Its been a great year for Kahina Giving Beauty. During our second full year of selling products we reached several milestones, including domestic and international expansion, strengthened ties with our existing retail partners, exciting new product launches, and continued enthusiastic support from you, our customers.Most importantly, we were able to aid the Berber women at the heart of the Kahina line in the following ways:
·the purchase of 60 dairy goats for the women of the village of Tazghelite in the Mid-Atlas Mountains.
·Room and board for one girl for a school year through Education For All in the High Atlas Mountains
·A chance at economic independence for approximately 200 impoverished women through the work of argan oil production.
I am often asked how we determine how to allocate our funds for the Berber women.As a small start-up faced with the costs of running and growing a business, it is important to find ways in which our limited resources can have the most impact.I work directly with the Berber women and others on the ground in Morocco and let them tell me exactly what they need.For those of us in the West with easy access to food, shelter, electricity, and water, their answers can be surprising.Last year, our first full year in business, we paid for the organic certification of a small cooperative so they could participate in the international argan trade.This year, we learned from an association of women in a small village in the Mid-Atlas Mountains, that goats would dramatically improve their lives by providing milk to feed their children, and wool for them to use in their weaving, providing another opportunity for economic independence.In the case of Education For All, safe room and board means that a girl can continue her education beyond the third grade.
I thank all of our customers who have supported our mission of “Women Helping Women Through Shared Beauty Rituals” and look forward to a new year of health and prosperity for all.