The word Sawa has several meanings in an African context. In KiSwahili it means "okay"and is used in daily speech. It is also the name of a military academy all Eritrean youth must attend for their twelfth year of school in that East African nation.
Sawa shoes means something else...
This next concept is so novel it has to be presented on Buy Africa. One of the sayings Marcus Garvey promoted was "Africa for the Africans". This notion may be hard for some to comprehend. Sawa shoes demonstrates the grasp of the concept of Garvey's slogan. Sawa shoes are made in Africa, and all of the materials used to make Sawa shoes comes from Africa. A rather simple concept but ground-breaking in essence. One of the primary issues in developing Africa is having to purchase goods manufactured abroad, thus draining local markets of local demand. Sawa shoes, produced in Cameroon with raw materials imported from fellow African nations fills the void by producing a quality, nice looking shoe at an affordable price (69 Euros, not cheap but less than a pair of J's). It also presents an African product to foreign markets. This idea is genius and deserves recognition.
Okay, so Sawa shoes might just be another shoe company trying to get paid. I do not know of particular charities they sponsor. It is a trend for social causes to be fused with businesses. However, the sheer fact that Sawa shoes exists is progressive by the fact that it is so rare not only to find an African owned, independent industry making products for sale in Africa and abroad; it is oh so rare to find one that manufactures using domesticity -produced African raw materials. Being doubly rare, Sawa shoes is in itself a statement on self-determination through cooperative economics. This is not meant to be a discussion of capitalism, because we all seem to be caught in the web. Only an exhibit that this is how business can (and most-likely should) be done.
Sawa shoes started in Cameroon, a West African nation.
"The SAWA story belongs to a different kind. It is a story about people, a story about a challenging economy against the North to South flow. Purchase raw materials in Africa and transform them in finished goods... in Africa!" Pretty much sums it up.
The laces are spun from Tunisian cotton, the rubber for the soles comes from Egypt, the shoe bags come from Nigeria, the canvas and packaging from Cameroon (where the shoes are made) and finally the leather is Moroccan.
The international appeal includes features in German magazines, boutiques from New York to Paris to Beirut to Japan; and many spots in between. The Dr. Bess design sort of looks like an indoor soccer shoe meets boat shoes. To see for your self visit their online store and follow their blog. Brush up on your french if you want to read the updates.
I personally like the style and hope to see more variety from Sawa. Def in the shopping plans next time I hit New York... unless somehow I make it to Lebanon or Denmark first *shrug... it could happen ;0)
Sawa shoes means something else...
This next concept is so novel it has to be presented on Buy Africa. One of the sayings Marcus Garvey promoted was "Africa for the Africans". This notion may be hard for some to comprehend. Sawa shoes demonstrates the grasp of the concept of Garvey's slogan. Sawa shoes are made in Africa, and all of the materials used to make Sawa shoes comes from Africa. A rather simple concept but ground-breaking in essence. One of the primary issues in developing Africa is having to purchase goods manufactured abroad, thus draining local markets of local demand. Sawa shoes, produced in Cameroon with raw materials imported from fellow African nations fills the void by producing a quality, nice looking shoe at an affordable price (69 Euros, not cheap but less than a pair of J's). It also presents an African product to foreign markets. This idea is genius and deserves recognition.
Okay, so Sawa shoes might just be another shoe company trying to get paid. I do not know of particular charities they sponsor. It is a trend for social causes to be fused with businesses. However, the sheer fact that Sawa shoes exists is progressive by the fact that it is so rare not only to find an African owned, independent industry making products for sale in Africa and abroad; it is oh so rare to find one that manufactures using domesticity -produced African raw materials. Being doubly rare, Sawa shoes is in itself a statement on self-determination through cooperative economics. This is not meant to be a discussion of capitalism, because we all seem to be caught in the web. Only an exhibit that this is how business can (and most-likely should) be done.
Sawa shoes started in Cameroon, a West African nation.
"The SAWA story belongs to a different kind. It is a story about people, a story about a challenging economy against the North to South flow. Purchase raw materials in Africa and transform them in finished goods... in Africa!" Pretty much sums it up.
The laces are spun from Tunisian cotton, the rubber for the soles comes from Egypt, the shoe bags come from Nigeria, the canvas and packaging from Cameroon (where the shoes are made) and finally the leather is Moroccan.
The international appeal includes features in German magazines, boutiques from New York to Paris to Beirut to Japan; and many spots in between. The Dr. Bess design sort of looks like an indoor soccer shoe meets boat shoes. To see for your self visit their online store and follow their blog. Brush up on your french if you want to read the updates.
I personally like the style and hope to see more variety from Sawa. Def in the shopping plans next time I hit New York... unless somehow I make it to Lebanon or Denmark first *shrug... it could happen ;0)
No comments:
Post a Comment