Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Word is Spreading....

Global Daughter was featured in this week's Business Examiner. We invite you to read the article below:


Global Daughter aims for worldwide focus on foreign exports
10/27/2008
Source: Business Examiner
Author: Breanne Coats

There are numerous Web sites that sell unique products to customers online. There are also numerous female advocacy sites on the Web as well. What two Auburn natives felt was missing, though, was a combination of these two types of sites.

Global Daughter works with Nepali women designers, painters, tailors, master cutters and jewelers on a regular basis to create products that the business can then sell to Western consumers.

Owners Erika Mosebach and Erin Miller started Global Daughter to empower working women in Nepal. They are in charge of the Web site, www.globaldaughter.com, but all of the products that are sold through the Internet site are produced by women in the Himalayan mountains.
“We started from scratch and are trying to fine tune,” Mosebach said. “We want to give them all the tools to succeed.”

The company uses the phrase, “for women, by women, inspired by all women,” to promote its products.

The site features the following types of merchandise: jewelry, handbags, natural paper, home decor, organic tea and children’s products. From business cards, product tags and screening on merchandise, Mosebach said, women in Nepal not only make the products they sell, but also the various things they use to promote Global Daughter.

When shopping at places with “fair trade” products, Mosebach said, sometimes customers can't be sure if the businesses really are abiding by fair trade practices.

But with Global Daughter, people can rest assured, she said, since either she or her partner will actually be in Nepal helping the women get materials and paying them for their products directly.

In the future, Mosebach and Miller plan to expand Global Daughter to other countries. Their next stop will probably be Cambodia, Mosebach said.

Global Daughter started with Nepal because the two founders had a personal connection there and wanted to do something to help. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and the level of corruption there makes it even harder for money to trickle down to the regular citizens.
Global Daughter aims to get money directly into residents’ hands, specifically women, since they are often viewed as second-class citizens.
While the online boutique’s merchandise is made from products found in Nepal, Global Daughter does not try to make its products “scream Nepal.” Rather, Mosebach said, they are aiming to make their products more marketable in the United States.

The business has especially formed a close relationship with the artisans and management of Janakpur Arts and Crafts Center. This center provides clean working conditions, fair and reasonable working hours and wages. It also provides in-workshop meals to its women workers, according to Global Daughter.

To help get their business rolling, Mosebach has been hosting Global Daughter parties. She goes to people’s homes and shares the stories of its operations and the women it works with from Nepal. People can pay for and receive Global Daughter’s products at these parties.
“We’ve just had a great response,” Mosebach said. “Women love to get together and shop for a cause.”

While the two entrepreneurs do hope they can make some sort of living from the site, Mosebach said it is really more about making change in the lives of Nepali women.

Mosebach and Miller have to deal with a lot of unforeseen problems.

For example, the people in Nepal frequently go on strike. And when they do, no one works, which can stall the online retailer’s business.

Also, if one of the women who makes a particular product gets sick, Global Daughter may just have to go without that product until the woman-producer gets better.

Yet, these issues do not deter Mosebach and Miller from following through with their goals.
“The mission is to hopefully empower women worldwide to lift themselves out of poverty,” Mosebach said.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Skills Training w/ Lanjana









In September Global Daughter sponsored our lead designer, Lanjana, in a skills training workshop in Kathmandu. Here she was instructed by a fashion desinger from India on techniques in fushion of raw materials. For example, combining leather with elephant grass or nettle fibers with wood or bamboo. She attended the one-week course with about 20 other women artisans from the valley. We were proud to have her there representing our producers, Janakpur Arts and Crafts Center. She told me she learned many new things, and already she has started to produce protypes. We are very fotunate to have her associated with our project and hope to get her involved in more skills development workshops in the future! (Also, congratulations to Lanjana on her up-coming marriage!)

Friday, October 17, 2008

Breathe.

I just returned from the most beautiful trek in the Langtang Himalayan Region. I decided to pick up the walking sticks and head away from the city and rejuvenate. On the seven-day excursion I was able to see four of the highest peaks in Nepal and well into the Tibetan Himalayan Region. The panoramic views from near the famous Goisakund Lakes, was stunning. You could see the peaks, Ginesh Himal, Langtang, Annapurna, Machupuchare and a slew of other smaller peaks. This area is mostly made up of Tibetan communities or Nepali Tamang ethnicities. The language is different from Nepali as well as the food and the customs. It was at times a very difficult trek, but worth every sweaty step. The great thing about trekking is that it really is just...walking. That is the secret. You just walk around and then stop to eat and walk again, look at stuff. Of course, when you get up to 4500 meters (14,800 ft) then it becomes very slooooow walking!

I met heaps of fantastic people along the trail and made friends with a few of the children at home in the villages on holiday. In one of the tea houses I stayed at, the woman who looked after the place knitted me some arm warmers. I want to sell them at Global Daughter, but the logistics of getting them back to KTM from 4,000 meters would be a nightmare. They are very cute, though and I look forward to wearing them this winter.

Life in the mountain regions is quite different than anywhere else in the country. Kids are used to walking up and down mountains, literally, to attend school or retrieve cooking gas, eggs, blankets... everything really. They will blaze past any fit trekker on the trail and they can handle the high altitudes like champs. They were born into it. On the trail I saw young women porters who weighed about 50Kgs (110lbs), carrying 40-50Kgs of baggage and equipment on their backs. Heaving up steep steps and dangerous foot paths. I was in awe. Some porters don't wear shoes and most don't have what we would consider "proper" trekking gear.

It was nice to get out into nature again after six months stuck in the polluted and noisy KTM valley. Out there it seems like time has stopped and it doesn't take you long to adjust to the pace. I sometimes forget that I live amongst the highest and most breathtaking mountains in the world. The trek made me realize even more how lucky I am to be here, in this place, doing what I love to do. The Nepalis I met in the mountain villages are so far removed from the politics and greed of the city, it reminds you that they are the most welcoming and peaceful people in the world. The simplicity of life is inspiring and the intense sense of family relationships is beautiful.

It is true.

When you sloooooow things down, you can see what you are supposed to... a whole lot clearer.


Langtang Peak. Dusk.

Breathe.


Flying kites is the coolest.


up, up, up...


Ginesh Himal, Annapurna Peaks from Laurabina.



Tamang village- Thulo Saphryu

This chunk was just sitting by herself, all alone in the middle of nowhere...mom was collecting fodder


Sunset


Knitting arm warmers by the fire.


4,500 meters- thin air and light head!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Fair Trade ll Fair Aid

Global Daughter is committed to Fair Trade standards. What is Fair Trade?

*Providing fair wages in the local context,
*Supporting safe, healthy, and participatory workplaces,
*Supplying financial and technical support to build capacity,
*Promoting environmental sustainability,
*Respecting cultural identity,
*Offering public accountability and transparency,
*Building direct and long-term relationships, and
*Educating consumers.


For more information please visit www.globaldaughter.com