We had the fortune to interview sourceFK’s founder Faizun Kamal this week. We featured her social enterprise in our previous post and we are excited to share her new project.
1) What trigger to work with creatives such as Susie Taylor and Jason Motlagh for this project?
Susie and Jason at the art and diplomacy collective, SoulsideOUT, are amazing professionals. sourceFK could not have hoped for better partners to work with on the OM Campaign! The secret sauce of this partnership is the trust we have developed and the unique skills and backgrounds we each bring to the table, helping us to meld ideas and come up with innovative ways of doing things!
2) What do you hope to achieve for your own goals by this campaign?
One of the goals of our company, from the outset, has been to improve the economic livelihoods of the women that we work with. At sourceFK, our artisans are paid fair wages and work in clean and decent working conditions. This is a far cry from the prevalent garment industry scenario in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world. Through the OM Campaign that is currently running, we hope to be able to raise funds that will enable us to employ more women who play a key role in fostering economic and community development, sustain ancient techniques, and preserve culture which is an essential component of sustainable development.
3) What is your message to possible investors?
Woman making an OM bag (courtesy of the OM Project)
The face of international development has changed and implementation models must change to keep pace. Alternative business models are needed because the prevailing system has broken down. We need investors who believe social entrepreneurship is the future of business and who understand that profits and people do not have to be an either-or proposition. The OM Campaign is only the start of this initiative! Our long-term plan will utilize a multi-stakeholder model to engage the public and private sectors to come together and address real and sustainable ways to improve the livelihoods of the garment retail sector’s global work force, who are overwhelmingly women.
4) What’s your next step?
In the short-term, we are focusing on the OM Campaign. We need everyone’s support and help to raise the funds we need to allow us to get back to Bangladesh, employ additional women, and grow the capacity of the local partners we work with. Please consider making a donation, however small! Every dollar makes a difference! In the longer term, the OM Project will continue to work with additional partners and investors who see the value (and return) on our work, broaden the employ ONE MORE philosophy to other countries, and ultimately operationalize the alternative economic model that the OM Project is based on.
What do you think of Faizun’s new project? If you agree with her vision, please check out and support the OM Campaign:
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