Lessons in Resilience Part 2: Sabahar, Ethiopia
Kathy Marshall, the general manager of Sabahar, began importing cotton from outside of Ethiopia for the first time ever due to supply chain challenges this year. Read on to hear more about Kathy’s resilience in working together with her team to develop new policies to keep 96 staff members employed and production running during the pandemic.
Tell us a little about your enterprise - what do you sell, what makes it special?
At Sabahar we produce hand loomed textiles to wear and for the home. We only use natural fibers – cotton, eri silk and linen – and on average, one product is the combined work of about six artisans including spinners, dyers, weavers, and finishing. Our products are special because they are individually made and therefore are individually unique and carefully made. They reflect the traditional skills that have been passed on in families for generations, influenced by contemporary design and color to make them globally appealing.
Tell us a little more about you and your role there.
I founded Sabahar about 16 years ago, and am the general manager. This means I try to provide overall leadership for the company, while continually empowering and appreciating my management team and all 96 staff.
What is your favourite part of your work?
My favorite part of my work is being involved in creating and production. I love the magic that happens when our highly skilled weavers are faced with some new design challenges, and after drawing on all their wisdom from years of weaving, they find solutions that result in products that are even more exquisite than we had anticipated.
What pivots/changes to the business did you and your team make in response to the challenges of COVID?
At the beginning of COVID (last March), we identified our three priorities to get through this high risk time – maintain income levels, reduce costs, and keep all staff employed. Articulating these priorities, and then coming up with strategies for each for the short term, medium term and long term, kept us focused on important work, and gave us hope as we achieved success in all three.
We are now much more aware of keeping costs down/reducing waste, and having faith in our ability to innovate to create new products. We also work together better…since we all faced the challenges together. Sabahar is much stronger after going through this tough time.
What were 3 things you learned as a result of the challenges faced?
1. We learned how vulnerable we could be to global changes in market demand and international travel restrictions.
2. We learned that we have a very strong level of trust and cooperation between all our senior and middle level management, and that is the source of our strength as a company. We also learned what faithful international and local customers we have…and we should be even more thankful.
3. We learned that all staff have leadership potential, and all it needs is an opportunity to be demonstrated.
What 3 things are you most proud of accomplishing last year?
1. Very much due to the discipline and commitment of our ‘COVID’ formed Health and Safety Committee, we have had no staff test positive for the virus. We have been able to keep a very healthy work environment, while maintaining our production targets which have greatly increased.
2. We developed a very innovative initiative, in collaboration with all our female staff, to provide some level of security awareness, and skill development to the teenage daughters of our staff.
3. We maintained a very positive and ‘bright future’ attitude among all our staff, through all the difficult times of not just the pandemic, but also a lot of political unrest in the country. It has been a very challenging year, and it still is.
Are there any silver linings you can identify from the challenges of last year? Any business or personal practices that have been adopted that you will keep beyond COVID?
As mentioned, during this time we formed and trained a health and safety committee of 8 people – management and non-management. We have all agreed that this committee has been amazing, and is now a permanent part of Sabahar. They have all shown amazing leadership, which has been demonstrated not just in health issues. It’s an example that often, great people just need the opportunity to show their greatness!!
Finally, what would you say is your top SUPERPOWER - a positive quality that comes second nature to you. How did it help you through 2020 and how is it helping you stay resilient in 2021?
I think I always have faith that things will work out. This faith is possible because I have a very capable and committed management team whom I have worked with for years. My role is to let them know that I believe in them, and that we will always find good solutions when we work together, and support and challenge each other to problem solve creatively. The COVID experience really proved to us all how we could overcome challenges together. It was also a demonstration that years of building strong relationships with our buyers was, and still is our best investment.
The new Resort Collection has finally launched after a year's delay due to COVID-19. View the pieces and learn more about Sabahar on their website: http://www.sabahar.com/store/Products/Resort.
