Karen Women's Weaving Market Expansion ProjectThis is a featured page

Volunteer Name:
Garrett Schiche
ContactiInformation:
gschiche@gmail.com
Project Name:
Karen Women's Weaving Expansion Project
Project Description:
development of national and international markets and marketing materials
Timeframe:
November 2008 to April 2009
Goals/Objectives:
Objectives:

Goal:
To develop a profitable and sustainable market for traditional Karen products before the end of the 2008-2009 tourist high season in Thailand (April 2009) in order to increase the group’s income and help generate interest and motivation in the preservation of Karen culture

Objective 1:
Group members will identify and secure three locations outside of Musikee to sell the group’s products, two of which before November 2008.

Objective 2:
Group members will develop the quality and desirability of their products by surveying at least 200 potential customers and five retailers by April 2009.

Objective 3:
Group members will develop their product marketing including a promotional sign, logo, and informational brochure before the end of November 2008

Objective 4:
The group will work with the village leaders of Baan Nong to develop a home-stay project by the end of March 2009

Benefit:

Objective One: The main task that will need to be done in order to develop a more diverse market and larger customer base is to find markets outside of the villages of Musikee. By identifying and securing three new locations the group will have a more dynamic and extensive customer base which will provide more consistent and greater income.

Objective Two: In order to increase the desirability of their products the group must know what their customer base’s preferences are and be able to change the style and quality of their product accordingly. While the women are selling their products in their new market locations they will ask customers to fill out customers surveys which will allow the group to get a general idea of their current preferences. In Chiang Mai and Pai there are many established stores that sell products aimed at foreign tourists. By visiting five of these stores the group will be able to get advice about the design and quality of their products and possibly secure buyers as well.

Objective Three: A successful business or occupational group needs to have good marketing and advertising in order promote their product and attract more customers. A sign will be created that will be used at the stand when the group is selling their products. It will have pictures of Musikee and of the Karen people and will create a visual link between the product and the unique area where it is produced. A logo will be used that will be placed on recycled paper that comes from the local youth group. It will allow any product being sold from this group to be immediately identifiable. Finally, a brochure will be developed that will have a short history of the Karen people and the group, pictures of the products offered, the method of production, a map and location, and an advertisement about the home-stay program. It will be a promotional tool that helps explain the unique quality of the group’s product and will help to further expand their market opportunities.

Objective Four: A home-stay program will be developed so that interested customers can learn traditional Karen weaving. Package programs will be developed which will include weaving activities, room and board with the group members, and participation in community activities such as viewing traditional Karen dances and helping with farming. This will provide extra income for the group members as well as promote Karen culture to foreigners and Thais alike.
Successes:
  • Will edit in the future
Challenges:
  • Finding time to meet and meeting on a regular basis
  • Meeting project deadlines
  • Time frame for acquiring funding and starting project. We wrote the project time line but the funding didn't come soon enough in order to follow that time line. By the time the funding was received some of the objectives had to be changed because the group had already experienced a considerable amount of success in only working from their village. There was lesser need to find actually sell products in Chiang Mai and Pai

Lessons Learned:

Funding Sources:
Friends of Thailand
Attachments:
Refer to the project's page on the Friends of Thailand site.



3jnerd
3jnerd 		Latest page update: made by 3jnerd , Feb 17 2009, 5:43 AM EST (about this update About This Update 3jnerd Edited by 3jnerd

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