At the Handmade Futures Summit in October of 2020, we heard countless stories of resilience from business owners and their battles COVID-19. Today we are highlighting Rebecca Van Bergen, Kerry James, Teni Majekodunmi, and Goodie Mzuri, and their stories of discovering boldness by educating artisans on COVID-19 safety measures to protect their communities.

Rebecca van Bergen, who founded Nest, explained that at the beginning of the pandemic, there was a massive shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). However, every business was asked to donate fabric or handmade masks; these items could not be paid for, however. Instead of stopping production and not supplying PPE, she worked with the guild network to raise over $1 million for PPE funding. This funding funded mask production in 18 countries. Over 200,000 masks were paid for through this system, and the entire process only took three weeks. Thanks to Rebecca van Burgen’s boldness to find community support, she empowered multiple communities to produce enough PPE to keep businesses running.

Teni Majekodunmi, founder of Eclectic Chic, leveraged the power of collaboration to pivot during the pandemic. After the state government ordered 100,000 masks to be completed in two weeks, Majekodunmi learned how to maneuver herself and her business in a way that would also empower her artisans and help them to survive in such a terrible pandemic. She leveraged her ability to multitask to coordinate transportation and artisans to complete this immense task in such a short amount of time. By developing adapted schedules for artisans to allow for social distancing, she created space to leverage technology and improve product design when artisans were not in the workshop. Although COVID-19 created immense struggles for Eclectic Chic, the amount of artisans employed has increased and the amount of families that have been touched has increased to over 550 from each order that came from the United States. The bold leadership of businesswomen such as Majekodunmi has benefitted countless people and communities, especially financially. 

Kerry James is the managing director and owner of Tsandza Weaving, which is a part of the Eswatini Artisan Collaboration. This collaboration was formed as a response to COVID-19 to promote artisan work and empower women. This partnership with three other companies allowed Tsandza Weaving to produce facemasks, a fundamental revenue stream for artisans during COVID-19. Because of COVID, James noted the importance of creating a “safe space” in the workplace for artisans to still work amongst health precautions. COVID empowered Tsandza Weaving to spend specific time boldly training workers in new practices to broaden their skill sets. By leveraging the added free time from the pandemic, James helped to expand worker competency and productivity. 

When the effects of the pandemic first began spreading to Kenya in mid-March, Goodie Mzuri, of Goodie’s African Interiors & Gifts, noted that she experienced a “moment of downfall,” along with the rest of the artisan community. Businesses and workshops closed as global trade slowed in the panic, so Mzuri embraced an attitude of boldness to innovate and maintain production. She first leveraged her position in the artisan community to educate others about the virus because there was little widespread information available. Mzuri sought out or created translations of signage about personal protection to increase accessibility to knowledge about the virus. Encouraging workers to invest in hand washing stations and personal protective equipment allowed businesses to continue filling orders from before the pandemic. Mask production has become an integral and profitable sector; many textile workers also donated masks locally to ensure people could go to work. Although promoting public health is not “the artisan mandate,” Mzuri understood and emphasized the influence of businesses on community health. Through her business connections, Mzuri also collaborated with international partners and buyers to support artisans. Generous personal contributions towards rent of workshops and food packages for artisan families alleviated some financial stressors. Although COVID-19 greatly harmed the artisan sector, innovators such as Mzuri positively utilized these chaotic months to connect consumers and buyers on a more personal level. 

COVID-19 has presented countless seemingly-impossible challenges. We hope that these stories of resilience encouraged you to reflect and relook at your current practices during continued lockdowns. Utilizing this crisis for good has the power to greatly improve our businesses and our communities.