Interview 2. Million Skoda: Reflecting or Kenya Weaving Project and Project Experience in Fiji, Yemen, and Mongolia

摘要

I first met Million Skoda in Fiji-in fact, buying some of the Fijian wood carvings she was selling, working with local craftsmen. Subsequently I joined her on a trip researching silver jewelry in Mexico and have seen her entrepreneurial skills used to develop businesses with local craftspeople and communities concerned with jewelry in India and Yemen, setting up a coffee shop and restaurant in Mongolia. However, it is her project in Kenya-developing a weaving project with local women-that is most pertinent to this discussion. But what is interesting about this example is how she combines cultural and contemporary demand-a practical entrepreneurial approach, together with encouragement and support for local people to develop marketable products. Her experience is unusual because she personally has been involved in finding markets and products while helping people in the community start businesses in different contexts-culturally, resource wise and creatively. This is her description of that experience (Figure 1).