Ethical Art
Ethical Art - original, fairly-traded art from around the world - every painting educates a child!
About You
Background Information
First Name
Iman
Last Name
Fadaei
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
The competition is only open to people between 18-34 years-old and resident in UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark or the Netherlands. Does this apply to you
Yes.
Country of residence of entrepreneur
UK
Tell us about your personal background. Why are you passionate about this issue? Making an idea a reality takes innovation, dedication and strong leadership. Do you have the necessary entrepreneurial skills to realize your vision?
I developed this idea after visiting the Nonkodin Secondary School in Tanzania, which provides education to the rural Maasai community of Eluai. The vision and standards of the school enable local children to raise themselves out of poverty.
My passion comes from both the desire to support this community and my own interest in enterprise. I think the business idea is financially sound and has scope in the current market.
I love business. My recent venture (http://www.positive-ideas.com/webdesign) is growing fast and I believe that applying the same determination to Ethical Art will bring about similar results.
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Maasai Art
Organization Website
Organization Country
United Kingdom, GLS, Stroud
Country where this project is creating social impact
Tanzania, AR, Eluai
Is your organization a
For‐profit
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
Innovation
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Ethically-minded consumers are always keen to learn about new ethical alternatives to the products their currently buy. The UK fairtrade market is worth over £1 billion per year and still growing. Sales increased 40% in 2010.
Corporations are also keen to improve their CSR profiles, so choosing ethically-sourced art over their standard sources helps them do this.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
We want to provide consumers with art that ticks all the ethical boxes - the artist receives a fair price, it promotes local culture and it achieves a positive effect in the world. So, for every painting we sell, we donate part of the profit to enable one child to attend the Nonkodin Secondary School in Tanzania. We split the rest with the artist, so they get a fair price and we get paid too.
At the moment, we only sell Tanzanian art and help Tanzanian kids, but we want to expand this to include art from all over the world and help kids local to those artists. We will change the name from 'Maasai Art' to become 'Ethical Art'.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
We purchase a collection of art from an artist we like in Tanzania. We frame it, market it and sell it in the UK. We donate part of the profit to Serian UK (www.serianuk.org.uk) which ensures the money covers the education fees of one Maasai child for a year. Finally, we send half of the remaining profit back to the artist.
A secondary benefit is the promotion of indigenous art and culture around the world through the sale of traditional artwork.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
BrandAidProject.com provide a range of fairly-traded traditional arts from around the world, but our child-education policy is unique.
Other competitors could use the same idea, but it wouldn't fit into their business models. Also, our focus on these points will create a distinctive brand that would have an advantage when targeting our customers.
Select the stage that best applies to your business
Operating for less than a year
This Entry is about (Issues)
Social Impact
What is the social impact you have had to date and how you measure it?
We have only just started. Once we finish selling our first collection, we will have the funds to enable 8 Maasai children to attend school and pay our first artists. Our social impact is measured in the education of children and the funds raised for the local artists through the sale of their work.
Sustainability
How does your model address financial, social, and environmental sustainability?
Our financial stability is based purely on sales, so we are independent from donations of any kind. Social sustainability is ensured through our relationships with partner UK charities, as we stipulate conditions on our donations, such as to receive ongoing contact with the children we sponsor. Our support of environmental sustainability for the local artists and culture is consumer-driven. However, by starting slowly and growing organically we plan to develop long term relationships with both artists and customers.
Awareness & learning
How do you see social entrepreneurship contributing to the improvement of developing countries?
Developments in technology and globalisation will continue to make it easier to find practical solutions to issues of communication, production and distribution. Meanwhile, as ethical consumerism grows, social entrepreneurship will naturally become economically more viable and more attractive. The challenge will be to develop sustainable models that provide objective social outcomes easily understood by both consumers and those who benefit from the venture.
What aspects of your stay in Uganda as part of the competition do you think you will find most challenging and rewarding?
I look forward to returning to Uganda - my mother was born there I have visited several times to visit family friends and help with community projects. I am particularly excited about meeting and working with local youth and other competitors on live projects. Making connections and exploring new ideas is what its all about! The challenge will be to work with others to focus that excitement into something of practical benefit.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Girls at the Nonkodin Secondary School, Tanzania | 82.61 KB |
| Building the Boys Dorm | 110.53 KB |
| Painting: Maasai Family | 78.61 KB |
| Painting: Silent Figures | 111.37 KB |
| Maasai Art | 27.5 KB |
 | 13 weeks agoIman Fadaei updated this Competition Entry. |
| 16 weeks agoIman Fadaei updated this Competition Entry. |
| 16 weeks agoIman Fadaei submitted this idea. |
