Sembang-Sembang: Casual Conversations by Women on Entrepreneurship

Invitation to Sembang Sembang

Sembang-Sembang is a monthly networking session in Kuala Lumpur for women entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs-to-be. It is organized by the US Embassy in Malaysia and Warisan Global Sdn Bhd as a Global Entrepreneurship Week activity.

This month’s session on “Social Entrepreneurship” will feature Elevyn’s very own Field Coordinator Ms Puah Sze Ning and a coordinator from one of our shops, Mang Tha, a women’s organization from the Burmese refugee group.

Details are as follows:

Date: 10 June 2010

Time: 5.30pm – 7.30pm (Registration is at 5pm)

Venue: Top Hat Restaurant, No.3, Jalan Stonor, 50450, Kuala Lumpur (Some parking available inside the restaurant)

You are cordially invited to this event, and feel free to bring your business partners, colleagues and friends!

For further information on the event, and booking details, please visit the official Sembang-Sembang website.

This is my voice there are many like it, but this one is mine

While backpacking, I started to ask why are people poor? I don’t mean 1 person, but whole countries, villages or communities have no idea where their next meal will come from or if they will still have a roof over their heads.

In chats with Tanda, I started to understand that poverty exists for many because of vulnerability and for the lack of opportunity. These two combined have devastating consequences.

I asked Tanda to write a little about herself, and below is the unedited story.

My name is Tanda Htun. I was born in Mawkanin village, Ye Township, Mon State, Myanmr.

I arrive in Malaysia on January 6, 2006.

The reason I left from Myanmar is I was tortured by Military Juntas; detained in army camp in my village, kick my back, slapped my face because they accused me that I had relationship with Mon rebel group.

In fact, after I finished my university, I went back to my village and volunteer at Mon Literature Association. One day, I went to our farm and in the evening, two Mon soldiers came and give me some advice how to manage our culture and literature.

Next day morning, the Burmese know about that and came and arrested me. I was locked up about one week. Then I was released by promising I would gave them information where two Mon soldiers hide. They only give me two days chance but they warned me that if I couldn’t any information, they must arrest me again. As soon as I arrived home I told my parents about that it is impossible to get information within two days, so my mother arranged me to leave from the village by broker from my village to Thailand and then to Malaysia.

Sometimes, I had to walk across the jungle. When I arrived in Malaysia, it was hard to get job for survive because I couldn’t speak Malay and didn’t have any legal status. I was recognized by UNHCR as a refugee in October, 2007. Before that I was arrested by Malaysia authorities in Charas, in April, 2007 and 4 month in Kajang jail. My life is suffering from many ways.

I have founded Mon Women Refugee Organization since December 6, 2009. The goal is to promote and empower all Mon Women in creating income opportunities and information workshops.

Mon women with volunteers about to make soap

World refugee day falls on June 20th, and the Mon women will be at Kl Sentral Station from June 19th to 20th (11am to 4pm) to sell handmade organic soap (I buy and use it myself!). Do visit them.

Click here to read more.

References:
Title “This is my voice” taken from Shane Koyczan and the Short Story Long

Innovating for the Kitchen and Environment

The Envirofit Clean Cookstove

Creative ideas are amazing. Even better, if they were channeled to fixing social and environmental problems.

The Envirofit does both.

Families in developing countries traditionally cook with fire and stoves, using wood, dung and crop waste for burning, sometimes for hours every day. Lethal fumes from these cooking fires claim the lives of 1.5 million people a year worldwide. Due to their presence in the home, women and children make up a large bulk of these numbers.

The company’s solution is a “clean cookstove”, which significantly reduces smoke and harmful gases, biomass fuel and cooking time.

Envirofit currently sells mostly in India, and has delivered 100,000 stoves over the past year.

Also worth reading, is this interview with Envirofit CEO Ron Bills on selling to the bottom of the pyramid.

Celebrating Mothers for Fair Trade

A Mah Meri Indigenous Artisan in Malaysia. Photo by Sze Ning.

At Elevyn, many of the artisans we work with are struggling mothers, who rely on craft-making to feed their children and send them to school.

Having worked with and getting to know these artisans, we truly admire their strength and perseverence in overcoming the adversities in their daily struggles.

Fair trade provides an assurance that a reasonable amount of the selling price go back to the artisans, and that they are afforded proper working conditions.

Throughout the month of May, we would like to invite all fellow moms, sons and daughters to join us in recognizing these brave artisans who may not change the world, but are working hard to provide a better one for their children.

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How It Works

1. Email us (info@elevyn.com) a photo of you and your mom, or, if you are a mother yourself, one with your children. Include a short message to all fellow mothers out there.
2. The photo will be posted on The Wall (see below). At the end of the month, all the photos and messages will be compiled and given to our partner artisans from Tompoq Topoh (indigenous women’s group) and Mang Tha (refugee women’s group).

The Wall - Mothers for Fair Trade at www.elevyn.com/mom/

What Do I Get?

A warm fuzzy feeling that you are connecting to all mothers out there, regardless of their nationality and background

What, not enough?

OK fine… we’ve spoken to our partners, and they are more than happy to contribute!
Here are the goodies: *

1. ALL approved submissions get a 10% Discount Voucher from Lollietots.
2. For every 20 entries received, we will pick one with the best photo and message to receive a RM200 Gift Voucher (+ free shipping) from Tiny Tapir.

ONE Grand Prize Winner for BEST photo & message *

1. A family portrait shoot worth RM600 from one of Malaysia’s hottest wedding & lifestyle portrait photographer Anna-Rina.
2. A special mystery gift from Elevyn.
   

We are still finalizing the sponsor prizes even as you read this, so expect more to come!

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* Terms & conditions apply, and may be subject to change

Measuring social impact: one part of the story

Karen refugees walk along a road on the Thai-Myanmar border in Per Nwe Pu village. There are an estimated 42 million uprooted people around the world waiting to return home. Taken from intellasia (Getty)

A community of people are in troubled waters. The Mon community from Myanmar had to make a choice between forced labour or running away as a refugee. An Indigenous community in Malaysia are under threat of resettlement, because they happened to have lived for generations in a place where now the trees, or the river or land is deemed by a company to be of more commercial value.

When we come in, many of these events and choices have been made. What we ask is, to earn a living in a difficult situation, do they now have easy access to jobs or buyers interested in products they offer. If they don’t, can we provide them with access so they can get themselves out of poverty (or at least soften the blows).

If we can show you the impact of our solution for artisans to earn a living, will this influence the decisions you make when scouting for a social investment, or simply to buy a product on our site that is both good and impactful.

In effect, we’re asking, can elevyn work? And what do we really want to achieve.

A year ago, we started with 3 goals. To get 10 communities online, engage 100 artisans and to show that people are interested to buy online, we targeted USD 3,500 in sales (we now work with 14 communities, more than 100 artisans and sales have been more than targeted).

This year we are wondering the amount of effort it took to meet those goals. Like the costs and resources.

And importantly, the outcomes as a result of our goals. For starters:

1. How much of your money spent on buying an item went to the person who made it

2. How much went to longer term programs run by our field partners, like training and health initiatives.

We’re giving you front row seats, as we peel back the blinds and discover our impact together. Here’s a sneak preview.

By auditing where the money goes for each item sold, we know that Senii earned USD 64.60 so far

Our method is to audit the impact of every product on elevyn. We’ve started with 2 communities and will continue to improve how we measure it (I’ll write a post on how we audit soon).

By measuring the effort we’ve put in and inspired by the outcomes we’ve gathered so far, we’ve got a new goal to get 120 communities online.

But that’s another story.

References:

http://www.intellasia.net/news/articles/society/111267712.shtml

Rethinking Consumerism

You want something and you want it RIGHT NOW.  Say today, you are craving for a little piece of good chocolate but you just finished your last bar two days ago. So, you drive to a shopping mall and march straight to the mart.  You have only one ULTIMATE aim and that is to BUY a good bar of chocolate RIGHT AWAY.  You search the shelves for your favourite brand.  After scanning for a few minutes, you don’t find it anywhere.  You ask the sales promoter if there’s any stock left.  The answer unfortunately is no.

So you march out and head for the next mart that you think might stock the chocolate you are deeply craving for.  Lucky for you, a new stock of your favourite brand arrived but wait a minute, it is way more expensive than before.  You debate with your inner conscience for a while before you decide that you might not buy it after all.

As you walk out of the mart dejected, some customers are berating the poor sales promoter why that brand is more expensive than it usually is.

In the end, you might fewer people who are willing to buy that chocolate.  They have opted for a cheaper brand.   The stack of expensive chocolates sits on the shelves and collects dust.  When the chocolates get sent back to its supplier, the supplier is at a dilemma.  To continue producing it but at a smaller number or to bring down the price at the cost of worker wages, benefits and cost of resources.

If the unscrupulous supplier is going to stay in the competition and maintain his profit margin, the price has got to be brought down and everything else slashed.

This one step has a downward spiralling effect.  Because the supplier then switches to a cheaper alternative resources be it cheaper materials, cheaper source of labour, or ignoring the cost of the externalities (cost of processing, cost of environmental pollution, cost of worker’s health and safety, etc).

Now that his workers are paid even lower, their purchasing power is reduced.  They are forced to work day and night, put in more overtimes and neglect their health just to earn that extra dollar to put food on the table.  Some families are also 1) forced to make their children work to help contribute to the family’s income, or 2) tricked by employment agents into giving up their children for better work in the city but the reality is that the children get thrown into slums and are forced to work in unhygienic, low paying manual work. Because their income is so little, they cannot break out from the cycle of poverty/

To find out more about the bitter truth about chocolates, read http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8583000/8583499.stm

But what happens if we stop this cycle and decide to be more learned about what goes into manufacturing, to plan our purchases properly and pay a fair price for a particular product?

In this scenario, when we we walk into a shopping mall and pick up a bar chocolate, we know exactly who makes it, how the cocoa is sourced, and whether the companies that make the product are socially and environmentally responsible.

We make a stand and choose not to support manufacturers who have dodgy procurement practices and slowly, these manufacturers would be forced to join in the bandwagon of sustainable or fair trade companies to gain consumers’ confidence and trust in their line of products.  Consequently, the demand and supply of the sustainable / fair trade products will balance out and it will be as affordable as before.

And finally, if we pay the fair price, workers ultimately receive better wages and experience more fulfilling life, while helping to lift themselves out of the path of poverty.

The principles of Fair Trade

Fair Trade chocolates that are already in the market

Refugees, Migrants and Development

From the start, the vision of Elevyn has been clear – alleviation of poverty through trade, by connecting buyers directly to artisans from developing countries. While we are still a fledgling company, our work with the communities and artisans over the past 2 years have been an eye-opening experience on many levels.

Last year, we were introduced to the Alliance of Chin Refugees, a Kuala Lumpur-based organization working with Burmese refugees. It was our first exposure to the plights of people fleeing their own countries in search of a better life.

Refugees and their living conditions. Photo from UNHCR.org.my

Stereotypes

A lot of us, due to our own lack of exposure, are woefully ignorant to the case of refugees. In fact, many cannot see the difference between refugees, migrants and foreign workers; conveniently lumping them into a negative stereotype of cheap labour, trouble-makers, thieves and generally, unwelcomed foreigners.

But the distinctions cannot be more different. And this article, hopefully, can do a little bit into changing that perception.

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Migrants

Migrants tend to leave their countries voluntary for purely economic reasons – such as higher wages and better job opportunities. Think of Malaysians who go off in search of greener pastures in Australia, Canada and UK. Same too, with the Indonesian maid who is taking care of your house, and the Bangladeshi waiter who took your orders at the restaurant this morning.

Should difficulties arise, migrants are still protected by their home countries through their respective embassies.

Refugee children. Photo from UNHCR.org.my

Refugees

Refugees, on the other hand, are forced to leave their countries due to life-threatening circumstances. In other words, escape or die.

Think war, famine, persecution and human rights issues. Many would love nothing more than to return to their home countries, but to do so would be a risk to them and their families’ lives. Until peace settles, refugees have no choice but to seek refuge in the countries they end up in.

In our relatively peaceful region, Myanmar has often been accused of political oppression, religious persecution and various “crimes against humanity”. Thus, the influx of refugees seeking asylum in neighbouring Thailand and Malaysia.

Unfortunately, some countries do not have provisions within the law that formally recognizes refugees (Malaysia is non-signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol).

As a result, both migrants and refugees are being treated as one and the same by the authorities. Women and children in particular, become marginalized groups as they are unable to apply for jobs or go to schools. Most refugees live in poorly-maintained homes and temporary shelters both in and outside of the city.

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Refugee Assistance Groups

The refugee situation continues to be a grey area in Malaysia, but parties such as UNHCR and various NGOs and volunteers exist to provide assistance to the refugees. They include the issuance of UNHCR refugee cards, setting up of schools, and provision of healthcare services.

There’s a lot of work to be done, and much help is needed in many areas.

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Parting Thoughts

As the country and government continues its march towards being a developed, high-income country, we think that progress is not all about the GDPs and GNPs. A country should also be measured on its “soft skills” – what are we offering to the world? How do we treat people, animals and the environment – with respect? Or contempt?

Does it mean anything when we donate money to charities, and then turning a blind eye to sick refugee children? Do we volunteer at the SPCA only to bark at the poor foreign waiter who got our drinks mixed up?

Sorry, but “doing good” doesn’t work that way.

So where do we go from here?

A stepping stone, and one that can go a long way, is the awareness and understanding on the situation. You and me, to begin with.

In the case of understanding refugees, this photo essay from the UNHCR Malaysia website makes a good start.

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For further reading:

• UNHCR Malaysia
• Refugees in Malaysia, Facts & Figures
• Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugee

Pesta Penan – Music, Dance and Legends from the Hunter-Gatherers of Sarawak

The modest longhouse in Long Iman is usually a side visit on the tourist map, as visitors from across the world make their eco-adventure trip to the Mulu Caves in the Mulu National park in Sarawak.

Today, however, is Pesta Penan (Penan festival) and the longhouse came alive as it was the sole destination for Penans from villagers near and far, travelling for hours through boat and car.

Myself and 8 others were the only outsiders amongst the 76 other guests. It was my first time in “Penan country”, and I was there with mixed feelings of awe and sadness.

As a city dweller, much of what I know of the Penan people is gathered from news sources.

Since the 1990s, there have been many heroic stories of attempts by the hunter-gatherers to resist logging in their traditional land through the setting up of makeshift blockades in logging roads. Alongside those stories are photographs of men and women dressed in their traditional clothes and holding a spear or blowpipe symbolically, guarding the blockades.  More recently, the media highlighted news of Penan girls being raped by workers in the logging camps, where the students depend on their logging trucks to get to and back from school.

Coupled with news of poverty in the resettlement camps, it seems like the Penan people are consistently being bombarded with difficulties.

A group of the Penan folks decided to set up a committee to start reinforcing positive events for the community. Pesta Penan was one of the initiatives, backed by the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP).

“We wanted to do this because outsiders and even the government always say that the Penans have no culture,” explained Dominique Langat Sigau, a Community Development Officer for NTFP-EP.

The Festival

During the festival which fell on 3-5 December 2009, the Penans organized many activities. Starting with blowpipe competitions and followed by demonstrations of ‘jungle sign language’ where branches and leaves were arranged to leave messages to one another.

Other activities included a visit to a herbal garden in the compound of Long Iman. The elders and leaders explained to the group the many traditional medicinal uses of the plants which are found in the jungle.

Rattan mats that will get craft enthusiasts drooling

Between the activities, the verandah of the longhouse was filled with crafts for display and sale. Avid craft collectors would have a tough time deciding how many rattan mats and bags they can haul out without sinking the boat. Little trinkets such as bamboo bangles and keychains are also available.

As night fell, everyone gathered to share musical performances and dances. Sketches were performed and were well-received, especially one which required certain acrobatic skills to depict how they collect honey.

Collecting honey sketch

Excited audience

Full house at the longhouse

The activities brought out some nostalgia amongst the elders, but they were new to the younger Penans who were raised in settlements.

“This event is really good. We are very happy to be a part of this, and happy that this knowledge can be passed down to the younger generation” said Eteng Liyan, an elderly women from Btu Bunyan.

The material culture of the Penan seemed modest compared to their fellow neighbours such as the Kayan and Kelabit groups – whose traditional costumes boast many striking colors and their hats proudly wearing feathers of rare birds. Instead, it was a subtle affair with Penans dressed in loin cloth or other costumes influenced from different groups in Sarawak.

Nor did their musical instruments include gongs which can be heard from miles away. Instead they played softer instruments such as the nose flute, oren, made from the stem of a palm and sape, which works like a guitar.

Playing the sape

The Atui, a giant musical instrument made from a carved log and adorned with a beautiful piece of clouded leopard skin took center stage.

The Atui

“We (Penans) believe that the clouded leopard is very powerful. We greatly respect it because it is the epitome of perfection,” Isarai Weng explained to me.

“The clouded leopard strives for perfection in everything. For example, if it got a wound or broke a tooth, it would want to die because it is not perfect anymore.”

“An ‘imperfect’ leopard would follow a human hoping to get caught and killed. This is why it is a very special and good creature.”

As a show of respect, the Penans would beat on the Atui whenever a clouded leopard is caught and brought back to camp. The same treatment would also be given to leaders of high ranks if they visited – and only those leaders are given the honor of wearing the skin of the clouded leopard.

Putting the leopard skin over the Atui

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Clearly, the Pesta Penan clarified whatever misconception which people had about the Penan people not having ‘culture’, just because they are traditionally hunter-gatherers. On the contrary, the Penan people share many similarities in music, dance, traditional knowledge, oral history and pride for their culture as other indigenous groups in Borneo.

Perhaps the only thing not shared is their basic human rights, an issue leaders who are worthy of wearing the fur of the clouded leopard should act on immediately.

It may take many years to work through the complexities of finding an arrangement where the state development plans can happen while respecting the indigenous peoples as rightful forest stewards.

For now, we can only hope to read and hear of better news of the Penan people, such as the Pesta Penan, which celebrates its culture, people and tradition.

Photographs & written by Puah Sze Ning

Gigantic Boost for Elevyn Artisans

I had a chance to drop by MDeC’s headquarters today, and while looking for a parking spot, was greeted with this huge poster from the side of the building:

Elevyn's Mah Meri Artisans

Yup, that’s Maznah anak Unyan, group leader of the Tompoq Topoh indigenous group and her fellow artisans who have set up an online store on Elevyn.com.

The Mah Meri folks were featured as part of MDeC’s “Senang dengan ICT” (Easy with ICT) campaign to highlight communities and entrepreneurs who have successfully used information & communications technology (ICT) for a better livelihood.

Tompoq Topoh’s online store features intricately hand-woven pouches, bookmarks, pandanus bangles and other accessories.

Note: The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) is an agency responsible for spearheading Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiatives. Elevyn is a recipient of MDeC’s Pre-seed Grant in 2007.

Improving Livelihoods Through Market Feedback

As you are well aware, Elevyn works with indigenous groups and marginalized communities to commercialize their crafts to a worldwide market, via www.elevyn.com. A big part of the proceeds then go directly to the artisans to improve their livelihoods.

As a concept, that is how it works. But just like any other business, we are subject to all the challenges of the open market. For example, it is not enough to just list the crafts on the website and expect sales. The products must be competitive in terms of pricing, quality and design.

With that in mind, Elevyn has been paying a lot of attention to the items that are sold. We solicit feedback from buyers, and work closely with artisan organizations to continuously improve the products. This has resulted in a number of attractive, high quality crafts that do not look out of place in the urban home.

As part of our efforts in product development, Elevyn, alongside our network partner NTFP-EP would like to invite your participation in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). We intend to seek your feedback on a number of crafts produced by the Dayak artisans of Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is open to urban professionals interested in fashion, heritage and culture. Details as follows:

Date: 06 March 2010 (this coming Saturday)

Location: Marmalade Cafe in Bangsar Village II, Kuala Lumpur

There are 2 sessions:

• A: Institutional / Corporate Buyers @ 10am-12pm
• B: Consumer Groups @ 3-5pm

You don’t have to buy anything – we just want to hear your opinions on a range of products that we have planned for market commercialization. Light refreshments will be served, and on the house!

Your feedback will go a long way towards improving the performance of the products in the market, and help better the economic livelihood of the craftmakers.

To confirm your attendance, or if you have any enquiries, please write to szening@elevyn.com.

Hope to see you there!

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Our Network Partner, the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Program (NTFP-EP)

NTFP-EP is a collaborative network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations in South and Southeast Asia. NTFP-EP works with forest-based communities to strengthen their capacity in sustainable management of natural resources. Learn more at www.ntfp.org.