How It All Began
by Melody MacDuffee
"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 bead 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 traditionally they simply strung the beads on a piece of cotton string, or sometimes on raffia, and wore the necklaces and bracelets that way, with the bulky knots showing. Now they wanted to learn how to make fancier kinds of jewelry out of their beads.
The original plan was for me to visit for a few weeks and teach these Krobo beadmakers about Western beading techniques and materials, meanwhile taking the opportunity to learn about 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 makers. Megan, who had recently graduated from 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 three trips to Ghana. 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 were eventually forced 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. We typically have anywhere from seven to twelve 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 buy our beads directly from the local beadmakers, offering market value (rather than wholesale prices) for their beads. This allows them to skip the middleman and gives them the opportunity to continue benefiting from this project.
We now serve/employ a staff of young adults whose prospects in life would otherwise be very grim. They work regular hours, and are paid a regular living wage, under Bernard's 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 all three of my trips--and Soul of Somanya itself--a reality. There was absolutely no way any of this could have happened without their help. We are forever in their debt.
by Melody MacDuffee
"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 bead 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 traditionally they simply strung the beads on a piece of cotton string, or sometimes on raffia, and wore the necklaces and bracelets that way, with the bulky knots showing. Now they wanted to learn how to make fancier kinds of jewelry out of their beads.
The original plan was for me to visit for a few weeks and teach these Krobo beadmakers about Western beading techniques and materials, meanwhile taking the opportunity to learn about 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 makers. Megan, who had recently graduated from 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 three trips to Ghana. 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 were eventually forced 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. We typically have anywhere from seven to twelve 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 buy our beads directly from the local beadmakers, offering market value (rather than wholesale prices) for their beads. This allows them to skip the middleman and gives them the opportunity to continue benefiting from this project.
We now serve/employ a staff of young adults whose prospects in life would otherwise be very grim. They work regular hours, and are paid a regular living wage, under Bernard's 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 all three of my trips--and Soul of Somanya itself--a reality. There was absolutely no way any of this could have happened without their help. We are forever in their debt.
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