Every time Jackie Kasandy returned from a trip to Kenya, her friends and colleagues in Canada asked her the same thing: where could they buy the handmade items she brought back? That simple question eventually changed the direction of her life.
In 2014, she left her corporate job and put her marketing experience into a venture she believed in. She founded Kasandy Locally Global, a business that sources handcrafted products directly from artisan communities in Kenya and other African countries and sells them to customers across North America.
Fair trade sits at the centre of her approach. She says the artisans behind each product must be fairly paid for their skill and labour, so every kiondo or beaded necklace that reaches a Canadian home comes with the story of the people who made it.
Her work has also changed how the products are viewed. Items that many Kenyans associate with daily life, roadside stalls or airport gift shops are presented to her customers as home décor and fashion accessories, valued for their craftsmanship and authenticity.
For the artisans, that shift means access to a wider market and a more stable income, with their stories delivered to buyers’ doorsteps.
Kasandy’s journey shows that building a business across borders does not always need a groundbreaking idea. Sometimes it is about recognising the value in what has always been there and finding the right audience for it.
Source; https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GspQZZRpz/
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