"Requesting
you to come and teach us." That was the phrase in the message box of an
email I received on June 11th of 2007. It was written on behalf of some
fifty artisans who live in two rural communities in the Krobo district
of Ghana. These men and women use traditional methods to make the
distinctive, colorful, recycled-glass beads for which the district is
famous. But, as is so often the case, precious little of the profit
from the sale of the beads is going to the artisans who create them.
The
writer of the email, having seen a jewelry design I'd had published in
Bead & Button magazine, decided to enlist my help in correcting
this situation. It was the beginning of a cross-cultural exchange of
ideas, inspirations, techniques, products, artistry, and marketing
abilities that promises some beneficial long-term results on both sides
of the globe.
The original plan was for me to visit for a few
weeks and teach the Krobo bead makers about Western beading techniques
and materials, meanwhile taking the opportunity to learn their
traditional bead-making techniques. But the scope of the project
continued to broaden throughout the six months prior to my departure
for Ghana. It soon became clear that what was really needed in
Kroboland was assistance with developing beaded products that would
sell well in overseas markets. This realization highlighted the need
for establishing retail markets that could be dealt with directly,
without the crippling expenses of middlemen and Customs duties. This,
in turn, brought up such issues as getting NGO (non-governmental
organization) status, packaging, shipping, labeling, accounting,
import/export laws, and qualifying for the Fair Trade Federation's nod
of approval.
Starting
to feel a bit over my head, I recruited my niece Megan Metzger of
Chattanooga, Tennessee in order to broaden the skill base that could be
made available to the Ghanaian bead workers. Megan, a recent graduate
of Macalester College in Minnesota, was to be the creative mind and
liaison for many of the marketing-related issues. The purpose of our
first visit, which spanned the entire month of November, 2007, was
fourfold: to help the Krobo artisans broaden their repertoire of
beading skills; to acquaint them with Western tools and materials while
exploring less expensive, locally available substitutes; to assist them
in developing attractive, imaginative beaded products that embodied the
richness of Krobo culture while meeting world-market standards of
quality and consistency; and to bring back to the U.S. a knowledge of
Krobo traditions and techniques that would enrich the field of bead
arts on this side of the Atlantic.
To date, I have made two
trips to Ghana.(I'll be going back in September of 2010.) It's been a real adventure, and an education in human
nature, both Ghanaian and American. Along the way, we lost Megan to the
lure of furthering her formal education. Due to trust, legal and ethical issues, Bernard
and I have had to disassociate ourselves from our other two original
Ghanaian partners as well. But what's left is bedrock. The project is
now up and running, and progressing nicely. We currently have eight young people
working for Soul of Somanya making jewelry and other beaded items. We had originally planned that the bead makers I taught on my first trip would produce the jewelry, but we had to shift our plans when it became clear that they were unable to deliver orders of beads, much less finished jewelry, on a time schedule that would allow us to do business successfully in the West. This decision was later affirmed when they mentioned that they had planned on having their under-age children make the jewelry for us. Not on our watch! Much as we would have liked to help, we will not resort to using child labor. The legal working age in Ghana is 18.
When we can,
however, we offer market value or better (rather than
wholesale prices) for beads produced by the local bead makers. This gives them the opportunity, if they wish to avail themselves of it, to greatly benefit from this project. Unfortunately, to date we have had very limited success with this approach. Of the artisans to whom we have advanced funds for the materials needed to fill our orders, very few have ever returned with the beads we ordered. Of those who did not deliver, none have repaid the money loaned to them. Only a handful of times in our history has a bead maker actually delivered what we ordered in time for us to use the beads to fill our own orders. Much more often, he or she has returned far too late, bearing, not the beads we ordered, but something altogether different. We haven't given up on the idea--we would very much like to help these talented artisans better their lives--but we have yet to come up with a workable plan. Maybe on my upcoming visit....
Similarly, we had to shift our plans when we were unable to find a viable market for the bead makers' original jewelry designs, for which we had promised to pay a royalty each time one of them sold. I'm sure that this was due, in part, to my utter lack of marketing experience when we began this project. Bernard and I both have had to learn a great number of skills on the fly, and I would be the last to claim that I had any idea whatsoever what I was doing when we first began. Whatever the case, and despite my admiration for the beauty and creativity of those original designs, I was unable to find buyers for more than a very few of them. In order to keep the project running--in order to be of use to anyone in the Somanya community--we had to adapt our plans. We had to come up with designs that we would be able to sell here in the U.S.. And we had to find a way to be sure that they would be produced on a somewhat predictable timetable--hence the staff of youth who were willing to work under supervision at our own place of business.
Many people on this side of the ocean have been incredibly
generous with their time and other resources to make both trips become
a reality. There was absolutely no way any of this could have happened
without their help. Those friends and well-wishers, along with my
remarkable young partner Bernard, have restored my faith in the
goodness of humanity.
district is
famous. But, as is so often the case, precious little of the profit
from the sale of the 
