Set Free International

People

SFI is headquartered in Stillwater, Minnesota.  We do not travel the globe looking for artisans, rather we work with agencies and missions who are already working in various countries.  They act as the intermediary between SFI and potential women partners (artisans).  This is important so that costs can be contained and a greater share of profits can go directly to the women artisans.  Usually, we are referred to such agencies/missions by word of mouth.  

Representative of agencies/missions are determined to bring economic opportunity to the people they serve.  Thus, they see merit in collaborating with SFI.  We ask that such agencies/missions have representatives who live/work in the foreign country a significant portion of the year.  This helps with communication, commitment and builds trust.  It is the agent that identifies the artisans.

To make this easier to understand, let’s take a look at our efforts in Haiti to explain the people in the chain and how they interface with each other.

COFHED is a community development organization that does economic and health development in Haiti.  Please visit their website at www.cofhed.org for more information.  COFHED has placed two field directors in Haiti to work directly with the people of a small mountain village called Lougou, Haiti.  Their names are Nicaise and Madeleine Avignon.  Nicaise and Madeleine are both Haitian born, educated in the US, and are US citizens who could not leave their passion for their homeland behind; thus, they returned to Haiti to do community development.  They spend a significant portion of every year in Haiti.  So, in this example COFHED is the agency/mission and Nicaise and Madeleine are the Foreign Area Managers. 

Nicaise and Madeleine communicate directly with the women artisans you will find on our site.  They collect samples that represent each women’s skill set and then bring those back to SFI for evaluation.  (You will find photos of the samples sent back from Haiti in the “Artisans” section of our website.)  Nicaise and Madeleine are the conduit for communication of product concepts, quality expectations, timelines, etc.  Because we wish to bring the artisans to life for you, they also work with SFI to document the stories of the women of Lougou.   We want to create a community that brings you a shared sense of who they are, what they hope for, what their lives are like.  You will see the artisans’ names and their photos on our site.

The artisans; for example, Clotide and Mariette, are the village women who do the actual fabric appliqué you see in the sample shots. 

Woman Artisan: is the woman providing the skills to make the product.  She is the reason Set Free International (SFI) exists.  She is the person with the marketable skill who will produce products to be sold. 

Foreign Area Manager: is the person that will serve as the conduit between the partner and Set Free International.  This person will be compensated appropriately for the service provided.  They are the record keeper in the country where goods/products originate. It is imperative that they agree with the vision and mission of Set Free International.

Agency/mission: is a organization whose mission is to work with people in other countries.  To be involved with SFI, they must have a direct and compelling interest to help create economic opportunities for the people they serve.  The Foreign Area Managers work within the structure of an agency or mission.

Set Free International: staff at SFI will work with agency managers, partners, sponsoring agencies and businesses to bring women artisans new opportunities for their goods to be marketed.

Process

WHAT
Set Free International, a for-profit business, found its birth in a vision.  In the vision I heard the cries of hundreds of women, all different, all layered on each other—all women’s voices.  My heart was drawn in solidarity since I too have cried when overcoming felt impossible, or when it appeared that no one understood my plight.  In such circumstances it is normal to question if anyone in the world cares.  

We care.   We care because her tears are our tears.  We are her sister or brother, not her rescuer.   

Women worldwide who live in restrictive or oppressive environments due to poverty or sociopolitical factors often feel the despair of hopelessness.  For most, the odds seem insurmountable.  Yet, they are strong, capable, proud, and talented women who find joy in the simplest of pleasures.  They are women who have incredible skills, and yet lack the experience to define a marketable product, or lack the means to get that product to market at a fair price.  

Set Free will, by marketing their native skills in authentic and innovative product formats, connect these women to a world of customers formerly closed to them.  We will price the products to reflect the value provided and the freedom derived.    


HOW
There are many agencies and mission groups working worldwide to foster economic opportunity within indigenous groups.  Set Free collaborates with such reputable agencies who have a significant long-term presence overseas (or within the US).  These agencies/missions operate as an intermediary between Set Free and women partners/artisans worldwide.   

Such agencies come to us with samples of the women’s skill set.  We take the samples to a Creative Product Identification Group and brainstorm ideas for product concepts that would be unique and capable of being priced high enough to return a large portion to the artisan.  The output of the session is then tested with store managers at retail outlets.  We select the concepts showing the greatest potential for price premium and order quantity.    

The products will be positioned at a high price point because: 

1.  It communicates the value of the woman partner/artisan.
2.  Provides a margin to fairly compensate her.
3.  Allows enough additional margin to grow the business thereby
     reaching other women worldwide. 

The selected concepts are brought back to the sponsoring agency/mission with a request that prototypes be produced by the artisans.  Generally materials are provided by Set Free.  Later, when product prototypes are received back, they are taken to potential retail customers for feedback and potential orders.  Order volumes and timing are again communicated back through the sponsoring agency.  

For this model to survive as a for-profit business a multitude of factors must be employed: *All products produced for Set Free will be exclusive to Set Free.  Our partners/artisans are free to make and sell products that are not within the domain of Set Free, but those products developed within the Set Free process must be kept exclusive to Set Free. *All products will be branded under the Set Free International logo.

 *Concepts will evolve with time and be truly imaginative and innovative while still incorporating authentic patterns and designs, etc.

*One of each product concept will be archived for later display in a cultural/art center.

*We will cut no corner in communicating a respect for the art and skill of each woman partner.  We will tell the story of each woman partner and her family in a series of coffee-table books all under the Set Free logo.  We will also use point-of-sale brochures and our website to aid in telling her story

*Set Free will practice brand environmentalism, which simply states that products are impacted either negatively or positively by their surrounding.  To keep our price point and positioning we must be thoughtful and attentive to where and how we market our products.

 
WHY  
We believe the Set Free model will work because the products will capture the imagination of consumers and spark the imagination—thoughts of a brighter future—this helps spread the story.