I’ve just received an email from Reene from HoleyBaloney. Reene says….
Picture taken from Reene’s website.
Dear Friends & Visitors.. Today’s post is a call for everyone to take some action and help these Cambodian women.
No. I’m not asking for money contributions. Though a nice gesture, it will not help these women in the long-run. I’m plugging for a friend, who is doing something really beautiful for these women in Cambodia. She has started a social entrepreneurship which teaches women in Cambodia to make bags for sale. She’s teaching them a skill and giving them a means to support themselves and their family. It’s called BLOOM.
Do you like GAP? Abercrombie & Fitch? Do you know how much the workers in Cambodia are being paid a month to produce clothes you pay tens of US$ for? US$20 a month. That’s barely enough to cover their rent and food, much less able to put any savings aside. These workers are forced to be stuck in a rut. They don’t make enough money to upgrade themselves. They don’t have the means to provide for their children. They will be forever stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty. However, BLOOM gives them a chance to get out of this cycle. BLOOM offers them US$45 a month, more than enough to cover rent, food and have some savings for education and other training purposes. BLOOM gives them hope. Hope that they, or their children, will no longer live in poverty. Hope, for a better life in the future.
For 2 years, Diana has been putting all her efforts into BLOOM. After giving up her high-flying career, she was at a loss to what had she accomplished in her life. On a chance visit to Cambodia, she felt for these women and embarked on a no-turning-back journey.
Lest you think the bags are ugly and that if you buy one it’ll only be because you’re doing a charity, fret not. These bags are eco-friendly, made from recycled fish-feed bags and are 100% hand-crafted and designed by the small team of employees that BLOOM has. The wide variety of bags is comparable to branded products, and design is still fashionable despite the origins.
BLOOM currently does not have an overseas agent to help them to market it overseas, so what I want to do is to help them start out. I will be taking orders for the below bags for the period of September. Hopefully we will make it to be shipped by Christmas, but if not, you can always delay Xmas presents by a few days/weeks. =)
I think this sounds really interesting. Why not support a worthy cause? Click here for more details. 🙂 Please spread the word. Thanks.
BLOOM: Buy something beautiful, Do something beautiful. 😉
hi nadnut, thanks for this and thanks to reene! bloom hires disadvantaged women with the aim of alleviating poverty and saving the environment through our recycled bags. bloom pays between usd70 and usd120 for a 40 hour week, compared with usd50 for a 48 hour week that is the standard here for sewers. we’d like to be able to pay them more and hire more women, and buying bloom products will enable us to do just that. cheers diana
[Reply]
Diana: No problems, just spreading the word. 🙂 I think what you’re doing is great!
[Reply]