So I'm interviewing Jen the Soapmaker the other day for my new New Life Journal column when she mentions, in passing, that this past Saturday was going to be the last day for the new Roswell Farmers Market (at Riverside Park). I ask how that market turned out, and she mentions some of the vendors who were there.
"You know of The Land of a Thousand Hills, don't you?" she asks.
No. No, I don't know of The Land of a Thousand Hills. But, my goodness, bring it on, I think, and Jen goes on to tell me how she had a booth next to them and got to know them.
The Land of a Thousand Hills, based right next door in Roswell, is a company that uses coffee as a change agent. It buys green coffee beans at a premium price from a cooperative of Rwandan widows, roasts them at its headquarters and then donates a portion from every sale back to the cooperative. It also gives micro-finance loans to the widows and serves as a catalyst for reconciliation across Rwanda.
Okay, good story so far. But it gets even better. Turns out that for the Rwandans, soap is a luxury. So Jen asked the coffee folks to find out what raw ingredients might be easily available to the women of the cooperative. As luck would have it, they have access to shea butter, and soy and palm oils, all of which are good base ingredients for soap. So Jen formulated a simple, basic soap recipe and is now teaching the coffee folks how to make it so that they can teach the women in Africa. And then, the women will be able to not only supply their community with soap but also sell it as a moneymaker. To change their lives. To change the course of a country. All because Jen and The Land of a Thousand Hills had booths next to each other at the Roswell Farmers Market.
Who will you find yourself next to today? What incredible things could happen as a result?
Just say hello. It all starts there.
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