing seemed a bit tired and slum like
We spent the following day on a coffee farm in a place called Bugerere, this was an upmarket set up with certification from UTZ
and later that afternoon we caught up with the Quality and Regulatory Manager at the Uganda Coffee Development Agency and he is pictured here with Tony
On Saturday we hit the road to western Ugandan and 6 hours later we were at Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Union. We were met by their Executive Secretary John Nuwagaba who run through the history of their co-op. He told us that the coop was fair trade certified and was part of Cafe Direct, where they currently hold 5% shares and are hoping to increasing these in the coming year.
Tony is pictured here left to right here Hassan our guide, the chairman of the Coop , John Nuwagaba
We were then told that the farms and factories were 16 KM off road so we headed in that direction and this is what we found
Something that we found puzzling was that co-op secretary informed us that they were working towards organic coffee production and had applied for and granted funding from Rabo bank in the Netherlands to pay a consultant Alan Tulip to teach them organic farming methods.
This co-op didn't look like it could afford artificial or chemical fertilizers of any sort and were already growing their coffee without chemicals! Why did they need to put the much needed funding into something they had no need for?
Please take a look at the state of their facilities below and you may well agree with me
Coffee bags inside the coffee factory were stored on bare ground as opposed to a raised platform to allow for ventilation
coffee beans on the floor, it was unclear whether these were discarded or awaiting packaging
and this what the exterior of the coffee factory looks like.
We found this visit really distressing, specifically because two high profile UK based organisations are involved in this factory/cooperative
Whilst writing this blog this article came out in The Times today.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/article6531246.ece
May I suggest to Cafe Direct that they should first and foremost aim to improve the conditions of the growers that are affiliated to their programmes. In addition they should seek to have Value Added to the coffee at the point of production.
That would be a much better proposition for the famers, the countries where the coffee is grown would collect more by way of revenue. Taking raw products and returning them as finished products for the farmers and local to consume is a tad patronising I think.
We found and brought back coffee produced and packaged in Eastern Uganda and it we have enjoyed it very much. Ultimately this what the growers want
Monday 1 June 2009
In search of ethical coffee: Day 1
On 12 May 2009 Tony and I hit the road to Uganda on what became known as the UGANDA COFFEE TRAIL.
Tony at The source of River Nile uganda
Tony had never been to Africa, his parents are from Ravello on the Amalfi cost in Italy but he grew up in London
Amalfi Coast Italy
Nigel and I love that part of Italy and have had a few holidays there but had never met anyone from there
7.5 hours later on a BA filgt and were in Uganda . the best part of this is the landing over lake victoria one the largest in land lakes.
We were met by Ethnic Supplies Staff and having sorted out the itinerary we headed East to a town called Mbale. On the we stopped off at the source of the River Nile
Source of the river Nile Uganda
This is the home of Bugisu Arabica coffee; where we visited the Bugisu Cooperative Union.
This is what is called a Secondary cooperative because it buys coffee from primary societies as well as farmers, it has processing, grading and roasting facilities.
The facilities have great capacity but have fallen on bad times, meaning that the equipment is old, the facility is not as clean as it should be, part of the facility has been closed, reducing capacity. Poor business and investment decisions were made leading to near bankruptcy until the government bailed them out.
The director was understandably nervous about our intentions. He would however welcome some form of partnership working. He hopes that the Union can return to its former glory and be in a position to export a fully processed product from here. I hope so too for his sake!
We also visited the Mbale Importers and exporters- Under the leadership of Stephen M Wekomba they describe themselves as coffee exporters and processors. There was not much to learn from this group and on the day we arrived we observed women sorting coffee beans by hand
women sorting coffee beans
Hassan (our guide) Stephen and Tony
children at Mmbale exporters
After this stop we headed further east to a village called Sipi and spent the night at Sipi River Lodge
a home from home.
This place is located on the foot hills of Mt elgon and the weather is changeable from hour to hour. When we arrived it was sunny half an hour alter, it rained so heavily we couldn't believe it!
sipi river falls, view from my bedroom window
cottage at Sipi River Lodge
Tony at The source of River Nile uganda
Tony had never been to Africa, his parents are from Ravello on the Amalfi cost in Italy but he grew up in London
Amalfi Coast Italy
Nigel and I love that part of Italy and have had a few holidays there but had never met anyone from there
7.5 hours later on a BA filgt and were in Uganda . the best part of this is the landing over lake victoria one the largest in land lakes.
We were met by Ethnic Supplies Staff and having sorted out the itinerary we headed East to a town called Mbale. On the we stopped off at the source of the River Nile
Source of the river Nile Uganda
This is the home of Bugisu Arabica coffee; where we visited the Bugisu Cooperative Union.
This is what is called a Secondary cooperative because it buys coffee from primary societies as well as farmers, it has processing, grading and roasting facilities.
The facilities have great capacity but have fallen on bad times, meaning that the equipment is old, the facility is not as clean as it should be, part of the facility has been closed, reducing capacity. Poor business and investment decisions were made leading to near bankruptcy until the government bailed them out.
The director was understandably nervous about our intentions. He would however welcome some form of partnership working. He hopes that the Union can return to its former glory and be in a position to export a fully processed product from here. I hope so too for his sake!
We also visited the Mbale Importers and exporters- Under the leadership of Stephen M Wekomba they describe themselves as coffee exporters and processors. There was not much to learn from this group and on the day we arrived we observed women sorting coffee beans by hand
women sorting coffee beans
Hassan (our guide) Stephen and Tony
children at Mmbale exporters
After this stop we headed further east to a village called Sipi and spent the night at Sipi River Lodge
a home from home.
This place is located on the foot hills of Mt elgon and the weather is changeable from hour to hour. When we arrived it was sunny half an hour alter, it rained so heavily we couldn't believe it!
sipi river falls, view from my bedroom window
cottage at Sipi River Lodge
Saturday 30 May 2009
In search of Ethical Coffee- Uganda
The search for ethical coffee begun in earnest on 31 March 2009, at the Headquarters of OTTIMO Cafe in Tottenham North London.
There were two sides in the "pot" so to say. The charity Let Them Help Themselves out of Poverty and OTTIMO
The charity works on various community projects in Uganda and relies heavily on the generosity of friends and volunteers, however this is not sustainable especially in the current economic environment.
On the other hand OTTIMO wanted to improve its Corporate Social Responsibility and had been frustrated with the existing models of helping African farmers.
It was therefore agreed that Charity would sell its expertise of working with communities in Uganda in particular to OTTIMO and that OTTIMO would share some of their profits with the charity to enable it to continue its work in Uganda, with specific emphasis on communities in the coffee growing regions
The next step was to travel to Uganda. It was agreed early on that this was a necessary step in the discussions. It would help us understand how the coffee industry in Uganda operates, enable us to meet the growers and establish a working relationship with them, as well as get a clear understanding on doing business in Uganda.
So it was that on 12 May we hit the road to Uganda in search of ethical coffee. In next blog I will write about the coffee trail, and post some photos from the trip
There were two sides in the "pot" so to say. The charity Let Them Help Themselves out of Poverty and OTTIMO
The charity works on various community projects in Uganda and relies heavily on the generosity of friends and volunteers, however this is not sustainable especially in the current economic environment.
On the other hand OTTIMO wanted to improve its Corporate Social Responsibility and had been frustrated with the existing models of helping African farmers.
It was therefore agreed that Charity would sell its expertise of working with communities in Uganda in particular to OTTIMO and that OTTIMO would share some of their profits with the charity to enable it to continue its work in Uganda, with specific emphasis on communities in the coffee growing regions
The next step was to travel to Uganda. It was agreed early on that this was a necessary step in the discussions. It would help us understand how the coffee industry in Uganda operates, enable us to meet the growers and establish a working relationship with them, as well as get a clear understanding on doing business in Uganda.
So it was that on 12 May we hit the road to Uganda in search of ethical coffee. In next blog I will write about the coffee trail, and post some photos from the trip
Tuesday 26 May 2009
Being in the wrong place at the right time or is it? part 3
I am glad I followed through my promise to send Adam and Tony Ugandan. Adam promptly got in touch and started asking a lot of questions about how I had come by this tea and how easy was it to get hold of other stuff from Uganda.
All this was by email being a curious so and so, I picked up the phone and asked why Adam wanted to know all this sort of information. It was at this point that he opened up to me. Like me he had Tony had turned up in Leicester and later in London with a view to meeting some Ugandan Asians. They wanted to start trading ethically and were already in talks with a company owned by a Uganda Asian whom they believed would help them “change” their ways however for some unknown reasons the person they had been in talks with stopped retuning their calls or emails and appeared to have dropped off the face of the earth.
They therefore wondered if I could help them through my contacts in Uganda and other African countries. This was late November 2008. I got as much information for them as I possibly could and I was suddenly hit by a feeling of “I am being used” I told them I would not provide further information from that point unless they were willing to pay for it as it was costing me money and time to find it.
They told me they didn’t have the sort of money I was asking and therefore were walking away. Something in me told me to look a little closer at this, so I asked them more questions about their intentions and with this information we were able to bring people that we each know from different walks of life and we had 3 hour meeting talking through the pros and cons of the idea.. the search for Ethical coffee had begun..
All this was by email being a curious so and so, I picked up the phone and asked why Adam wanted to know all this sort of information. It was at this point that he opened up to me. Like me he had Tony had turned up in Leicester and later in London with a view to meeting some Ugandan Asians. They wanted to start trading ethically and were already in talks with a company owned by a Uganda Asian whom they believed would help them “change” their ways however for some unknown reasons the person they had been in talks with stopped retuning their calls or emails and appeared to have dropped off the face of the earth.
They therefore wondered if I could help them through my contacts in Uganda and other African countries. This was late November 2008. I got as much information for them as I possibly could and I was suddenly hit by a feeling of “I am being used” I told them I would not provide further information from that point unless they were willing to pay for it as it was costing me money and time to find it.
They told me they didn’t have the sort of money I was asking and therefore were walking away. Something in me told me to look a little closer at this, so I asked them more questions about their intentions and with this information we were able to bring people that we each know from different walks of life and we had 3 hour meeting talking through the pros and cons of the idea.. the search for Ethical coffee had begun..
Monday 25 May 2009
Being in the wrong place at the right time or is it? part 2
The visit to Leicester was interesting in many ways than one. First I got to meet the Ugandan Asians, most of them had been children when Idi Amin expelled the Asians from Uganda. Through the various conversations I learned that for most Uganda will always be home and indeed some were in the process of relocating there
During the question and answer session I was given the opportunity to discuss my work in SW Uganda. This was more than I had expected mainly because Uganda’s First lady is the MP for the district where my project is located and up until now I had not had the opportunity to speak to her about the project but here I was addressing both her and the President.
I also learned about an upcoming launch of a new network called UK Uganda Business and Professionals Association the following month. This meeting attracted most of the folk that were in Leicester as well those looking for investment opportunities in Uganda.
During a networking session I had a conversation with two chaps Tony and Adam who introduced themselves as coffee roasters from North London. I cheekily asked them whether they knew much about Ugandan tea and they challenged me to find them fine Uganda tea by way of shutting me up and I agreed!
One of the things I learned early on about networking is that the “fortune is in following up”. I asked my mother to send me some fine Ugandan tea via a friend who was in Uganda and when it arrived I sent it off to Tony and Adam.
Be back tomorrow with what happened next!
During the question and answer session I was given the opportunity to discuss my work in SW Uganda. This was more than I had expected mainly because Uganda’s First lady is the MP for the district where my project is located and up until now I had not had the opportunity to speak to her about the project but here I was addressing both her and the President.
I also learned about an upcoming launch of a new network called UK Uganda Business and Professionals Association the following month. This meeting attracted most of the folk that were in Leicester as well those looking for investment opportunities in Uganda.
During a networking session I had a conversation with two chaps Tony and Adam who introduced themselves as coffee roasters from North London. I cheekily asked them whether they knew much about Ugandan tea and they challenged me to find them fine Uganda tea by way of shutting me up and I agreed!
One of the things I learned early on about networking is that the “fortune is in following up”. I asked my mother to send me some fine Ugandan tea via a friend who was in Uganda and when it arrived I sent it off to Tony and Adam.
Be back tomorrow with what happened next!
Sunday 24 May 2009
Being in the wrong place at the right time or is it?
Back in 2007 I decided to go into a new direction that saw me set up Ethnic Supplies a social enterprise. As a civil servant I had no idea where to start and a quick search on the internet lead me to my local business link in Woking.
I was put through a programme lasting 10 weeks where I learned about marketing, sales, accounting, PR, website etc.
The programme ended with an invitation to a Business exhibition by Business link where I got to attend various workshops. Back then I had a real fear of anything techy and as I selected which of the workshops I should attend I made a mental note to avoid any workshops dealing with IT.
Looking back this doesn’t make sense at all as those are the very workshops I should have attended so I could learn. By a bizarre twist of luck that is exactly what happened.
Whilst searching for a workshop on marketing I ended up in the wrong room where the workshop was ICT related. I got in just in time to hear the facilitator say “Google loves Ecademy and Craig’s list” and he went on to ask who in the audience was signed up to either.
I realised I was in the wrong room and left but made a mental note to look up those two “things” (didn’t know what they were back then) when I got home. I did and signed up to both.
I found Ecademy in particular interesting. I connected with people easily, and one of those was Charles Okwalinga a Ugandan man who owns an African restaurant in Hackney East London. I had eaten at this restaurant but I had never met him.
He suggested that I drop in next time I happened to be in London and I did and I met Fred his friend. Fred is also Ugandan. We got into a long discussion on various issues including Ethnic Supplies. Fred asked me to stay in touch as he felt there ways he could get involved in Ethnic supplies.
Fast forward to 2008 and I am thrown into fundraising to bring clean water into a remote Ugandan village.
Whilst organising the event, one of our aim was to reach people with ties to Uganda. I therefore got in touch with Fred and asked if he knew any Uganda Asians and how I could reach them He told me he would send me some details on this and if I was free on 20 Sept 2008 he would get me an invitation to go and meet them in person. For you see the Ugandan President was travelling to Leicester to meet the Ugandan Asians that were thrown out the country by Idi Amin
I couldn't believe my luck! check back tommorrow for what happened next!
I was put through a programme lasting 10 weeks where I learned about marketing, sales, accounting, PR, website etc.
The programme ended with an invitation to a Business exhibition by Business link where I got to attend various workshops. Back then I had a real fear of anything techy and as I selected which of the workshops I should attend I made a mental note to avoid any workshops dealing with IT.
Looking back this doesn’t make sense at all as those are the very workshops I should have attended so I could learn. By a bizarre twist of luck that is exactly what happened.
Whilst searching for a workshop on marketing I ended up in the wrong room where the workshop was ICT related. I got in just in time to hear the facilitator say “Google loves Ecademy and Craig’s list” and he went on to ask who in the audience was signed up to either.
I realised I was in the wrong room and left but made a mental note to look up those two “things” (didn’t know what they were back then) when I got home. I did and signed up to both.
I found Ecademy in particular interesting. I connected with people easily, and one of those was Charles Okwalinga a Ugandan man who owns an African restaurant in Hackney East London. I had eaten at this restaurant but I had never met him.
He suggested that I drop in next time I happened to be in London and I did and I met Fred his friend. Fred is also Ugandan. We got into a long discussion on various issues including Ethnic Supplies. Fred asked me to stay in touch as he felt there ways he could get involved in Ethnic supplies.
Fast forward to 2008 and I am thrown into fundraising to bring clean water into a remote Ugandan village.
Whilst organising the event, one of our aim was to reach people with ties to Uganda. I therefore got in touch with Fred and asked if he knew any Uganda Asians and how I could reach them He told me he would send me some details on this and if I was free on 20 Sept 2008 he would get me an invitation to go and meet them in person. For you see the Ugandan President was travelling to Leicester to meet the Ugandan Asians that were thrown out the country by Idi Amin
I couldn't believe my luck! check back tommorrow for what happened next!
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Ethnic Supplies at BBC Gardner's World Live
It is 6 weeks away and we at Ethnic Supplies are very excited to have been intivited to participate in the BBC Gardener's World Live
Our Stand has been changed and here is where we will be located
We hope you will pop in to say hello:-)
Our Stand has been changed and here is where we will be located
We hope you will pop in to say hello:-)
Monday 27 April 2009
Africa Gathering- IT and international development
A chance encounter on Twitter with the folk at Africa Gathering lead to an invitation to be a guest speaker at their event at the London University last Saturday 25 April 2009.
The event billed as day of thinkers, doers, supporters and Geeks was unique and a first of it's kind. It focused on how ICT can be used to aid development and in the developing world and the ingenuity of African people.
I was one of the seminar leaders and was invited to speak about running a successful e-commerce and up until I delivered the seminar I was not aware of how much I relied on online forums to run Ethnic supplies.
The one thing that stood out for me at this event was what whilst most seminars and conferences that I have been to focus on theory, this day focused on what has and can be achieved through ICT using real life examples.
The conference brought Africa to those that are removed from it and exposed the myth that Africans are waiting for handout
I am already looking forward to the next event and I am really encouraged that one of the events will be held in Africa
The event billed as day of thinkers, doers, supporters and Geeks was unique and a first of it's kind. It focused on how ICT can be used to aid development and in the developing world and the ingenuity of African people.
I was one of the seminar leaders and was invited to speak about running a successful e-commerce and up until I delivered the seminar I was not aware of how much I relied on online forums to run Ethnic supplies.
The one thing that stood out for me at this event was what whilst most seminars and conferences that I have been to focus on theory, this day focused on what has and can be achieved through ICT using real life examples.
The conference brought Africa to those that are removed from it and exposed the myth that Africans are waiting for handout
I am already looking forward to the next event and I am really encouraged that one of the events will be held in Africa
Wednesday 15 April 2009
Wednesday 8 April 2009
Saturday 7 March 2009
Help your mother help African Mothers on Mothers day
Mothering Sunday is almost here and I have a very specific request of you, Please help African mothers.
African mothers are still marginalized, excluded from formal employment but retain the responsibilities of ensuring that the family is fed and clothed. They are however not sitting at home, waiting for handouts. They have created some amazing fashion accessories, handicrafts and fashionable clothes, you could help them by buying these things. This would enable them to feed and send their children to school. This is a Win Win Win situation as you too will get a beautifully handcrafted gift for your dear mother who will be proud to have a son/daughter who cares for those less fortunate than she is!
Let me introduce you to Bianca a mother from Weybridge Surrey, doesn't she look beautiful in these clothes and accessories. Bainca is wearing a had that has been handmade by women in the Madagascan slums. The hat is handcrafted from Raffia.
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/listing.asp?Category_ID=2
The basket that Bianca is carrying is handcrafted in SW Uganda. It is made from Papyrus and its colour is achieved by a mixture of tea and coffee
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?Product_ID=331
Bianca's top and shorts are handmade by Mrs Mrema of Hand products of Tanzania, doesn't she look beautiful in it. With summer around the corner Iam sure your mother would appreciate this very much
Please note the Sandals that Bianca is wearing, these are handcrafted by Julia a masaai woman in Tanzania
Here is a selection of our handmade cotton bags. They are handmade by Marvelous Batik of Tanzania, this group work with women from the slums Dar es Salaam
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/listing.asp?Category_ID=14
If you are looking for more inspiration on how to wear our ethical Fashion accessories please follow this link http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/thing?id=5049591
Please note that Bianca's top and shorts are not on our website and if you are interested in getting hold of a apri for your dear Mother please drop us an email with her size.
Happy Mother's day and we look forward to hearing from you
Our shop is at wwww.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop
African mothers are still marginalized, excluded from formal employment but retain the responsibilities of ensuring that the family is fed and clothed. They are however not sitting at home, waiting for handouts. They have created some amazing fashion accessories, handicrafts and fashionable clothes, you could help them by buying these things. This would enable them to feed and send their children to school. This is a Win Win Win situation as you too will get a beautifully handcrafted gift for your dear mother who will be proud to have a son/daughter who cares for those less fortunate than she is!
Let me introduce you to Bianca a mother from Weybridge Surrey, doesn't she look beautiful in these clothes and accessories. Bainca is wearing a had that has been handmade by women in the Madagascan slums. The hat is handcrafted from Raffia.
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/listing.asp?Category_ID=2
The basket that Bianca is carrying is handcrafted in SW Uganda. It is made from Papyrus and its colour is achieved by a mixture of tea and coffee
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?Product_ID=331
Bianca's top and shorts are handmade by Mrs Mrema of Hand products of Tanzania, doesn't she look beautiful in it. With summer around the corner Iam sure your mother would appreciate this very much
Please note the Sandals that Bianca is wearing, these are handcrafted by Julia a masaai woman in Tanzania
Here is a selection of our handmade cotton bags. They are handmade by Marvelous Batik of Tanzania, this group work with women from the slums Dar es Salaam
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/listing.asp?Category_ID=14
If you are looking for more inspiration on how to wear our ethical Fashion accessories please follow this link http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/thing?id=5049591
Please note that Bianca's top and shorts are not on our website and if you are interested in getting hold of a apri for your dear Mother please drop us an email with her size.
Happy Mother's day and we look forward to hearing from you
Our shop is at wwww.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop
Monday 2 March 2009
Voices of FairTrade Part2- views from a Palestinian Olive Farmer
As part of Fairtrade week, I was invited to address folk at the Reigate fairtrade group in Surrey. I was one of the two speakers and the reason we were invited was to give real life examples of where trade has helped folk in the developing world out of poverty.
The other speaker was Mahmoud Issa a fairtrade olive farmer from Palestine.Read more about him at this link
http://www.co-operative.coop/en/membership/news/Ground-breaking-move-to-stock-Fairtrade-Palestinian-olive-oil/
It was interesting to listen to Mahmoud as he raised issues that I had discussed with folk on my other blog http://ethnicsupplies.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/how-much-do-folk-in-the-western-world-know-about-fairtrade/
Mahmoud, talked about the challenges that they have had to go through to get their olive oil accepted in The co-operative a UK supermarket, some of these were part of the course you would say such as ensuring that the product is safe, is acceptable to our pallets, this would give it a head start and sustainability in the market.
One of these issues is of compensation. Mahmoud noted that one of the challenges they face in Palestine is the wall that divides Palestine and Israel. This has had the effect that sometimes, only two members of the family can be let through to go and work on the farms on the other side of the wall, sometimes too folk get stranded on the other side of the wall and can't get back for hours until it is time for the wall to be opened.
He mentioned a farm that has lost a big chunk of its farm land to the "wall", this has meant that this land is not available for agriculture. He further sited a man that fell and broke his leg whilst harvesting olives, and because he fell on the wrong side of the wall medical care was not immediately available to him. Faced with such challenges it is no wonder that it has taken them 3 years to perfect their Olive oil he continued.
Mahmoud went on to say that the ideal for him and fellow farmers would be to be able to press their own oil and perhaps now that they have access to the UK market this was achievable. One of the other challenges was lack of storage/preservation methods, which means that the farmers ended up selling their olive very cheaply to neighbouring countries who in turn label it as their own and consequently it loses it's identity.
The issues raised by Mahmoud are incidentally not unique to Palestine and in fact go some way in validating my question as HOW MUCH FOLK IN WEST KNOW ABOUT FAIRTRADE. How do you compensate someone for a broken leg whilst picking Olives?
The other is one of value addition and I think Mahmoud articulated this very well. If the Palestine farmers are able to press their own Olive oil this is bound to increase their income more so than exporting the raw product.
If you use Oilve oil as part of your diet/cooking may I threfore urge you to seek out this particular brand. I am mindful that times are hard for us all and I would like to think that through my blogs I have helped to shed light as to why fairtrade prodcuts may cost a bit more than other varieties.
Please feel free to share your views with me on this matter
The other speaker was Mahmoud Issa a fairtrade olive farmer from Palestine.Read more about him at this link
http://www.co-operative.coop/en/membership/news/Ground-breaking-move-to-stock-Fairtrade-Palestinian-olive-oil/
It was interesting to listen to Mahmoud as he raised issues that I had discussed with folk on my other blog http://ethnicsupplies.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/how-much-do-folk-in-the-western-world-know-about-fairtrade/
Mahmoud, talked about the challenges that they have had to go through to get their olive oil accepted in The co-operative a UK supermarket, some of these were part of the course you would say such as ensuring that the product is safe, is acceptable to our pallets, this would give it a head start and sustainability in the market.
One of these issues is of compensation. Mahmoud noted that one of the challenges they face in Palestine is the wall that divides Palestine and Israel. This has had the effect that sometimes, only two members of the family can be let through to go and work on the farms on the other side of the wall, sometimes too folk get stranded on the other side of the wall and can't get back for hours until it is time for the wall to be opened.
He mentioned a farm that has lost a big chunk of its farm land to the "wall", this has meant that this land is not available for agriculture. He further sited a man that fell and broke his leg whilst harvesting olives, and because he fell on the wrong side of the wall medical care was not immediately available to him. Faced with such challenges it is no wonder that it has taken them 3 years to perfect their Olive oil he continued.
Mahmoud went on to say that the ideal for him and fellow farmers would be to be able to press their own oil and perhaps now that they have access to the UK market this was achievable. One of the other challenges was lack of storage/preservation methods, which means that the farmers ended up selling their olive very cheaply to neighbouring countries who in turn label it as their own and consequently it loses it's identity.
The issues raised by Mahmoud are incidentally not unique to Palestine and in fact go some way in validating my question as HOW MUCH FOLK IN WEST KNOW ABOUT FAIRTRADE. How do you compensate someone for a broken leg whilst picking Olives?
The other is one of value addition and I think Mahmoud articulated this very well. If the Palestine farmers are able to press their own Olive oil this is bound to increase their income more so than exporting the raw product.
If you use Oilve oil as part of your diet/cooking may I threfore urge you to seek out this particular brand. I am mindful that times are hard for us all and I would like to think that through my blogs I have helped to shed light as to why fairtrade prodcuts may cost a bit more than other varieties.
Please feel free to share your views with me on this matter
Sunday 22 February 2009
Bringing hope back after the 1994 Rwanda genocide
Rebuilding the nation of Rwanda was never going to be easy following the atrocities of 1994, especially the economy of that wonderful nation. Women were especially vulnerable due to their lack of property specifically agricultural land.
The nation had to find away to heal itself in order to move forward and for women this literary involved weaving their way towards a secure future. Women all over Rwanda set up weaving circles and began weaving the Agaseke
The Agaseke, is a traditional skillfully designed Rwandan basket woven using sisal, grasses and raffia. Customarily woven by women, the Agaseke basket represents a historic account and is renowned for its impressive quality and associated cultural traditions.
It takes several days for weavers to make each basket and the process is often meticulous and requires invariable attention to detail. It is an exciting venture for many of Rwanda’s women, a time-honored art that can now be used for economic empowerment as they continue to weave for a secure future for themselves and their families.
One of these women's weaving circles is called the AGESEKE Promotion Project and is made up of 3800 women from in and around the capital city Kigali. The project provides training skills to impoverished African women to work their way out of poverty, these skills include, weaving, family planning, literacy and business skills
To date the group produces a range of functional handicrafts that can be applied to a modern context including Earrings, necklaces, bangles, jewellery, table runners, table mats, fruit baskets to mention but a few.
Ethnic Supplies is proud to be able to bring these products to an international audience
The Ageseke basket order yours today from
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/listing.asp?Category_ID=17
handmade silver striling earings
fruit basket
The nation had to find away to heal itself in order to move forward and for women this literary involved weaving their way towards a secure future. Women all over Rwanda set up weaving circles and began weaving the Agaseke
The Agaseke, is a traditional skillfully designed Rwandan basket woven using sisal, grasses and raffia. Customarily woven by women, the Agaseke basket represents a historic account and is renowned for its impressive quality and associated cultural traditions.
It takes several days for weavers to make each basket and the process is often meticulous and requires invariable attention to detail. It is an exciting venture for many of Rwanda’s women, a time-honored art that can now be used for economic empowerment as they continue to weave for a secure future for themselves and their families.
One of these women's weaving circles is called the AGESEKE Promotion Project and is made up of 3800 women from in and around the capital city Kigali. The project provides training skills to impoverished African women to work their way out of poverty, these skills include, weaving, family planning, literacy and business skills
To date the group produces a range of functional handicrafts that can be applied to a modern context including Earrings, necklaces, bangles, jewellery, table runners, table mats, fruit baskets to mention but a few.
Ethnic Supplies is proud to be able to bring these products to an international audience
The Ageseke basket order yours today from
http://www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk/shop/listing.asp?Category_ID=17
handmade silver striling earings
fruit basket
Tuesday 17 February 2009
Sunday 8 February 2009
Thursday 5 February 2009
An ethical present for your Valentine?
I guess by now most folk are contemplating what sort of gift to buy their loved ones for Valentine's Day.We have a range of handmade and ethical fashion accessories for all. Please vsiit our website www.ethnicsupplies.co.uk
By buying our products you will not only show your loved that you care but that you care about those that are less fortunate than you are. This creates a WIN, WIN situation for all.
I would also like to tell you about what you purchase means to the women in Africa or the financial implications for them, so here are some statics,
8p feeds a child a day
£10 pays for a teacher for a whole month
£250- keeps a young girl/man in secondary school for a year
£250- will keep a nusery school of 30 children open for 6 months
£30 pays for a community nurse for a whole month
£5 pays for a mosquito net to prevent malaria
We are looking forward to your your support and just for Valentines postage is free (will be refunded)
bread basket from Uganda
Wednesday 4 February 2009
Tuesday 27 January 2009
Fair Trade Week
The idea behind Fair Trade as far as I understand is to ensure that farmers in the developing world get a fair price for their produce.
But my question today is who decides what is included on the list and what isn't?
For instance in November 2007 I attended an event and happened to sit next to a guy from the Fair Trade organisation. I asked him how the female producers at Ethnic supplies could go about registering with Fair Trade. He looked me in the eye and told me that Textile and handicrafts are not included.
I asked him why and did he realise that he was possibly excluding two thirds of the world’s population from the opportunity of earning a fair wage for their hard work?
This is a figure I plucked out of the air and has no basis in fact per se, but I just wanted to make a point which was that if that is how Fair Trade operates then surely it is an unfair system?
Something else that troubles me is the fact that something like coffee leaves the developing world as a raw material and at that stage it is not worth a lot. The coffee houses in the west process it and add value, and charge whatever they like.
Is that fair or ethical even? How do governments in the developing worlds generate tax, if the real value of something like coffee is not realised until it hits the coffee houses?
I am by no means an expert at these things and I am merely raising them to generate discussion and debate.
Would a system that allowed value addition at base be a much better system for all? It works well here at Ethnic Supplies. Our ladies take whatever they can find useless grasses etc and turn them into these beautiful and useful items
this basket for instance is made from papyrus and raffia, the colour is achieved form dyes found in the root plants I am not aware that any of those raw materials being traded as commodities. However a finished basket like this enables a woman to send her child to school, pay for health care and could be the difference between the family going hungry or not. It makes an excellent bread basket and or bathroom tidy
This table runner is produced from combining raffia and cotton and the colours are from roots of plants. What is exciting about suing cotton in this way is that cotton farmers in Africa in particular were hit with an increase in second hand clothes that are donated by well wishers in the west but end up in markets being sold for very little, not to mention the subsidies that are given to cotton farmers in the US
Thursday 15 January 2009
Extreme poverty would continue to hit sub-Saharan Africa out of 80 countries for another 200 years
I sincerely hope not but according to the the Africa News Journal a newly published report from Social Watch.
What has worried us here at Ethnic Supplies are the implications for women and children, further more that even thsoe countries that had made real progress in terms of getting the general population out of poverty are at a stand still.
The million dollar question is how can this be avoided? How can a continent that is rich in diamonds, Oil etc be facing this prospect?
Waht are your views?
What has worried us here at Ethnic Supplies are the implications for women and children, further more that even thsoe countries that had made real progress in terms of getting the general population out of poverty are at a stand still.
The million dollar question is how can this be avoided? How can a continent that is rich in diamonds, Oil etc be facing this prospect?
Waht are your views?
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Primark without the Ethical Tag
I watched the news about Primark on BBC news at 10:00 with interest. You can follow the rest of the story here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7824291.stm
I am not surprised that Primark finds itself in this situation. As someone that works alongside textile and handicraft producers in the developing world I can safely say that there is now way a company can churn out that amount /number of garments without someone somewhere being exploited.
In order to comply or call yourself an ethical provider you have to "police" your suppliers to ensure that they subscribe to your ethical agenda. Here at Ethnic Supplies LTD we do not work with anyone we have not met and even when our producers are required to prove that the work is there own. We inspect their workshops annually to ensure that for instance child labour is not used.
Flotea owner and founder of Marvelous batiks, our Textile producers in Tanzania
Marvelous Batiks workshop in Dar-es Salam
I remember in our first year of trading we met a woman in a handicraft market in Kampala Uganda. We bought a couple of jute bags from her that we thought looked really nice and very well made. She informed us that she was a partner of a Kikuyu woman based in Nairobi Kenya.
The bags were very well made and we had a feeling our customers would love them. We sent a sample to our contact in Nairobi and asked her to help us find the kikuyu woman who apparently made these bags before we could establish a working relationship with the woman in Kampala.
It took our contact nearly 6 weeks to get to the bottom of what was going on, but it transpired that the bags were actually made in Thailand and the Kikuyu woman was merely a distributor to others such as the woman we met in Uganda. Needless to say that was the end of that and it goes to show how vigilant you have to be in order to claim that you are an ethical company!
I am not surprised that Primark finds itself in this situation. As someone that works alongside textile and handicraft producers in the developing world I can safely say that there is now way a company can churn out that amount /number of garments without someone somewhere being exploited.
In order to comply or call yourself an ethical provider you have to "police" your suppliers to ensure that they subscribe to your ethical agenda. Here at Ethnic Supplies LTD we do not work with anyone we have not met and even when our producers are required to prove that the work is there own. We inspect their workshops annually to ensure that for instance child labour is not used.
Flotea owner and founder of Marvelous batiks, our Textile producers in Tanzania
Marvelous Batiks workshop in Dar-es Salam
I remember in our first year of trading we met a woman in a handicraft market in Kampala Uganda. We bought a couple of jute bags from her that we thought looked really nice and very well made. She informed us that she was a partner of a Kikuyu woman based in Nairobi Kenya.
The bags were very well made and we had a feeling our customers would love them. We sent a sample to our contact in Nairobi and asked her to help us find the kikuyu woman who apparently made these bags before we could establish a working relationship with the woman in Kampala.
It took our contact nearly 6 weeks to get to the bottom of what was going on, but it transpired that the bags were actually made in Thailand and the Kikuyu woman was merely a distributor to others such as the woman we met in Uganda. Needless to say that was the end of that and it goes to show how vigilant you have to be in order to claim that you are an ethical company!
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