The Making of our Hand-loomed Scarves

One of our absolute favorite new releases this Winter is our One Mango Tree Hand-loomed Scarf!

In a partnership with Wawoto Kacel, a fantastic local cooperative, we were able to collaborate on a collection of uniquely dyed cotton scarves that will surely keep you warm this holiday season! Wawoto has a terrific staff trained with attention to the highest quality. The cooperative was started in 1997 by a group of HIV positive women. Today it provides employment and skills-training for more than 150 vulnerable individuals. Here's a behind the scenes look at the MAKING OF these beautiful, limited edition scarves:


The scarf starts out as cotton yarns, which are bleached, dyed, hung
to dry, and spun into brightly colored rolls.


It takes hours to set each piece of thread on the loom but finally, voila!
The artisans work their magic and the rainbow of beautiful, unique colors is
woven into a wide swath of fabric. This raw fabric is then brought to the One
Mango Tree Workshop to be cut into scarves, with edges sewn into neat seams.


Each one is unique and stunning, especially when you take a closer look! We couldn't be more thrilled with the final product and we're so happy to have partnered with Wawoto Kacel this holiday season. We look forward to collaborating again in the near future to continue empowering the surrounding community of northern Uganda.

SHOP THESE SCARVES HERE.

Just spread the love to win our NOVEMBER giveaway!

Friends, we've got a NOVEMBER GIVEAWAY for you!
Just in time for the Holidays...

Our Winter 2010 Handloomed Scarf in Eggplant

One lucky winner will receive a small, sweet package from our ladies in Uganda with one of our *brand new* EGGPLANT HAND-LOOMED SCARVES ($26 value) tucked inside. We're not ashamed to say we've been drooling over it for months! Each is unique, limited edition, and woven right here in northern Uganda. So, if you don't manage to grab one before they run out, you can win yours' right here. Oh, and if this deal couldn't get any sweeter: shipping's on us!

Enough of the sweet talk, here's how you can win!

Step ONE: Simply tweet or blog about us! Link this this giveaway.
Step TWO: Just tag us with @OneMangoTree (twitter or facebook)

Do this and you'll be in the running to win the apple of our affection, our One Mango Tree Winter 2010 Handloomed Scarf in Eggplant!

If you can't tell, we pretty excited to send this sweet thing to your doorstep...

So get to tweeting!

'Empowerment' made real.

Over the past six weeks, our ladies have completed an incredible Financial training course and have begun their own Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA). Fancy terms aside, it's one of the many beautiful ways that their incomes from sewing and creating are being multiplied and yet another way that YOUR purchases are transforming lives here in northern Uganda. Simply put: empowerment is truly being made real at One Mango Tree... read further to hear the exciting news!




In the span of these six financial trainings, our ladies have saved over ONE MILLION shillings (about $500) as a VSLA group. AMAZING! We were told this is pretty extraordinary for a beginning group... so proud of the ladies and excited to see how their savings will continue to empower their futures.

AWESOME!

xo lauranne

Visitor Spotlight: Hilary Dell

All week, we've been so thrilled to welcome a dear friend back into our midst that we have to share it with you.

Hilary Dell is an extraordinarily-loved past One Mango Tree volunteer and an awesome fashion designer/buyer for our friends and partners at Global Girlfriend. Before working full-time for Global Girlfriend and traveling around the world working with groups of artisans, she spent a summer living and working with our ladies here at the Workshop in Gulu, Uganda.

I wish we could've captured the faces and squeals of the moment Hilary entered the Workshop for the first time in over a year and a half. Because of the war and the plethora of NGOs meeting all different needs in northern Uganda, many aid-workers come and go... few returning to embrace the friendships they once made. For Hilary to return, to embrace the women with hugs and laughter, to sit with them and teach them about the new designs they'd be sewing was tremendous for them - and awesome to watch.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic week! Hilary, we were so happy to have you here and we can't wait for you to return! (We'll have your favorite 'Stoney' soda awaiting you upon arrival!)

xo lauranne

FEATURED: Dallas Clayton + An AWESOME World

We know we're not in the business of children's books or even childrenswear (as of yet!) but we think every human being should read this book. Dallas Clayton is a fabulous author who's been traveling the country with the belief that children and people everywhere should rekindle the ability to dream - really dream - about the world, our lives, and how whimsical they can be if we let them.

So, here's our ode to Dallas and the movement of dreamers he's encouraging to make the world a better place by loving the people in it. The heart of this book is why we at One Mango Tree do what we do - we're dreaming of a better life for those who deserve it. We want to be dreamers of big dreams and we want to empower others with the opportunity to dream big dreams here in northern Uganda.



IDEA: For the Holidays, why not wrap up a One Mango Tree handbag and a copy of Dallas' book "An Awesome World" and give it to a dreamer near you? The best of both worlds - idea and action.

Take a look at the entire book on his website.

xo lauranne

The Power of Encouragement

"I got my bag and I love it! Those women
are so talented. My support is forever."
- Cheryl from Florida, USA

You know, it's tremendous the effect that encouragement can have on an individual. Just think about it... has there been a monumental person in your life who is always cheering for you, someone you can count on to lift you up when you need it? It can transform an entire workplace when the employees are motivated by belief in their abilities to succeed rather than fear of making a mistake.

We want this to be true now more than ever with our hard-working ladies here in Uganda. They need encouragement just as much as the next individual. Recently, we decided to jot a customer's awesome review on the ladies' chalkboard to see if it could be a motivating factor.

We couldn't believe the response; because they're so far away from the US and our customers, they hadn't even heard a real specific review of their products. The women burst into a choir of cheers and claps, as if someone had just won the lottery. Seeing sincere smiles and laughs on the faces of our ladies is one of my favorite joys of working at One Mango Tree. It makes it all real, acknowledging the beauty of the human emotion and living life with them.

In a culture that has experienced so much oppression and discouragement, these small acts of love on behalf of our customers create sweet, sweet moments. If you have a comment or review you'd like to share with our ladies, simply leave your comment here! We promise we'll share it with them!

xo lauranne

Our October GIVEAWAY!

Friends, we've got some exciting news for you. We have a new giveaway up our sleeves in celebration of Fair Trade Month!



We want to make sure you have the opportunity to win our *brand new* fair-trade BETTY CLUTCH! You'll be one of the first to own it. It's a beautiful, sweet and sturdy clutch intricately handwoven from local banana leaves here in northern Uganda. We've been drooling over it since it arrived and we can't wait to see who will receive it! All you have to do is:

(1) Mention and link this giveaway on your blog, your Twitter, or your Facebook page (and be sure to include @OneMangoTree)! When you've done this, simply comment below to let us know!

This giveaway will end on November 1st at 10:00am. You're not limited to entries, just spread the love and let us know about it! Winner will be selected at random. Shipping is on us, packaged with love and care, sent complimentary to your doorstep!

Spread the love and we'll announce the winner here on our blog and twitter!

Employee of the Month

We just began a sweet new monthly recognition program: One Mango Tree's Employee of the Month! The recipient is someone who's shown outstanding character, who's helped co-workers, who's gone above and beyond to bring unity and quality to One Mango Tree. Each month, they'll recieve an official certificate and 10,000 shillings as a bonus to use however they like. We're pretty excited about it!

This past September, our beloved Akwero Eunice (recognize her from our Fall 2010 photoshoot?) was chosen as our first recipient. She has a contagious joy about her and a willingness to make sure the impossible becomes possible. She comes in early, leaves late, is always laughing and joking with those around her, and even volunteered to help model for us in her spare time. She chose to re-invest her 10,000 shillings in the One Mango Tree Village Savings & Loans Association! Talk about a kick-butt woman.

To be honest, these will be quite difficult. We have so many terrific ladies that are consistently doing incredible work personally and professionally, that I can't even predict who will be chosen for October.

Stay tuned and we'll announce who the ladies have chosen in early October!

From the Workshop: Photo

Today, the ladies had a really sweet opportunity to be photographed. We can't spill the beans just yet but we'll definitely share more later.

For the shoot, they were to wear traditional Acholi-wear like this kikoyo wrapped with an iridescent band around the waste to accentuate the hips. This is what many women wear to weddings, celebrations, parties, and all sorts of community gatherings. With so much modern technology and culture making it's way across gulu, it was humbling and exciting to see our ladies tap into their own personal roots...

More updates coming soon!

National Yoga Month + 6 Fresh Finds

Whether you're a beginner or a guru, in a final hoorah for September (National Yoga month!), we want to share some of our favorite (some made by our ladies!) ethical finds that will leave the world a better place with your purchase. So get to stretching and bring in the Fall with our six fresh yoga finds!

1. Our new organic cotton gaucho pants (made fair-trade by ladies in uganda), 2. Gaiam premium sticky yoga mat (latex-free), 3. Kor One hydration vessel, 4. 'Relax' Eye Pillow (see how they're made!), 5. One Mango Tree yoga mat bag (made fair-trade with organic cotton), 6. "The Essential Rumi" book of poetry

In the words of Rumi and one of our favorites:

"Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground."

WEEK 2 of Savings & Loans

The VLSA group is alive and kickin'! Today, the ladies met for the second time with Stephen (remember him?) and the Village Savings & Loans Association took form for the very first time. The laughter is still coming, by the way!

They received an official blue safe with three keys and a sweet One Mango Tree logo to collect weekly savings and loans safe. They also elected women who would hold chairperson, secretarial, treasury positons, etc. Stephen said that this is the most he's seen a group save at the first initial meeting. Our ladies are working it!

More photos to come!

The Making of Relax & Energize Eyepillows

She is a beautiful, strong woman that only speaks when she has something important and positive to say. However, she's also that quiet one that you'd never expect to crack the jokes that make all of us laugh. We love her and we're excited to introduce you to her... Meet Josephine.


When life is too much, put on some relaxing tunes, lay down and plop on a One Mango Tree eye pillow. These are sure to take you right from stress-face to bliss-land. Josephine and a handful of ladies worked on our Fall 2010 eye pillows today and we wanted to show you the making of.



The ladies measure and fill our eye pillows a sweet mixture of rice and organic herbs like lavender, lemon balm, marjoram



To be honest, I've never really had any sort of friendship with an eyepillow but when they were making these, I couldn't help but feel happy. I'm telling you, they smell good. I mean really good... in a subtle way.



When the size is right, they take them to the sewing machine for a last stitch...



On goes the One Mango Tree label and...



Voila! A sweet gift. Pick up a few and keep them around for a lazy day, a birthday, heck... any day! Always an excuse to relax and reflect. (P.S. Josephine stood so happily and patiently while I tested every tall stool in the workshop [and nearly fell to my death] to take this photo. We told you she's awesome!)

TGIF + Weekly Happenings (Sept 13th-17th)

1. Nassarine cutting fabric for a new fall order. Get ready, it's coming your way! 2. Each of our women receives a bicycle after 9 months of employment. Because many of them live in the villages miles away from our workshop, it's a tremendous help. 3. The ladies had their very first microfinance training with Stephen of Respond Renu. 4. We visited George and our friends/partners at Wawoto Cacel to see progress on the brand new fair-trade hand-loomed scarves we'll be launching for the Fall/Winter seasons!

It's truly been an INCREDIBLE week at the office. We're exhausted but full of hope. So many exciting things lie ahead. We're preparing booth designs for a handful of conferences and can't wait to get all our of new organic bags and apparel to your doorstep and into your closet. That's all! Expect lots more next week...

Love from all of us here in Uganda!

xo Lauranne

From the Workshop: New Program!

The women are exclaiming the most joyful laughs and we couldn't be more excited for them. Stephen, an Acholi and financial guru working for Respond Renu (Restoring Northern Uganda), is here for his very first microfinance training with our ladies and it's surely an exciting day. For six weeks, they'll be students again, growing in knowledge and expertise about how to become financial rockstars.

What's the impact of Financial Literacy? In the developing world, a woman who earns her own income in a male-driven society immediately earns social worth and respect; her community sees her as strong, powerful, and inspiring. That's how our ladies are viewed in their communities. Now take that same incredible woman and teach her how to save that money, how to give loans to others within her community, and how to forward-think about her finances. The impact of work in a developing country is multiplied exponentially when locals are able to take financial control of their future. This is a great, big (and possible!) dream for many of our women (remember Lucy's story?). It's an exciting day when their faces light up during a microfinance training. They're excited to learn and it's changing who they are and who they can become. The future for their children is getting brighter by the day. Powerful.



So, today, the women are beginning their very own Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA), a microfinance group that comes together to pool their savings in order to have a source for lending funds. The women will make savings contributions to the pool and can also borrow from it. "VSLA represents a way to provide basic access to financial services, thus improving control over their future."

In the words of the awesome Adong Kevin... "The training was so, so nice! *gives thumbs up* You know, I'm dreaming to buy land and build a home someday soon. Stephen is going to teach us how we can do it... we are so happy."

It's a powerful day for the future of One Mango Tree. And friends, you're surely a part of this change. Let the joyful laughing resume and expect more updates soon!

From the Workshop: Organic Yoga Bags

It's hilarious trying to explain the concept of yoga to our women... mostly because it's just not apart of the Acholi culture. Someday soon, I really hope Halle can give all of us a big yoga lesson. It'd be the best day of my life watching them giggling, trying to contort their bodies in crazy positions. By the way, did you know that September is officially Yoga month?! We'll have WAY more on this topic headed your way but in the meantime...

Anena Betty was working away on this today! It's one of our new organic cotton Yoga bags (inside out and just about to be finished) that we'll be launching this Fall. We figured we'd give you, our beloved blog readers, a special sneak peak! Stay in 'downward dog' (that's a position right? halle's the expert...) and we'll keep you updated on its' release!



Can anyone say happy early christmas shopping for the yoga-loving friends in your life?!

xo lauranne

Steve Jobs: "How to Live before you Die"

In today's society, one that embraces being always on the go and pursuing the next best thing, we've learned that it's really valuable to stop and reflect on the beauty and simplicity of the stories that make up our lives. At One Mango Tree, it's what keeps us going; it keeps us patient and creative. Here's a fantastic, staple speech that Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, gave at a Stanford Commencement in 2005. It's brilliant and inspiring, absolutely worthy of sharing.



How do his words ring true in your own life?

TGIF + Weekly Happenings (Sept 6th-10th)

(1) Eunice working on one of our sweet new lunchbags (to be released soon!), (2) The opening of the *brand new* Little Mangos Nursery, (3) Tea time is a must, (4) Halle's headed to the big and much-anticipated Fair Trade Futures Conference in Boston, MA today!

Check out these kind words that the Conference wrote about us!

The ladies are OFF today for a public Ugandan holiday so the weekend begins early! Celebrate! Have a great weekend, everyone! If you're at the FTFC Conference in Boston, come say hello and sport the new OMT tie or headband that came in your goodie bag!

The day has come!

Since we began, Halle has dreamt of opening a nursery for the babes of our women and as of today, we're excited to announce that its' become a reality!




In a culture where most youth receive little to no educational attention, our vision is to create an environment that celebrates and encourages learning from a very young age. Our women can better spend their time working and enjoying one another while their babies are safe, away from machines of any sort. We were also able to hire a new One Mango Tree employee, Alice, who we'll affectionately call our 'superwoman.' She's single-handedly taking on all of the babes (and she's great at it!), playing educational games, and giving them a head start with speaking/writing in english and the local language. If anyone has an extra cape, can we borrow it?! We think she deserves one.



Seeing the doors open for the 'Little Mangos' nursery is certainly a day worth celebrating and we owe a big thanks to Halle's mother and father for all the dreaming and energy they put into this nursery! They painted hours upon hours of their visit so we could collectively make this a reality. Joe and Cona - a big thanks for all the hard work and love you both poured into this!

We hope you'll celebrate alongside us and I'm sure you'll see plenty of entertaining photos and videos from this nursery very soon...

Now that the women have less distractions, they'll have more time to sew your bag! Buy a bag and share the story, exponentially multiplying and spreading the One Mango Tree impact on the ground here in Uganda, in the states, and across the world.

xo Lauranne

Creating a Fair Trade Future

After a few years of getting One Mango Tree organized on the ground in Uganda, we're really excited to hit the pavement in the United States and spread the word about Fair Trade. I've just returned to DC and the calendar is already full of One Mango Tree and fair trade goodness. The first stop will be Boston, for the Fair Trade Futures Conference September 10-12.

Earlier this year, we were thrilled to get our acceptance letter to Fair Trade Federation - the leading organization of fair trade businesses in the United States. Every five years, FTF holds the Fair Trade Futures Conference - an enormous opportunity to bring together businesses, non-profits, advocates and individuals interested in fair trade - more than 750 people who are passionate about fair trade determining its future.

This year One Mango Tree will be there, both participating in the sessions and in the Fair Trade Marketplace which runs throughout the weekend. Participants at the conference will be receiving a One Mango Tree headband or necktie in the official goodie bag! I'll be reporting during and after the conference, so stay tuned!

xo Halle

"Go crazy!"

We made some time at a staff party recently to snap a brand new staff photo of the women!

So, we introduce to you the ladies of One Mango Tree: mid-laugh, mid-jump, mid-wave. All unique and beautiful women being changed by economic empowerment.




Top photo: (left to right) Prisca, Betty, Pamela, Margret, Grace, Gladys, Concy, baby Jonathan, Josephine, Grace, Irene, Eunice, Nassarine, Margret, Concy, Santa, Lucy, Betty, Margret, baby Maria, Claire, Jenet, Grace, baby Sarah, and Morine.

These are the faces of women that will sew your handbag with love.

P.S. Did you hear, yet? Tweet and spread the love to win a Weekender!