Ethical companies are a main focal point of my universe and have been for my entire adult life. I owned an organic flower business, helped start a fair trade importing venture, sold renewable energy, etc. etc.
And... most of my friends and loved ones seem to be doing the same. In fact, maybe the whole world is doing the same... because when I look in portals or write "ethical companies" in search of a job, they are choosing from 300 highly qualified applicants. Even jobs in non-profits that pay low salaries or even no salaries are highly competitive.
Energetic smart people don't just want to make money, they want to make a difference. We think about huge financial firms, and oil companies and car manufacturers as places we could never work because they are "unethical." They are exploitive and unsustainable.
So we passionately throw ourselves into: consulting for non-profits, marketing fair trade handbags, making organic flaxseed crackers, promoting an ethical tv station... this is work we feel good about.
But... what do these ethical companies do for their devoted employees? It is now the second time this year and one of many times in my life when I have seen an "ethical company" sacrifice its employees for the "vision."
I was kind-of-hired by an ethical online TV station a few months ago. I loved the mission -give people alternatives to crap TV, TV with consciousness, use it to promote other ethical companies through advertising - it was so great. We skyped about goals and job roles, drafted contracts, trained me, put my bio on their website.
It went on for months without anything ever getting signed and without me ever getting paid. Answers were," Oh, yes we really need to get that going, probably next week." Well, trusting them on their word, I went to live in a foreign country, knowing that the income would be there "next week..."
After two weeks in Panama, they finally told me in response to my pressing insistence on a contract and pay, "The truth is, we just don't have the budget to hire you." Then, in the silence, the CEO added, "But if you really do want to start working on good faith, you're really welcome to. I just can't promise that you'll get paid."
...Is that "ethical"?
My boyfriend was also hired by this company, only he managed to get a contract and pay, thank goodness, since we share bills. His first salary was transferred 2 weeks late. Apologies... it will never happen again. The second month, he sent his "invoice" (he is not actually an employee, but a "contractor" so the "ethical company" won't have to pay taxes for him.). There was a follow up, "ok. We'll get it to you." A week went by. Two weeks went by. Follow up emails were unanswered. Three weeks went by.
Finally, a response to an email cc'd to everyone who had any influence in the company. A skype call with the CEO: "Yeah, we're really sorry. The truth is that we ran out of money two months ago because an investor bailed. I will pay you as soon as I can but there's a small chance I won't be able to pay you at all."
This got me reflecting... every "ethical company" I have ever known has put the "vision" before its employees. I was even guilty of it when running Sarah's Flowers. It's that the founder feels so inspired and sure of their purpose, its almost righteousness, and there's a feeling that of course everyone will want to help. The ones I choose will be lucky to be a part of this.
So maybe we are wrong... The "conscious" young talent of my generation. Maybe we underestimate those car factories and oil companies that pay regular salaries and health insurance. It's not that I am suggesting "selling out," but no idea is worth slavery. And any company who thinks its okay to skip on paying an employee in chasing Utopia, is defeating its own objective with every step it takes.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
A Week in Another World...
...And now I am changed forever.
I spent this last week in a village in the middle of the jungle. The town was called Soloy, in Ngobe Bugle land, where the Ngobe people live, speaking Ngobe and living in their the traditional ways as they have for thousands of years. I was volunteering there, teaching English to adults and helping to update/create websites.
I have so much to say... this is going to be long.
I did not go there through any program, and I did not go through any international organization; Everyone I worked with and met was Ngobe (they all speak Spanish as a second language), which is one of the reasons the experience was so special.
It was hard to leave Panama City: my beautiful new abode, my dear sweet boyfriend -a very comfortable life, to venture off on a night bus to an unknown corner of the jungle, not knowing anyone, not having any reason at all to do it except that it scared me ... and that meant that I could grow from it.
The bus went to David, a normal little town, and from there I took the truck to Soloy... a 4X4 with sideways benches in the back instead of seats and 18 people crammed in the back. The ride was bumpy, sometimes through mud 2 feet deep (not exaggerating... it is the rainy season here) and it last 2 hours. The pain of the bench and the bodies impossibly pressed together was mitigated by the pleasure of the view... rolling jungle hills, banana trees, orchids, green pastures and waterfalls.
I got off when other people got off and asked for Adan (emphasis on the last syllable). It was the only name I knew, and I clung to it. The spot where we were was a kind of junction of two really muddy roads with two small wooden buildings, the village stores. You don't go inside (there's no room), you walk up to the counter and ask for what you want. There were a few people around, and some chickens and some dogs but the dominating factors of the place were mud and jungle.
Adan was a young Ngobe man who met me with a pile of books I could use in my class and
took me to where I would sleep and then gave me a tour of Soloy and its surroundings. And that is how my experience began. Here is how I was impacted:
Poverty: I experienced poverty like I have never experienced it before. Houses are sticks and dirt floors, children and women are sometimes without shoes, no one can afford to eat more than once a day. My first hours in Soloy, I was shocked. My first three nights, I was fighting back tears from discomfort and loneliness. By the 6th day, I felt like I was a citizen of Soloy... I could live there for years, no problem.
Riches: Some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Elaborate, refined tribal artistry that could have its place in a museum (more on this later), papayas and bananas growing wild in the forest. Hundreds of varieties of unique orchids, trees, bromeliads, birds, insects.
Access: This is one of my biggest lessons. The difficulties of this village are not only due to a lack of money, they are due to a lack of ACCESS. There is no mail to Soloy, there are hardly roads to Soloy, there are no electric lines or plumbing (some solar panels, and piped water from the river for a few of the buildings... not houses), there are no banks nor ATM's, there is no cell phone signal.
What does this mean? The economy is trapped. Goods cannot be sold outside of the village really, so they are sold at prices that are artificially low. If there is a bad weather season that effects crops, the people can starve with money in their pockets because there is no food (the trucks can't get it there fast enough!). And on, and on.
I had no idea.
Hunger: I always had this idea that hunger is something experienced by the very poor and I associated it with ignorance, dirtiness, disgrace and a burning sensation in the stomach. That's not what hunger is. I experienced hunger myself accidentally because I ran out of money.
See, the women Artisan groups have no one to buy their crafts. They literally don't have a market (see Access) so they rely on the few volunteers (foreigners) who come visit. All women make these things as part of their traditions, so there is no internal market.
Well the things are beautiful, so I wanted to buy everything my few dollars would buy (to support them and buy Christmas gifts). I budgeted so that I would just have enough for the passage back and food. I would eat at the restaurant (think foodstand... $1.00 for beans, chicken and rice -btw, there is no refrigeration bc there is no electricity, so chicken is the main meat since it just runs around until you're ready to eat.) only once a day and for dinner, I'd fry eggs in the kitchen (eggs are 10 cents).
Well, they ran out of eggs. They ran out. I instantly thought, that's okay they'll get some in tomorrow. Ah, no they won't. No access. So I ate 1 meal a day and then nibbled on bread, crackers, etc.
This is what I learned about Hunger: it doesn't burn the stomach, because you do eat, you just don't eat enough of the right things. You are still fully functional just slow er and weaker. The key to hunger is protein. Protein is the most expensive thing to buy. You can eat enough white bread to fill your stomach, but you can feel it in your skin that you are slowly starving.
This is the other thing I learned about hunger: Almost everyone in Soloy was hungry. Adan and Plinio (Adan's brother) and I would have long intellectual meetings about the mission of the botanical garden the were building and appropriate symbols to use in a logo (all in Spanish, by the way), and then they would say they were not going to lunch today. Hunger exists among the educated and the dignified.
Promise: Soloy has a shining star and his name is Adan. Adan is in his late 20's, a Ngobe fella raised in Soloy all his life. He got ahold of a program about 10 years ago called CASS that sponsors young members of impoverished communities to study in the USA, so that they can bring their educations back to their homes and help them develop. The program is supposed to last for 4 years.
But Panama has a problem. Panama City is so rich and so developed, that it effects country averages
and international perception into thinking Panama is a developed country that doesn't need that much support. In this way, impoverished, very needing regions like Ngobe Bugle don't get the international resources that, say, their Nicaraguan or Honduran counterparts do. So CASS cut its funding to Panama and Adan came home to Soloy after only two years and no Panamanian staff to help him.
But he's going ahead anyway. He's embracing the charge CASS gave him with such purpose and dedication, I am ashamed for them for abandoning him. He and his American friend started Medo, the organization I found on idealist.org, the reason I came to Soloy. Learn more about Medo: medo.awardspace.com
Slowly, Medo is attracting talented resourceful people to Soloy. Slowly and steadily, Soloy is developing. Adan is shy and humble, courteous and intelligent. He lives in the same poverty, the wooden houses, the scant food, etc. that are typical of his village. But he has a vision that is so authentic and so inspiring and so generous, you just want to help him. Medo is not some white people that came down to a jungle village and said "Oh look at the poor people, let's help them." Medo is the Ngobe themselves, taking their own community into their hands, reaching out for support and talent from the outside.
If it was a company, I'd invest.
What am I doing for Medo and the Ngobe:
I taught English for a week and I think I was a success (by the way, they need someone to stay for 2 or 3 months starting immediately, if you know anyone who might want the job).
I am redoing the website of the Jardin Botanico: Plinio has been trained in botony and is walking through the jungle (region is called the Comarca) identifying every single plant and taking samples to build a botanical garden to one day be an attraction for ecotourism. He has scientific support from Botanical societies in Austria and Germany. In a few weeks, check out: http://www.soloy.pueblerino.info/
I will be delivering a donation of medical supplies from the US to Soloy in January.
And finally, the project I am most excited about, and the one that will take the most miracles to pull off: I am going to try to start a business selling chacaras. Chacaras are one of the crafts that the Ngobe women make. They are woven bags, made entirely out of plant fibers and dyes
through a process entirely by hand. It is a unique and traditional art. They are beautiful and they last through the mud and the heavy labor of Soloy for 20 years. It takes between 1 and 2 months to make one. Right now, they sell them to the one or two volunteers that come to Soloy each month (price $10 to $20) and to dealers who come from Panama City for sometimes as low as 3$, to be resold in larger tourist markets. The women know full well that they are underselling, but they do it to survive. Some more interesting info is here
I had a meeting with one of the Artisan groups to discuss marketing possibilities: how to reach a broader market. I thought Internet, but how do they ship when there's no mail? How do they receive money when there's no bank?
I had a second meeting with them to explain the concept of fair trade. We calculated how much time they spend on the process and what they would need to earn to at least survive on making chacaras. The price would need to be between $70 and $150 per bag. One lady recalled that 15 years ago, she sold a bag every month to one man for $90 and he shipped them to the USA to be resold. So its possible. If women will spend $700 on a Burberry bag made in China, there's gotta be a way for me to make them spend a few hundred dollars on an original artpiece.
So I'm going to start creating a website, with sleek photos that make these chacaras look like the the most glamorous fashion item available. I hope that by January, I have some money to go back to Soloy and buy a big order of bags at a fair price. I have a vision of the entire Ngobe Bugle region being transformed by empowered economically successful women. Currently, the chacara art is dying, younger women opting for the easier crafts, but if I can pay them $100 a bag, the chacara art will flourish again because it will be a viable source of income.
This was my week in Soloy and how it has impacted me. If you have any questions or ideas or would like to do something to help as well, you can comment, email me or email medovolunteers@gmail.com
UPDATE: Here is the blog about the project marketing the hand bags: http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/
I spent this last week in a village in the middle of the jungle. The town was called Soloy, in Ngobe Bugle land, where the Ngobe people live, speaking Ngobe and living in their the traditional ways as they have for thousands of years. I was volunteering there, teaching English to adults and helping to update/create websites.
I have so much to say... this is going to be long.
I did not go there through any program, and I did not go through any international organization; Everyone I worked with and met was Ngobe (they all speak Spanish as a second language), which is one of the reasons the experience was so special.
It was hard to leave Panama City: my beautiful new abode, my dear sweet boyfriend -a very comfortable life, to venture off on a night bus to an unknown corner of the jungle, not knowing anyone, not having any reason at all to do it except that it scared me ... and that meant that I could grow from it.
The bus went to David, a normal little town, and from there I took the truck to Soloy... a 4X4 with sideways benches in the back instead of seats and 18 people crammed in the back. The ride was bumpy, sometimes through mud 2 feet deep (not exaggerating... it is the rainy season here) and it last 2 hours. The pain of the bench and the bodies impossibly pressed together was mitigated by the pleasure of the view... rolling jungle hills, banana trees, orchids, green pastures and waterfalls.I got off when other people got off and asked for Adan (emphasis on the last syllable). It was the only name I knew, and I clung to it. The spot where we were was a kind of junction of two really muddy roads with two small wooden buildings, the village stores. You don't go inside (there's no room), you walk up to the counter and ask for what you want. There were a few people around, and some chickens and some dogs but the dominating factors of the place were mud and jungle.
Adan was a young Ngobe man who met me with a pile of books I could use in my class and
took me to where I would sleep and then gave me a tour of Soloy and its surroundings. And that is how my experience began. Here is how I was impacted:Poverty: I experienced poverty like I have never experienced it before. Houses are sticks and dirt floors, children and women are sometimes without shoes, no one can afford to eat more than once a day. My first hours in Soloy, I was shocked. My first three nights, I was fighting back tears from discomfort and loneliness. By the 6th day, I felt like I was a citizen of Soloy... I could live there for years, no problem.
Riches: Some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Elaborate, refined tribal artistry that could have its place in a museum (more on this later), papayas and bananas growing wild in the forest. Hundreds of varieties of unique orchids, trees, bromeliads, birds, insects.
Access: This is one of my biggest lessons. The difficulties of this village are not only due to a lack of money, they are due to a lack of ACCESS. There is no mail to Soloy, there are hardly roads to Soloy, there are no electric lines or plumbing (some solar panels, and piped water from the river for a few of the buildings... not houses), there are no banks nor ATM's, there is no cell phone signal.
What does this mean? The economy is trapped. Goods cannot be sold outside of the village really, so they are sold at prices that are artificially low. If there is a bad weather season that effects crops, the people can starve with money in their pockets because there is no food (the trucks can't get it there fast enough!). And on, and on.
I had no idea.
Hunger: I always had this idea that hunger is something experienced by the very poor and I associated it with ignorance, dirtiness, disgrace and a burning sensation in the stomach. That's not what hunger is. I experienced hunger myself accidentally because I ran out of money.
See, the women Artisan groups have no one to buy their crafts. They literally don't have a market (see Access) so they rely on the few volunteers (foreigners) who come visit. All women make these things as part of their traditions, so there is no internal market.
Well the things are beautiful, so I wanted to buy everything my few dollars would buy (to support them and buy Christmas gifts). I budgeted so that I would just have enough for the passage back and food. I would eat at the restaurant (think foodstand... $1.00 for beans, chicken and rice -btw, there is no refrigeration bc there is no electricity, so chicken is the main meat since it just runs around until you're ready to eat.) only once a day and for dinner, I'd fry eggs in the kitchen (eggs are 10 cents).
Well, they ran out of eggs. They ran out. I instantly thought, that's okay they'll get some in tomorrow. Ah, no they won't. No access. So I ate 1 meal a day and then nibbled on bread, crackers, etc.
This is what I learned about Hunger: it doesn't burn the stomach, because you do eat, you just don't eat enough of the right things. You are still fully functional just slow er and weaker. The key to hunger is protein. Protein is the most expensive thing to buy. You can eat enough white bread to fill your stomach, but you can feel it in your skin that you are slowly starving.
This is the other thing I learned about hunger: Almost everyone in Soloy was hungry. Adan and Plinio (Adan's brother) and I would have long intellectual meetings about the mission of the botanical garden the were building and appropriate symbols to use in a logo (all in Spanish, by the way), and then they would say they were not going to lunch today. Hunger exists among the educated and the dignified.
Promise: Soloy has a shining star and his name is Adan. Adan is in his late 20's, a Ngobe fella raised in Soloy all his life. He got ahold of a program about 10 years ago called CASS that sponsors young members of impoverished communities to study in the USA, so that they can bring their educations back to their homes and help them develop. The program is supposed to last for 4 years.
But Panama has a problem. Panama City is so rich and so developed, that it effects country averages
and international perception into thinking Panama is a developed country that doesn't need that much support. In this way, impoverished, very needing regions like Ngobe Bugle don't get the international resources that, say, their Nicaraguan or Honduran counterparts do. So CASS cut its funding to Panama and Adan came home to Soloy after only two years and no Panamanian staff to help him.But he's going ahead anyway. He's embracing the charge CASS gave him with such purpose and dedication, I am ashamed for them for abandoning him. He and his American friend started Medo, the organization I found on idealist.org, the reason I came to Soloy. Learn more about Medo: medo.awardspace.com
Slowly, Medo is attracting talented resourceful people to Soloy. Slowly and steadily, Soloy is developing. Adan is shy and humble, courteous and intelligent. He lives in the same poverty, the wooden houses, the scant food, etc. that are typical of his village. But he has a vision that is so authentic and so inspiring and so generous, you just want to help him. Medo is not some white people that came down to a jungle village and said "Oh look at the poor people, let's help them." Medo is the Ngobe themselves, taking their own community into their hands, reaching out for support and talent from the outside.
If it was a company, I'd invest.
What am I doing for Medo and the Ngobe:
I taught English for a week and I think I was a success (by the way, they need someone to stay for 2 or 3 months starting immediately, if you know anyone who might want the job).
I am redoing the website of the Jardin Botanico: Plinio has been trained in botony and is walking through the jungle (region is called the Comarca) identifying every single plant and taking samples to build a botanical garden to one day be an attraction for ecotourism. He has scientific support from Botanical societies in Austria and Germany. In a few weeks, check out: http://www.soloy.pueblerino.info/
I will be delivering a donation of medical supplies from the US to Soloy in January.
And finally, the project I am most excited about, and the one that will take the most miracles to pull off: I am going to try to start a business selling chacaras. Chacaras are one of the crafts that the Ngobe women make. They are woven bags, made entirely out of plant fibers and dyes
through a process entirely by hand. It is a unique and traditional art. They are beautiful and they last through the mud and the heavy labor of Soloy for 20 years. It takes between 1 and 2 months to make one. Right now, they sell them to the one or two volunteers that come to Soloy each month (price $10 to $20) and to dealers who come from Panama City for sometimes as low as 3$, to be resold in larger tourist markets. The women know full well that they are underselling, but they do it to survive. Some more interesting info is hereI had a meeting with one of the Artisan groups to discuss marketing possibilities: how to reach a broader market. I thought Internet, but how do they ship when there's no mail? How do they receive money when there's no bank?
I had a second meeting with them to explain the concept of fair trade. We calculated how much time they spend on the process and what they would need to earn to at least survive on making chacaras. The price would need to be between $70 and $150 per bag. One lady recalled that 15 years ago, she sold a bag every month to one man for $90 and he shipped them to the USA to be resold. So its possible. If women will spend $700 on a Burberry bag made in China, there's gotta be a way for me to make them spend a few hundred dollars on an original artpiece.
So I'm going to start creating a website, with sleek photos that make these chacaras look like the the most glamorous fashion item available. I hope that by January, I have some money to go back to Soloy and buy a big order of bags at a fair price. I have a vision of the entire Ngobe Bugle region being transformed by empowered economically successful women. Currently, the chacara art is dying, younger women opting for the easier crafts, but if I can pay them $100 a bag, the chacara art will flourish again because it will be a viable source of income.This was my week in Soloy and how it has impacted me. If you have any questions or ideas or would like to do something to help as well, you can comment, email me or email medovolunteers@gmail.com
UPDATE: Here is the blog about the project marketing the hand bags: http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/
Friday, October 5, 2007
Settling in and Branching Out
This is the third week in Panama.
Peep and I moved into our own apartment (finally!). We live in a neighborhood called Casco Viejo (old helmet). It is the colonial part of Panama city. The building we live in is older than the city I was born in. The stair case is original marble imported from Italy, the banisters are handcarved mahogany. We have a view of the ocean and of the city that is made for kings. It is a castle. I will post pictures in a few weeks.
Our landlords (who own the house and live part-time in the rest of it) are a small family who run a really cool non-profit organization here in Panama: www.earthtrain.org .
We are trying to grab hold of Panama a bit more and have been looking for things to occupy ourselves here in Panama. We are looking for things to do that will teach us Spanish and earn us money. We have sent CV's around and gotten some job interviews. I am doing work with some non-profits. CREA-Panama has "hired" me as their pro-bono marketing consultant in exchane for the experience and practicing Spanish in their office.
In a few hours, I will go on a bus to some small town in the jungle called Soloy where I will teach English for a week and learn Spanish. After one week, Peep will meet me in a town near by called David and we will go together to Costa Rica. We have to do this to change our visas (only good for 30 days).
So the next weeks should provide chaos, interesting experiences and pretty pictures.
Peep and I moved into our own apartment (finally!). We live in a neighborhood called Casco Viejo (old helmet). It is the colonial part of Panama city. The building we live in is older than the city I was born in. The stair case is original marble imported from Italy, the banisters are handcarved mahogany. We have a view of the ocean and of the city that is made for kings. It is a castle. I will post pictures in a few weeks.
Our landlords (who own the house and live part-time in the rest of it) are a small family who run a really cool non-profit organization here in Panama: www.earthtrain.org .
We are trying to grab hold of Panama a bit more and have been looking for things to occupy ourselves here in Panama. We are looking for things to do that will teach us Spanish and earn us money. We have sent CV's around and gotten some job interviews. I am doing work with some non-profits. CREA-Panama has "hired" me as their pro-bono marketing consultant in exchane for the experience and practicing Spanish in their office.
In a few hours, I will go on a bus to some small town in the jungle called Soloy where I will teach English for a week and learn Spanish. After one week, Peep will meet me in a town near by called David and we will go together to Costa Rica. We have to do this to change our visas (only good for 30 days).
So the next weeks should provide chaos, interesting experiences and pretty pictures.
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