Soul of Somanya's mission is to raise the standard of living in the town of Somanya-Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana, West Africa, as well as in its surrounding areas, by offering sustainable employment opportunities at a living wage. In June of 2008, we hired eight young people to make jewelry and other beaded items. Five of these original artisans saved enough money in the first year or so to go back to school, at least for awhile.
When we can, we also support the local bead makers by offering retail (rather than wholesale) prices for their beads, giving them the opportunity to substantially increase their profit margins. Soul of Somanya is also buying larger and larger quantities of beads, some for use in our products and some for resale. We are working hard to popularize the Krobo beads throughout the world.
While these two groups are our main focus at the moment, we expect the entire community to benefit from the "trickle-down effects" of the project. To that end, Soul of Somanya buys as many of its supplies as possible from local vendors. In addition, more of the town's residents will now have the financial means to patronize local shops and buy services from local providers.
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