4 Problems I Encountered Working with a Kantha-Producing NGO
It has been about eight years since the start of my collaboration with the NGO Center for Development and Peace (CDP), which has become my primary supplier of Kantha quilts. Before that, I had been buying mostly online from random Indian suppliers. Where exactly those Indian Kantha were sourced and how much the stitchers of the quilts received for their labour remained a mystery to me. So I set out to look for a producer that would satisfy my curiosity with regard to the origins of the Kantha blankets.
This is how I came across Tripty Kona Biswas, Director of CDP, who was looking for an opportunity to step into the handicraft market to provide Bangladeshi women in need with a way of making a respectable living.
To create jobs for women who did not have many other options to earn a living and, at the same time, to produce fabulous Kantha blankets seemed like a win-win situation! I ordered a batch of Kantha quilts and baby blankets. Receiving my first big package was like my birthday and Christmas combined! I would have been totally happy to keep all those blankets to myself.
A great many Kantha products later, I know that receiving those packages from Bangladesh is not just bliss. There were, and still are, many obstacles on our path to becoming a successful and sustainable business. I was actually close to giving up on working with CDP, because I always felt I did not have it in me to really get this thing going. Here are some of my main challenges:
1) I am the worst salesperson!
It would be an understatement to say that I hate the idea of convincing anyone to buy anything. In my world, marketing is a capitalist tool to make people buy stuff they don’t really need or want. I have run my etsy shop for almost ten years now, with variable success. My sales strategy amounts to listing an item and trusting that the right person will notice it and place an order (fingers crossed!). I don’t write exuberant descriptions of my items, I don’t overly praise my creations. I am very careful about warning potential clients about possible imperfections of a product. Needless to say that this does not get one very far in today’s competitive market, where you just don’t stand out if you are merely waiting for someone to notice you. While I have sold many Kantha quilts through my etsy shop, it was nowhere near enough to help all those potential stitchers in need.
2) Product quality is not always what I expect
Over the years, I had CDP produce a few new items - placemats, table runners and scarves. CDP, for their part, proceeded to train many more women, which, on one hand, was certainly a positive development. On the other hand, I felt that the the items I received were no longer of the same quality, as less skilled women were allowed to take over production. After my last order about two years ago I was pretty disillusioned. Along with the sales in my etsy shop, the quality of the Kantha products I received had plummeted. Some quilts were stained, some had tears, there were loads of loose threads that I had to tidy up myself. I spent hours mending quilts and fretting over all these frustrating imperfections. If I felt bad about marketing anything to my customers, how could I possibly advertise something that, in my (albeit perfectionist) view was a far cry from what I wanted it to be?
3) Communication with Bangladesh isn’t straight-forward!
No matter how many times I had pointed out those quality issues to CDP, they would repeat themselves again and again. It is not easy to get your ideas across to someone a couple of continents away, who is working within the constraints of totally different social, economic and cultural settings such as they exist in Bangladesh. While my intention was to sell the most beautiful, perfect and sustainable Kantha blankets to spoilt western consumers, Tripty from CDP wanted to get as many women as possible to stitch to save them from poverty. Our common goals got a bit lost in translation.
4) I have a hard time dealing with the fact that the stitchers place hope in me
The whole project started to feel a bit overwhelming, as I slowly began to understand that I, a not very business-savvy person, had somehow created hope in Tripty and those quilting ladies that I would be a major outlet for selling their products. I was the one who had access to western markets and the possibility to set up an online shop, with the right payment channels (yes, not everyone has access to convenient PayPal or even a credit card), English writing skills (even though not perfect at times) and the (albeit basic) knowhow to set up a web store. Tripty cannot simply list a Kantha quilt online, promote it, sell it and ship it abroad. There are innumerable small obstacles to selling from a developing country like Bangladesh, including its cumbersome bureaucracy.
But was I up to the task?
Last year, I withdrew. I did not answer Tripty’s messages and enquiries about a new order. I just felt I couldn’t really help on my end, either, especially when I could sell neither the quality of products I felt a client should receive nor the quantity to make the operation profitable. During the same time, we also moved to a new home in a different country and built a house. For a while, I had to stop working on my etsy shop altogether.
A year after we moved into our new permanent home and nine months into the Covid crisis, I finally felt that I could not let Tripty hang in there on her own. As much as we were affected by the crisis, with lockdowns and kids stuck at home for months on end, it seemed very little hardship compared to the one suffered by the CDP beneficiaries. With no orders from abroad, no income and no access to proper healthcare, I felt I had to give it another try. I also realized that despite feeling so inadequate at selling fair trade Kantha, I had actually still helped some women. Which made me feel a bit better and gave me hope!
I have placed another order with CDP. Not a huge one, but, I hope, a good one quality-wise.
And how am I going to solve the problems outlined above?
I will become a better salesperson. How? I am not sure yet. (Advise is welcome!) But this blog post is part of my effort.
I will make sure I get the quality I expect. This involves strict guidelines on how my products are to be made and quality control by means of many, many photos. Front, back, closeups. I hand-picked all fabric combinations for my next order (which I enjoyed very much, by the way!). I will not purchase items that do not live up to my standards.
I will communicate my ideas as clearly as I can. It will likely take more than one attempt, but little strokes fell big oaks!
And, last but not least, I will honour the hope placed in me by those lady beneficiaries of CDP. I am privileged living the life I live and I shall use my resources and skills to support women who are not as fortunate as me.
