The Karma of Things

With 2015 fast closing its curtain upon us, I reflected on the year. Well, in fact - on the last one and half years.

I still clearly remember sitting across Karma Yangchi at the restaurant, persuading her to accept my gift. (I failed). And so, I changed track and asked her instead, to weave something and I help her sell. (Hoo..I succeeded).

And then so many things happened. All I know is scarfs followed me home to Hong Kong, followed me to my trip to Shanghai, Malaysia, Singapore as I distributed them around. Just as I thought - phew - I have done my job and about to wipe my brow -  suddenly, more scarfs were ordered. And more. And then more. And still more!!! Even my husband started to ask "Do your friends eat scarf?" (as he saw the boxes of scarfs arrive - one after another, from summer to winter and back to summer)

But you know whats really nice? It is not only scarfs that arrived. The best kind of people turned up to. Be it old friends, friend of friends, new friends, complete strangers - suddenly they appear in my life and say "Lets talk. I want to help".


My reflection? This must be what it feels like to have good Karma come along. Because she brings the best people to you when she appears.


(PS Why I spell Scarves as Scarfs. Simple. When I spelt it Scarves, some people don't know what it is. I am not kidding!!!!!! So I spelt it Scarfs ...an old fashion way to spell. Why not, we are doing things the old fashion way here. Slowly, nicely, lovingly, carefully)


Photo : Karma and me in Thimphu in November 2015 - by Allan Yeung.

Join Ana by Karma in Bhutan (April 2016)

10 Days 9 Nights in Bhutan

(with pre and post stops in Bangkok)

Contact

HK based tour operator - Co-op Travel Education Centre for your Bhutan trip

Betty / Yolanda at +852 2541 5094        bhutan@coop-travel.com.hk

The Tour Operator is Coop Travel Education in Hong Kong

The tour on Easter 24 March departure is now closed

Ana by Karma Website

(A small note: 

Ana by Karma is not connected to Coop Travel - 

they are a licensed travel agent and will help you 

make arrangements to come to our volunteer programs) 

Ana by Karma - How it started

https://youtu.be/wakZSi3Ec50

A beautiful day

Hong Kong looking splendid this morning

The Art of Giving

THE ART OF GIVING

How we give makes a world of difference to the recipient.

Charity, whilst is a traditional way to give, it sometimes create cruel dependency. The recipient gets a respite from life's harshness but not necessarily a ladder to climb out of it. And needs more help. And more. 

In contrast, when we give with a clear mission to empower, to enable, a different story emerges. The recipient not only gets a respite, but a ladder to progress in life. And with the same ladder, he or she can also help others in the same plight to move up in life. 

Such is our story of Ana by Karma for Bhutanese weavers. 

Karma, whom a year ago, was struggling to make ends meet, today has not only overcome financial difficulties, but herself is a giver of hope. She has trained dozens of illiterate poor weavers to form a community. 

The one who received help is now helping. This is the real art of giving. Empowering the recipient to be part of your team to give. Imagine that. Imagine the impact as we give more, we get more givers!

This Christmas - give the most meaningful gift to your family and friends - our hand made scarf - whilst giving Karma and her team the best gift too - empowering them to be givers in future. 

Check Karma's handmade scarves at:

https://www.etsy.com/hk-en/shop/AnaScarf

Photo on top: Quin giving a present to the weavers from the Royal Bhutan Army community

Photo on bottom: Karma meeting Helen Pu from China who selflessly helped the team of weavers even when Helen has not met them before

Unleash the potential within

"Potential exists everywhere--sometimes in very unexpected places--and most important, within ourselves." Jessica B, founder of Kiva, a successful Microfinance Co.

Many believe that we are the one who helped the poor illiterate weavers in Bhutan to earn money they never could have without our involvement. That's true but not the whole truth. Truth is we helped unleash the potentials stored within them. They could always make beautiful things with their hands, they were just not connected to the world that appreciates such beauty and colour of the handmade scarfs

But the biggest surprise for all contributor s and volunteers of Ana by Karma is that through this social enterprise, it is we who discovered our potentials and our vast capacity. It is us who found the treasure within us. I certainly did. 

A POOR ILLITERATE WOMAN TAUGHT US A LESSON

A POOR ILLITERATE WOMAN TAUGHT US A LESSON

What was meant to be a donation of US$200 for one poor illiterate woman morphed into a social enterprise in Bhutan. Ana by Karma Social Enterprise Bhtutan has 70+ weavers proudly earning through sale of their handmade scarfs.

Back then, I made an assumption – the poor benefits from our money, our donation. No. Not true. Karma- the Bhutanese weaver who never went to school, she wants an opportunity, a chance to showcase her talent, the dignity of earning her own keeps. Doesn’t that sound like what you and I want too?

The last thing Karma wanted was my offer of US$200 to buy her a sewing machine.

Looking back, I am glad she vehemently and repeatedly refused my “gift”, my donation. By doing so, Karma taught me a great lesson that day. It was so easy of me to drop a donation in the box and walk away. Not all the poor want our money, definitely not our sympathy. What they truly benefit from are our gift of ideas, time and our vast network.

In Karma’s spirit of dignity, one thing our social enterprise has consistently and vehemently uphold is -- > ZERO $$ donation. ZERO. Ana by Karma is a business. Not a charity.

Any money we receive, we earn it. Just like any commercial business. The only difference is, we are a business with a heart. At the heart of our enterprise is a group of Bhutanese women weavers who are given the opportunity to become financially independent through their own beautiful work. In fact the women weavers are encouraged to think of themselves as entrepreneurs in the fashion industry!

And if you really wish to “donate”, please donate to us your time, your expertise, your ideas as these are the tools of their empowerment.  And that is the lesson I learnt from Karma.

Definitions:

Charity - the act of giving money, food, or other kinds of help to people who are poor, sick, etc, people in need.

A social enterprise is a business created with a social purpose and operated in a financially sustainable way. http://www.nesst.org

Three golden questions that can open doors of opportunities for your business

As an "accidental" social entrepreneur, often I feel I am thrown in at the deep end of the pool. Thankfully I found three "floats" that have generated many new leads and created good bonds with others.

The three floats are Three golden questions to be asked by any entrepreneurs when meeting someone new for business for first time:

1. How can I help you

2. What ideas do you have for me

3. Who else do you know that I can talk to

Enjoy your morning. And fruitful meetings for the rest of the week.

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Perfectly Brilliant Name

With the love of Khandor, Rinpoche Garab blessed my birthday by giving me a Bhutanese name. Quen-sal. It means Perfectly Brilliant. I think of sparkly diamonds! 

Miraculous thing is; Rinpoche didn't even know my name is Quin when he bestowed Quen-sal upon me. In fact, not many people know the name on my passport is spelt Siew Quen. 

The name Quen-sal is An aspiration from this point in life - to keep true to my cause of helping another reach his or her potentials, be it CEOs or MBA students or illiterate weavers. It takes one diamond to shine another, as it is said.

From this point forward, I shall work to live up to the name given to me. Perfectly brilliant. 

Announcement: Diamond Club membership opened for applications. Let's help one another shine with brilliance. 

 

Obstacles? What to do?

Often when we face a huge obstacle in life, we either want to run in the opposite direction or sigh and ask "Why me?" 

The answer to the question "Why me?" Is because the obstacles are there to prepare us for something bigger and better in our lives, when we choose to surmount them.

It is your blessing in disguise. 

....when you enjoy the little things

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. 

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2015年1月20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. 

在 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2015年1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。2014年6月-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

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