African Skin

1. In Uganda there is a company that produces products made out of the material Bark cloth. Because of the exclusiveness of this material and because it is a new material for the (international) market this company has the potential to grow and generate several new jobs. Needed is the development of good designs and the exploration of the (international) market for these products.
The AND company in the Netherlands has developed several new Bark cloth products that can be produced at this company in Uganda (instead of Europe). This will make the market chain shorter and production costs lower. About 16 artist and designers already started working on this. Because the market is mainly unexplored the products can be quite diverse.

How will your plan be economically sustainable? How you will generate profit? Be as specific as possible.

The AND Global Design System adds the possibility of producing more and more exclusive products in Uganda. One of the first products developed according to this system has is a simple bag was designed in Holland (by AND), produced in Uganda (by the women, see pictures) and sold to a Hawaian coffee producer (see picture Athena Hawaii coffee bag). This first assignment for AND proved that the Global Design System workes.
Now 16 professional artists and designers recently started the African skin project on a voluntary base. AND has the objective to sell the designs on royalty base. The more products designed, the more capacity AND will have. The exclusiveness of the material bark cloth and of the smart designs will make the project economally sustainable.

Who are your customers?

Home furnishers (lamps, pillows - Haans bv. Goirle) - Food industry (packaging - Fair Trade shops, Organic food companies) - Cosmetic industry (packaging - Body shop) - Book shops (covers, files - Van Pierre Eindhoven) - Tourist market (Giftshop, packaging - Uganda) - Zoo/nature parks (Giftshop, packaging - Netherlands) Interior decorators (wall decoration - De Werf Eindhoven) — Exclusive flower shops (decoration - Genderdal flowershop Eindhoven)

Why will they buy your product/service?

AND will provide product design capacity. Some of the designs will be related to environmental (gift shop zoo, greanpeace) or social aspects (women empowerment, Fair Trade) of developing countries. But bark cloth product designs will also be extremely exclusive (interior design, labels designed by AND professional graphic designers etc.). The designs can also be very diverse because the material is new for the European market. This increases the chance of succes. The material has a natural and unique appearance. Because of its aesthetics people are attracted to it. AND and the African skin project are founded recently (february 2006) which means a lot of marketing research on Bark cloth products still have to be done.

2. Indicate the average investment needed in year 1 + 2. What is the specific investment needed in year 1 + 2 in Euros (between €5.000 and €500.000)

Year 1 investments in Uganda:
-tools like cutting mats, papercutters, stamps, 3 sewing machines 2.000 euro incl. transport
-lap top computer, web cam 2.000 euro
-new generator for electricity 4.000 euro
-training by a professional designer from Europe
-flight to Uganda 2x a year 3.000 euro (1.000 per flight)
-costst for stay in Masaka: 2x 1 month (15 euro a day) 900 euro
Total 11.900 euro

Year 2 investments in Uganda:
-new professional indoor workshop 8.000 euro
-new tools for new product developmets 2.000 euro
-training by a professional designer from Europe
-flight to Uganda 2x a year 2.000 euro (1.000 per flight)
-costst for stay in Masaka: 2x 1 month (15 euro a day) 900 euro
Total 12.900 euro

Year 1 investment needed for AND company in the Netherlands.
-Office (rent 160 euro a month) 1.920 euro
-Computer, internet, software 2.400 euro
-development design tools for Uganda 2.000 euro
Total 6.320 euro

Year 2 investment needed for AND company in the Netherlands.
-Office (rent 160 euro a month) 1.920 euro
-development design tools for Uganda 2.000 euro
Total 3.920 euro

4. What % of the investment will be your own financial contribution?

Own investment: 40 hrs. a week time and efforts.

5. After how many years will your business generate profit? (max. 3 years)

The Ugandan production department: 2 years

6. How many people do you expect to employ in the first 2 years?

-Uganda: At the moment 14 women and 1 man are employed in Masaka, Uganda. I expect this to be at least 26 women and 1 or 2 men in two years. Also the Bark cloth makers (all of them are little farmers) will benefit from this because the demand for bark cloth will increase.
-Netherlands: several artists and designers will work on different assignments on a free lance base.

1. How will you market your product/service, how do you reach your customers?

-In June 2006 I will graduate for the master course “Man & Humanity" at the Design Academy Eindhoven. I will present the AND company and the “African skin" project to the public (several potential customers and different media will visit the Graduation).
-The exhibition of AND and African skin will be seen on different locations (Art/design exhibition spaces, Fairs) in the Netherlands and Germany.
-I will invite the Rabobank (potential sponsor sustainable projects),
-I will invite the magazine “Ode" (they will be for sure be interested in an article about the “bark cloth making" and the sustainable products that come out of it),
-on the website www.ArtNatureDesign.nl (available but “under construction") the “African skin" project will be explained. The results of the project will be exposed and offered for sale.

2. Who are your potential competitors and how will you deal with them, why is your product/ service better?

-Uganda: There are hardly any competitors at the moment when you talk about the material Bark cloth because Masaka Uganda is known as the place where the best bark cloth makers are. These farmers are connected to the AND company and because of trainings the quality has raised. De manufacturing of Bark cloth is 100% handmade. Current products in Uganda made out of Bark cloth are not (yet) competitive.
-Netherlands: Bark cloth products will probably replace products made from other exclusive materials like cushens made from velt, Lamps made from paper, packaging made from Fibres.

3. Do you already have business partners? If so, please specify your partner’s role, added value and location.

- Production company in Uganda
-De Werf interior decoration the Netherlands (wall decoration)
-16 artists and designers cooperate in AND project “African skin" (product design).

4. How will you organize your start-up funding, apart from possible BiD Challenge prize money?

-The development of products will be done primary on a voluntary base. If sold on a market a certain percentage per product will be the salary for the designers.
-At the presentation of AND and the “African skin" project at the Design Academy Eindhoven I will invite several potential sponsors.
-AND is also sponsored by De Werf interior decoration Eindhoven.

1. What is the impact* of your business plan on local:

Direct employment
Most of the women are the wives of poor local farmers. As product sales increase more women will find employment in this company.
Indirect employment
As demand for bark cloth increases, more Bark cloth makers are needed.

Direct income
Bark cloth crafts provides the women with more income and continuation of income than their husbands.
Indirect income
By learning new skills and stimulate creativity the women might be able to start a small business for themselves.

Quality of living standard
Most of the money the women earn is invested in their children for healthcare and education. Some of their husbands are alcoholics and cause a lot of problems. Independency for these women is highly recommended.

Knowledge and skills

Skills are essential for independency. The better a person is skilled, the more future opportunities are created. By developing new products that ask for different skills, step by step the women will become better skilled.

Environment and biodiversity
Stimulation of bark cloth harvest and production has a highly positive impact on the environment. The bark cloth tree (Ficus Natalensis) is a most important multipurpose tree. Apart from bark cloth production the tree has the fallowing uses:
-it’s roots bring nutrition from deep soil areas to higher areas and gives shade for the
banana and coffee shrub. This leads generally to significantly higher yields of matooke (banana), coffee and other crops.
-construction wood, poles and furniture
-leaves and fruit: goats fodder
-the deep roots help to prevent from erosion
-the leaves rot quick and are an excellent fertilizer
-fast growing firewood
-medicine: tea out of leaves are suitable to treat sore throat and the trees latex is a skin
ointment to cover fresh wounds
-fast growing demarcation tree
-Mutuba is not only an economical and ecological phenomena: It also plays an important role in the Buganda culture and identity as Mutuba is the key factor in the Buganda genesis which says that man came to earth through the ficus tree to take possession of it. Another story tells that a hunter of Kabaka (King) Kimera was hunting in the forest when suddenly the night came. He felt cold and decided to cut off a piece of bark to cover himself for the night.
-short-term spin-off:
-long-term spin-off: because of increasing poverty firewood has become one of the main threats for the natural environment of Uganda. The bark cloth tree is a fast growing tree and the more trees are planted the more firewood it will provide and the more natural forests will be untouched. Construction wood, poles and furniture use give a similar effect.
(Resources are available)