Somali Women's Group - Sustainable Community Enterprise - A SkillsBank Project
Mark Baker (2007 alumnus) has been inspired by the members of his SkillsBank work project because “they’re a bunch of people who have turned up on the other side of the world with no option but to leave their own country, and everything is an opportunity to them”.
Mark is struck by the determination and optimism of the members of New Zealand Somali Women Inc who wish to build a sustainable business in Auckland, based on their sewing skills. “Here’s a group of people willing to put in the yards, who are using commerce as a way to achieve prosperity,” says Mark.
NZ Somali Women Inc has been operating since 2001 for women of all ethnicities, many from refugee backgrounds, who have come together as a community group focused on integrating into their new country, New Zealand. The group members have been focusing on conducting English classes, gaining drivers’ licences and maintaining playgroups for their families. Since 2007 the group has run a sewing school, and is now working to transfer the individual sewing talents of its members into a sustainable commercial operation that will create the likes of fashion bags from recycled billboard material.
The group is supported in this community enterprise project, which began in October last year, by Eva Lawrence, a community services advisor at Auckland City Council. Mark took on the SkillsBank challenge, in January this year, to mentor the women as an advisor in all facets of establishing a business.
Mark’s first impression, and one of his most positive experiences so far, was how relaxed he felt at the initial meetings with the group, as well as the warm personal connection the women offered him. He has occasionally felt challenged by ensuring he is not overstepping any cultural protocols, given the group members are of devout Islamic faith, and very different to any other groups he has worked with. However he has admitted to relying on Eva, as well as his other Leadership NZ alumni colleagues for guidance.
Other challenges the group is facing relate to overcoming the various political and economic regulatory constraints that exist for such a diverse project.
Mark’s greatest objective for the women is to help them achieve a fully sustainable business that is solid and will stand the test of time and changes in leadership. He and the project team are working to a clear work plan with relevant checkpoints in place to ensure they are setting realistic objectives.
You can view details of sustainable bags in production at www.toggle.co.nz, search on Accessories, then Salvage.
If you are interested in contacting Mark to offer your support or skills, please email Megan at megan.barclay@leadershipnz.co.nz This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in the first instance, or feel free to contact Mark directly via the Leadership NZ alumni contacts list.
SkillsBank: Interview with Elaine Dyer, Manager of Projects, Violence Free Waitakere
"It was fantastic to work with Leadership New Zealand Alumnus, Mark Baker. My initial thoughts were, how are we going to work together - he is obviously very successful in a commercial context..how will that be for us? But that quickly changed..."
"...But that quickly changed..." were Elaine's first words when asked about the experience Violence Free Waitakere had working with Mark Baker as a SkillsBank volunteer with their organisation.
"Mark supported Margot Nicholson of Not For Profit Works to introduce the Jim Collins' 'Good to Great' model into our organisation. He was very good at reframing what seemed to be a relatively commerical and competitive model into scenarios and a context that would benefit us working with collaborative, community based projects that at times have many different agencies involved. He helped us reframe a key objective of our organisation to become best at creating collaborative events and forums on building a violence free community and world."
Elaine went on to say that Mark was an incredibly good listener, bringing in his own perspective where it was appropriate, and where he thought it would add value. "It felt like we had a real exchange of value as Mark shared with us that he gained a broader perspective and learnt a lot both personally and interpersonally from working with our team...it felt like we honoured each other."
"Since working on this project with Mark, we are doing a lot of things differently and have gained a lot as an organisation from the experience. We have spent time asking ourselves what it is that makes us unique, what we do that matters and have been focusing on developing strategies around this."
"This exercise has lead us to making some very positive changes within our organisational team and taking time to do this well with a capacity-building exploration exercise."
"Violence Free Waitakere is in a really good, creative space, and are very clear about what our next steps need to be to make a difference in the lives of our families and communities."