Friday 23 January 2015

We change the world one scarf at a time


When I decided to help Karma, it was on the strength of support of good friends like Robin, Candy, Tracy, Polly etc. At same time, many also pour cold water over me - say "you have never run a social enterprise, handicraft can't sell much, your sale price too low you will not survive, your ladies are uneducated and won't learn business..." Actually the cold water was a lot, sometimes from industry experts or social entrepreneur gurus.

Still my love for Karma is strong and I endured those naysayers and plod on. In my heart I said, One Scarf. One Hope. All I have to do is sell one scarf. 



In January 2015, 300 scarfs have gone into the hands of their happy new owners. And 100 more is ordered. 400 units is a super small number for many businesses. Minuscule. But for us, especially me who thought i can only sell 10 scarfs for Karma, 400 a month blows my mind. (want to add, one friend Helen Pu helped market 200 of the 400!!) 

This morning, I woke up thinking. What about February? Can I sell 10 for Karma? Fear crept into my heart, the naysayers haunting words came back again. And I say to myself, One scarf at a time. One scarf at a time". 


Pic of one of the 47 weavers attending WOW Training in Thimphu Bhutan on 23 Jan 2015, the workshop fully sponsored by Ana by Karma. WOW stands for Women Overarchievers Weavers Training, the first of its kind workshop. 


Tuesday 13 January 2015

Lucky Guess Competition - Win a Free Gift for CNY


 LUCKY GUESS COMPETITION
         幸运竞猜

上面的袋子里共有多少个财神? 赶快参与竞猜。每人仅有一次竞猜的机会,因此请大家在提交答案前认真思考。

How many God of Fortune in this bag? Make a lucky guess. Everyone gets one chance to guess, so think carefully before you send in your answer.

The bag is 21cm X 30cm. 袋子尺寸 21cm X 30cm

第一位猜出正确答案的将赢得Ana by Karma幸福围巾一条,中国或香港地区, 马来西亚免运费The first one to get the number right wins one FREE Happy Scarf from Ana by Karma, and it is free delivery in Hong Kong, China & of course to my Malaysian folks la (less you dont let me come through immigration during CNY). 

  Competition ends on 20 January 2015 midnight. 
Forward to your friends and see who is the luckiest of them all.
Happy guessing. 竞猜将于2015120日凌晨截止。欢迎转发链接,看谁是你周围最幸运的人。快乐竞猜。


Ana by Karma Online Shop 微店二维码

 

WHO IS ANA BY KARMA?
Ana by Karma 是谁?

Ana by Karma Social Enterprise connects illiterate, underprivileged women weavers in Bhutan to a world of opportunities, by empowering them to sell their handmade scarfs internationally. All scarfs are hand made in Bhutan. 
Ana by Karma社会企业以帮助一群未受过教育的、贫困的不丹女性手工编织者为宗旨,授权将她们的手工围巾销往国际市场。所有围巾均为不丹手工编织。


WE CREATE WOW EXPERIENCE 我们创造WOW经历

In 2014, almost two thirds of the proceeds is channeled back to Bhutan to cover their wages, raw material, logistics cost and related. A further 20%of the proceeds is allocated to fund their training and development workshop - called WOW (Women Overachievers Workshop), the first of which is conducted in Jan 2015 for weavers. 

2014年,近2/3的收益返回不丹以支付她们的薪水,原材料,物流成本,或其他相关费用。还有20%的收益用于资助她们的培训和发展工作坊-又称WOW(杰出编织者工作坊),第一期培训将于20151月启动。

WOW Training Program equips our illiterate weavers with enhanced weaving skills, learn to be financial independent, quality control and standard operating procedures. The Institute of Management Studies www.ims.edu.bt in Bhutan is commissioned to deliver WOW. In the first workshop, 60 weavers are trained, including weavers who come from far flung villages - some took 6 days to/fro travel to attend the workshop. This is the first time the weavers attend class (or school), a "wow" experience for them, if not life changing. 

WOW培训课程目标:帮助我们未受过教育的编织者们提高她们的编织技能,学会财务独立,质量控制以及标准运营流程。不丹管理学院(网址:www.ims.edu.bt是实施此课程的合作机构。第一期课程将有60名不丹编织者参与,其中有的来自很偏远的村庄 —— 她们为了参与培训,来回路上需要花费6天的时间。对于这些编织者们来说,这是她们第一次走进课堂,即使不能改变她们的命运,也是一次非常“WOW”的经历。


WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF YOUR SUPPORT?
您的支持将带来什么改变?

The weavers are upgraded from no /little income to low income since they became part of Ana by Karma. As every scarf you purchase gives them one day of work. In 2014, the proceeds from June to Dec that went back to Bhutan is equivalent to almost 10 of years of what a low income family in Bhutan would earn. And now for the first time in their lives, they attend school, an impossible dream for many of them. 

加入Ana by Karma后,编织者们从无收入者升级为低收入者。你每购买一条围巾,将带给她们一天的工作。20146-12月返回不丹的收益相当于一个低收入不丹家庭约10年的收入。而如今,她们还将获得人生历程中的第一次课堂学习机会,这对她们中的许多人来说都是不可能实现的梦想。

Let's change the world, one scarf at a time.
让我们携手改变世界,一条围巾,一份希望! 

    GET ONE SCARF :: GIVE ONE HOPE


Tuesday 6 January 2015

Fortune be with you always


The "God" of Fortune 财神 must be the most loved god of all in my family when I was young. Sleepy as we kids were, grandma would insist we stay awake til midnight on Chinese New Year eve to welcome him. And welcome him we did, at stroke of midnight, firecrackers boomed and crackled. A great fanfare no other gods enjoyed. grandma would then reward us with sweets. 

Many many many years later I came across the 财神 again, although in a very different way. 

Our company just expanded and opened a nice new little office in one of the tier two cities of China. Quite quickly, two "tough looking" chaps dropped by, arms decorated with the most colourful tattoos,  holding a rather big porcelain 财神 as a "office warming gift" (who said we invited them?) I was tempted to set the firecrackers on them! But instead, returned the gesture with a big smile and a nice box of chocolates which I happened to have brought from Hong Kong. This suitably impressed the tough boys to leave us without extorting us an arm and a leg, to the amused surprise of our local staff. Maybe it was my bad putonghua that frightened them off. 

From then on, it renewed my interest in the 财神 Each Chinese New Year, I will scour for some nice looking God of Fortune to give as well meaning presents on such auspicious celebrations. 

This year, the first 100 lucky customers of Ana by Karma will receive a mini 财神 with the purchase of a CNY series of red scarf. 

No need to stay up to midnight to wait for him anymore  And if you are opening an office in a tier two city in China, put my 财神 at your front door to show that I am "protecting" you already. Hahaha