Inside the Belly of...The Gentle Giant

I pretty much hit the ground running in Ghana on the 27th of January. On the 28th it was off to Cape Coast and a brief stop at the office. That night was my first semi-official staff meeting and strategy planning time with my boss. It is so interesting to see how the concerns of businesses are all the same: people, money, sales and processes. The major questions being how do I create my product/provide my service the most efficiently and how do I keep people purchasing my product/service?

Now, if I was looking at these questions and concerns from inside the belly of the corporate beast I already know the answers. I’ve seen them enacted every quarter while working in corporate America. The new trick is learning how to face them from a Fair Trade perspective. People are not just computer monkeys and machines, money is not horded by those at the top of the pyramid, sales are not the top priority and processes are not just decided by the people writing the checks.

Basically, Fair Trade businesses do not live by the motto of “profit before people”. The unfortunate side is that this can often come at a great cost, literally and figuratively, to those who hold the fair trade policies most dear. It is not easy functioning as a fair trade company with sustainable interests in a world designed for disposable EVERYTHING!

There are so many things to consider…It’s not just a “is this person an under performer? If “yes” then fire” situation. For instance, there is one seamstress who is the sweetest person and a hard worker…BUT, she is not a very skilled seamstress! Over the years the products have been shuffled around and this seamstress has failed to do most of them up to standards. Instead of asking her to leave the group, she was given the simplest products we could muster…sarongs and napkins! They are just squares that need straight hems. Maybe this is not the most efficient way for production to be handled, but it keeps this seamstress in work and her smile cheers us up every time she drops off her order of napkins!

Here is another example that might just boggle your mind:
Our organization has had several problems with theft from the women. Now, when someone is caught stealing, they are brought before the entire group and a decision is made cooperatively since, as the founders believe, these decisions affect everyone so everyone should get to decide. Every single time, the vote is: “let’s give them another chance; we don’t know what their circumstances are that led them to steal”. Now, for the corporate beast…this would not be tolerated! For the gentile giant of fair trade…this is just how it works. You take into consideration the feelings and cultural standards of your employees.

Crazy, I know…but crazy by what standards?

Needless to say, my mind is already being stretched and challenged. I am excited about the tasks ahead of me and look forward to sharing my tests and triumphs with you as I go!