Bead for LifeThe Impact on Ugandan Communities
Seonag Doherty, Mackenna Bowles, & Kelci Reyes-Brannon
Background Uganda is a small African
country (size of Oregon) Endowed with abundant
natural resources, thought to have ability to feed all of Africa if not for political and economic challenges
Corruption Perception Index of 2.4 (transparency int’l)
Among world’s poorest nations and has high population growth rates
Ugandan Economy
Health & Equality
Fair TradeEmpowering workers to receive fair price & profit for their goods
Bead for Life
Beading Process
Motivation To gain a broader understanding of fair trade and
its effects on Ugandan Artisans through research on a particular organization
To observe the effects free trade can have on women’s rights and empowering women
To determine if Bead for Life directly improves the quality of life for the communities it serves
To better understand how the dissemination of goods but more importantly ideas effect women in Beads for Life communities
Observe and analyze how one specific fair trade organization effects these women in Ugandan communities
Literature Review Beads for Life World Fair Trade Organization Dutch Association of Worldshops International Fair Trade Association Women’s Health UNICEF “Artisans and Fair Trade: Crafting
Development” by Litrell and Dickson
Theoretical Background
Factor Endowment Theory The Heckscher-Ohlin model is
based on the theory of comparative advantage
Predicts trade patterns based on the region’s factor endowments
Countries will export products that use their abundant factors of production and import products that use the countries’ scarce factors
Uganda has abundant cheap labor. Exports cash crops and labor intensive goods (such as the Bead for Life jewelry)
Comparative Advantage
Inter-Industry Trade
Analysis 99% of members said life has improved
since they joined BeadforLife Income of the respondents went from $30-
$50 a month before joining BeadforLife, to an average of $227 a month in 2007
Over 90% of members report that their diet, health and housing situations have improved during their membership in BeadforLife
77% of the children who live with the beaders are enrolled in school.Beadforlife evaluation summary
2005
Analysis
Awata Margaret
Analysis These statistics represent a very very small
portion of the overall population Allows for policy upkeep
Artisan work is extremely different from agricultural work Prices Individual
Conclusions Does fair trade contribute to the welfare of the Ugandan
communities involved in Bead for Life? Does Bead for Life empower the women involved in the
program? How does the money from Bead for Life benefit the Ugandan
communities involved? Do the organizations create new opportunities for the artisans
to develop skills outside of their traditional craft? How does Bead for Life affect the overall living standard for the
artisans?