This is Kyle. Here he’s as a 70’s club promoter, but he’s been many things over the years – a park ranger (still has the silly hat to prove it), a wine store attendant (his healthy love of obscure regional wines often gives it away) and a stand-up comedian. The role that means the most to him though, is that of the adoring boyfriend. After a sequence of hilariously disastrous gift purchases, he and his partner made a strict “homemade only” gift rule. Knowing how seriously she takes skin care, he used our 100% pure shea butter to make “shea bars”.
Here’s how…
Ingredients:
2 Ounces of Eu’Genia 100% Pure Shea Butter
0.5 Ounces of virgin coconut oil
1 Ounce of beeswax
¾ Teaspoon of Essential Oils
Directions
Check out our recent blogpost on She Leads Africa!
When my mother founded a shea butter manufacturing company in Ghana in 1999, she had never heard the term “double bottom line.” She did, however, know that if she was going to succeed in business, she wanted to do so in an ethical manner. By partnering with pickers from female cooperatives, paying them above-market prices, and offering organic and financial training, she was able to ensure that her community thrived along with her business. Her decades of experience inspired me to start my own finished products line last year: Eu’Genia Shea.
As I pore through her life’s work applying lessons learned and trying to avoid mistakes already made, one point shines through brightly: good intentions do not always yield good results. Hopefully, some of these points will be helpful to others who aim to make mutually beneficial business partnerships in rural developing communities.
Build Trust
You know yourself, you understand your motives, and without a doubt, your heart is in the right place. But even if you are native to the country/region/community, how can others be assured of this goodwill, if they do not know you? SNV is a Swiss nonprofit dedicated to to “creating effective solutions with local impact” in this case facilitating savings. They entered Damongo, Ghana with speeches and promises, but without any connections. The cooperatives with which we work were understandably wary. How many times have they encountered non-profits who raised their hopes only to disappear, or worse yet, people claiming to have their best interests in mind, only to cheat them? They sent the confused SNV away, SNV came to my mother to explain their mission, my mother spoke on their behalf, and now SNV is a valued contributor to these cooperatives. Bottom line: understand the legacy of the community and approach accordingly, whether through an intermediary or through years of proving yourself (which takes a bit longer, but Mom can confirm it works!)
Listen
There are thousands of aid organizations flooding millions of dollars into poor communities globally. Most of them have good intentions, but their money still goes to waste. For example, on one visit to our facilities in Damango, Mom occasionally saw workers without shoes. As a westerner, or a native with a westerner’s perspective, this is jarring for a number of reasons, not least of all because of the safety implications. She spoke with the women and made a point of purchasing shoes for all of the workers on her next trip to the US to ensure that no one was left unprotected. Upon her return, some women again were not wearing shoes. When she inquired about it, she discovered two things: some husbands were absconding with their wives’ shoes and some women found maneuvering difficult in the new shoes. Had my mom taken the time to dig a little deeper originally, she would have found that buying local shoes closely fitting each woman would have helped solve both problems.
Encourage them to maintain assets
Now you’re partnering with a community whose needs you understand and are able to address. You’ve suggested ideas and implemented technology where appropriate; they’ve told you why half of your bright ideas aren’t quite so bright, and everything is moving along swimmingly. It’s come time to leave them for a couple weeks, months, or years… Before you leave operations in their hands, make sure you’ve given them the tools and know-how to maintain (and how often to maintain) any machinery you’ve introduced. The once shiny, now corroded Japan Motorbike rusting by our plot is a great example of something that made life easy for a couple months before falling into disrepair.
Choose the right customers
You’re running a business not a charity. On one end you have Bill Gates circa Microsoft and on the other, Bill Gates circa the Bill & Melinda Foundation. You don’t have to be either extreme, but what you do have to do is make enough money to keep yourself afloat and to continue the work you’re doing. If social impact causes your products to be slightly more expensive than competitors, find the customers who care. And make sure your product is worth it! At Eu’Genia Shea, not only do we pay above market wages, provide training, and give 15% of our profits back to our workers, our longevity in the industry helps ensure our products are always of the highest quality. Our customers get expertly moisturized skin, our partners make a good living, and we get to keep on doing what we love — win/win!
Transparency
Your aim is to do great things, so be open about it. Maybe you’re not doing quite as much as you’d like yet. For example, 15% of profits covers some of the tuition costs of our worker’s children, but not all. I’d love Eu’Genia to be able to give all the children in our communities a free education. I’d love to provide all past and future workers with a pension when they retire. I’d love to offer free daycare to workers whose children are below school age. The reality, however, is that I’m not in a position to do any of this yet. That doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try though. Along the way, I’m sure I’ll make mistakes. But my mistakes can be learning points for me and other entrepreneurs like me. Being transparent about our goals and processes not only allows others to give us valuable feedback, but also supports the growth of all enterprises looking to make an impact.
We live in a big and complicated world with many societal issues I’ve never heard of let alone understand. If those who are able can contribute to endeavoring to improve the landscape they know best, our actions will magnify each other’s. I’m excited to be a small part of this effort.
This is Emma. Emma has floated from being an art major to an architect, but now in NY, she has found purpose, both personally and professionally. Driven by people, enabled by technology: Purpose builds movements and new power models to tackle the world's biggest problems. She's part of a team of individuals dedicated to making partnerships big and small to help solve basic public challenges. Understandably, Emma is very conscientious about the products she puts in her cart. Luckily, Eu'Genia passes the test: a portion of all of our profits go back to the female cooperatives with which we partner in northern Ghana. Great for carefree enjoyment.
Cela est Julia. This is Julia experiencing fall in New England. Back to school for ex-accountants turned fashionable French teachers with a penchant for horseback riding means turning down the left side of your brain, and amping up your language skills to communicate fluidly with human child and equidae alike. For the past 10 years, psoriatic arthritis has put a bit of a trail bump on her path -- after all, it's hard to be youthfully exuberant when each jump and landing comes with back or knee pain. Luckily for Julia, her doctors have pinpointed some great homeopathic dietary solutions for the arthritis and she has found Eu'Genia Shea to soothe her psoriasis. Does Julia enjoy the time she has converted from worrying to teaching & riding? Mais bien sûr!
This is Victoria. When she’s not trailblazing the VC world, she’s advising friends and colleagues on their start-ups. When she’s not advising friends and colleagues on their start-ups, she’s actually founding start-ups. When she’s not founding start-ups, she’s… well this all takes up a fair amount of time, but you get the point. Her most recent venture, So She Did, is all about female empowerment. It’s a holistic site that provides intelligent curated content for intelligent modern women. Ranging from health, to careers, to friendships and families, think of So She Did as your one-stop digital life coach. Given her background and goals, she’s very particular about what she puts into/on her body. Kale shake for breakfast? Yes, please. That’s why she uses Eu’Genia’s 100% natural shea butter. Her favorite use? It’s impossible to name just one. It’s multiple uses are perfect for her busy lifestyle and as a plus, we share a common goal — empowering women to succeed. Read more about #SoSheDid here, Eu’Genia’s mission here, and jump here to buy our products. #HowDoYouShea?
Among the many things I’ve inherited from my mother, and my mother’s mother: a
wicked sense of humor (at least we think so) a heavy hand for salt, and perhaps
most creepily, the best facial recognition skills in the history of ever.
I’ve witnessed and adopted my mother’s fierce work ethic as my own, as well as both of their love of singing (specifically off tune... loudly). However, as with many good things, there’s been a less than desirable counter reaction to accompany it.
Case in point: the calluses that dot the outer rims of my toes and the dark circles
that sometimes underscore my eyes. Both of these attributes had bothered me off and on for years, and I grew frustrated as I tried to treat them, to no avail, with fancy pumice stones and under eye creams seen on QVC (because, where else?) I took note of how my mother and grandmother wore these characteristics while I tried to rid myself of them. These dark circles and calluses, I realized, were markers; tangible proof that I’d been places and seen things. They should be taken care of, rather than camouflaged. Eugenia Shea allows me to do just that. Our
Everyday Strength Shea Butter in particular, is designed to treat those dry,
rough patches of skin. Rubbing some on my feet at the end of a long day is my way of spreading thanks.
If my eyelids could speak, they’d tell you that relaxing isn’t exactly my forte. So, in
order to make sure they don’t up and leave me in the middle of a sleepless night, I
pat some of our Dermatological shea on the surface and beneath my eyes.
I use our products to spread love to the places that once bothered me most. How do you shea?
