Cambodia Calling: Bloom nominated for the Body Shop 2010 grant

Friday, April 23, 2010

Bloom nominated for the Body Shop 2010 grant

I don't write about Bloom enough. Many things actually happen with Bloom but I have many interests which I blog about. Anyway, two weeks ago I received this email which made me very happy:

From: [name removed for privacy]@thebodyshop.com
To: "diana@bloomcambodia.com"
Sent: Thu, April 8, 2010 7:13:38 PM
Subject: INVITATION TO APPLY FOR FUNDING

Dear Ms Saw

Your organisation has been nominated by an employee of the Body Shop International for potential funding under our Asia Pacific Grants Programme at The Body Shop Foundation, the charitable trust of the company (www.thebodyshopfoundation.org).

We have attached a letter of invitation and an application form for you to complete and return to us by 14th June 2010 if you would like to apply for funding.

Can you please acknowledge receipt of this invitation by return email so that we know you have received our message and let us know if you will be applying for funding in 2010.

Yours sincerely
[name removed for privacy]
Grants Administrator
The Body Shop Foundation
Watersmead, Littlehampton
West Sussex, BN17 6LS

---------------------------------------------
From me:

Dear [...],

Thank you so much for the email. I appreciate the email very much and am touched one of the Body Shop's employees recommended us.

Although the money would be handy, from day one, we have decided not to rely on donations, preferring to make it on our own as a social enterprise, producing things that consumers are willing to buy from us. The reason is we are really striving to be self-reliant.

Many thanks again for contacting Bloom Cambodia and Happy Khmer New Year to you from sunny Cambodia!

Best regards,
Diana

---------------------------------------------

Dear Ms Saw

Thank you very much for your email. We wish you continued success with Bloom Cambodia. It looks like such a fantastic group.

Yours sincerely

[...]
Grants Administrator
The Body Shop Foundation
Watersmead, Littlehampton
West Sussex, BN17 6LS

6 comments:

feddabonn said...: good stuff diana. congrats, first on the recommendation, such things do not come easy. love your independent stance though. while i do not know what to do with a handbag (yet) bloom is looking more and more interesting! :); 10:38 pm
Diana Saw said...: Thanks so much Feddabonn. And thanks for being such a regular reader of the blog - you've asked me some hard questions and many times I don't have the answers (eg unions). Bloom is as much an experiment, a journey for me - to try and figure out the right/fair way to organise a business. Hope you are well in NZ - i have heard so many good things about NZ i want to move there! :); 8:28 am
frost said...: Great recognition for Bloom. I am also amazed at your commitment on being independent.
Keep up the amazing spirit and work!

I'm a huge fan! My Bloom Bags are in daily use!; 1:40 am
Diana Saw said...: Thanks Minna! I am so glad you like our bags. Sending hugs to Finland from Cambodia! x, Diana; 10:14 am
Huda Lee said...: Wow...congrats Diana:) I pray for your success...; 3:43 pm
lea said...: Congratulations! That's a really lovely gesture on their part but well done on your stand to be independent. Keep up the great work!; 9:25 am

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Some argue that "Shopping is more important than voting", and that the disposition of money is the most basic role we play in any system of economics. Some theorists believe that it is the clearest way that we express our actual moral choices, i.e., if we say we care about something but continue to buy from parties that have a high probability of risk of harm or destruction of that thing, we really don't care about it; we are practicing a form of simple hypocrisy." - Ethical Consumerism, Wikipedia

THE BLOOM MANIFESTO

1. We believe in the right of all people to a decent life, free of poverty and with access to education

2. We believe you will be enriched helping the poor

3. We believe women hold up half the sky

4. We believe workers should always be paid a fair wage

5. We believe if you knew the truth, you would not be an accessory to the exploitation of workers

6. We believe exploitation is evil

7. We believe in the power of good over evil

8. We believe in the power of the individual to bring about change

9. We believe your bag is a reflection of you - are you really a sheep?

10. We believe quality is worth paying for

11. We believe in love at first sight - at least where our bags are concerned!

12. We believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of handbags!

WHAT IS A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE?

A social enterprise has as its central objective, a social or environmental purpose, and not the obsession with profits. Yes, of course we want to be profitable, but it is so we can hire even more people in unfortunate circumstances, and offer them a shot at a better life, and not because we want to "increase shareholder value" or for the sake of lining our personal pockets. In fact, the only foreign staff (and founder/funder) does not get a salary from Bloom.

At Bloom, our mission is to alleviate poverty and save the environment at the same time, through our recycled bags.

As a social enterprise in Cambodia, we are competing with many NGOs on the one hand (which get donations) and for want of a better word, capitalistic businesses (which drive down costs in an effort to maximise profits). We recognise and accept the challenges that face all business, but are committed to principles of Fair Play, and will NEVER sacrifice those principles in order to be competitive. This means, for instance, we will never sacrifice workers' pay just so our bags will be cheaper. The average pay at Bloom today is 2.13 times the market rate.

So please, before you ask us to discount our bags, remember that we are not a minimum wage factory; we are a social enterprise. If you want a cheap factory-made bag, Bloom is not what you are looking for. If you agree that workers (where-ever they are--Singapore, Germany, France, the US) should always be paid fairly and are not here to produce goods and services at low wages for the profit of big business, then please consider Bloom. Bloom bags are all hand-made by our small team who spend our working hours dreaming up and making bags.

All Bloom profits go to our Khmer staff and to growing Bloom. Ultimately the aim is for Bloom to be a workers' cooperative, where workers own, manage, grow the business and share the profits.

WHO WE ARE

Bloom is a social enterprise established in Sept 2006 with the intention of providing fair-paying jobs to abandoned, widowed and divorced Cambodian women. Bloom is not a factory. We are a small workshop of nine people who work closely as a team to produce original, quality handmade bags made from recycled rice and fish feed bags.

Every Bloom Bag is meticulously designed, cut, glued and sewn by the Bloom team in our workshop in Phnom Penh. Each bag is handmade with love and attention to detail (the Bloom team really enjoys making bags!), resulting in beautiful, unique bags we are sure you will love and your friends will want!

All Bloom Bags are handmade by our team. We do not outsource to other sewers because we want to be in control of the supply chain, to ensure that everyone involved in making a Bloom Bag is paid fairly. There is no middleman taking a cut and passing on the work to another.

Please Visit Bloom's new workshop off Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh and our retail outlets. Bloom is next to Warehouse Pub in the Old Market Area in Siem Reap and at No.808 Russian Market, Phnom Penh.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Bloom nominated for the Body Shop 2010 grant

6 comments:

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