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Yakanaka aims to operate a commercially viable business whilst adhering to the ten principles of Fair Trade. We seek to provide economic security through regular employment and patronage. The company offers an environment where new skills are transferred in a dignified, clean and safe working environment. At the time we started Yakanaka, the notorious “Operation Cleanup” had just been carried out by Government. As a result, many women had no shelter or food for their families, and no way to provide these essentials. Yakanaka has slowly grown, and continues to expand at a moderate but steady rate. One of the reasons for the moderate growth rate is our insistence on paying a fair wage and providing a decent and safe work environment where constant skills learning can take place. Every one of the women who work at Yakanaka can now make jewelry that is of an international standard. However, with the depressed economy in Zimbabwe, there was very little market for our products locally. Yakanaka UK provided that market, and established the name Yakanaka as a powerful brand name in the Fair Trade and specialty market in the UK. Hopefully, as we achieve more orders, we can expand the number of woman employed, and also out-source some of the raw materials, so that we start core businesses in the areas in which unemployment is currently so high To date we have succeeded in providing market outlets for 5 small producer groups, giving employment to a total of 19 people. An exciting new project is the sustainable harvest of vegetable ivory seed from Hyphaene coriacea, an indigenous Palm, which will provide income for much marginalized populations in the South East of the country. We are committed to establishing long term relationships with producers and customers to ensure that we are able to create opportunities. Building long term supplier networks provides sustainable employment for an ever widening network of people with a positive effect on local communities and economies. As a member of COFTA, Yakanaka promotes the objectives of Fair Trade in all its business dealings. We have clear objectives to deliver a product that competes with mainstream products on design, quality and packaging to ensure customers have a choice available to them when buying. We aim to educate our suppliers and customers on what Fair Trade means ethically, commercially and to the people involved. We seek to raise awareness within our marketplace of Fair Trade issues through discussion, education, promotion and awareness. We believe that being able to provide for a family is a fundamental human right that gives people dignity and self respect. We do not discriminate on grounds of race, religion or gender. Our commercial involvement in the business is transparent and we remain committed to the values with which we started the business.
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