News Release: 12/22/2018
December 22, 2018
Fatou Doumbia
Agile International
720-227-6208
fatousmd@gmail.com
Purses with a Purpose
A holiday gift that fosters Economic Independence for West African Women and their Communities
Boulder, Colorado: Colorful, authentic African print purses made by West African women not only look great with any ensemble, their purchase is the first step in a virtuous cycle that provides rural women access to water and agricultural training. This results in increased regional food production, which in turn allows local women to attend school and ultimately to better provide for their families.
This holiday season, these one-of-a-kind purses are available for purchase both online at www.agile-international.org/store/ and at holiday events, helping to fund projects in Sanankoroba and Mali, West Africa.
The purses and the agricultural activities are initiatives of local nonprofit Agile International, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado and founded by West African born Fatou Doumbia. Ms. Doumbia is also the designer of AGILE’s purse offerings and reports that she innovated one of the designs using a cultural handbag called a “Djemeni,” originally carried by ancestral hunter-gatherers. Beyond the initial design work, she coordinates the manufacture of the purses in a meticulously selected factory to ensure appropriate working conditions for the predominantly female production staff. Working remotely, she also oversees purse importation and manages projects on the ground in West Africa.
When asked why she founded AGILE International, Doumbia shared that when she visited her birthplace of Mali after seventeen years in America, she found that many women had been displaced from their work, and society when large-scale, industrial corporate farms took over. As a result, many West African women no longer had the means or opportunity to provide for their families. Their children were turned away from schools, and homes. Many also suffered physical abuse by family members. As a result, Doumbia founded Agile International to help these rural women-in-need create independent, sustainable sources of revenue for themselves by helping them secure land, water and energy.
While the handbag project helps West African communities, it also contributes to solving a larger global issue: international and internal migrations. Many peoples feel that they must leave their homelands in order to create a safe and sustainable livelihood that meets their basic needs. Doumbia points out that programs like this one help people to solve their own issues locally so that they may thrive while remaining safely at home, creating a win-win for the whole world.
About: AGILE International stands for Action to Generate and Integrate the Local Economy. The organization creates access to land for women, providing them with income-generation opportunities. Traditionally in West Africa, only men own land, although women produce 80% of the food. When women own the land they farm, the entire community reaps economic and educational benefits. AGILE projects are funded by the creation and sale of beautiful purses made by West African women who are also paid for their work. Visit www.agile-international.org to learn more.
###
Agile International
720-227-6208
fatousmd@gmail.com
Purses with a Purpose
A holiday gift that fosters Economic Independence for West African Women and their Communities
Boulder, Colorado: Colorful, authentic African print purses made by West African women not only look great with any ensemble, their purchase is the first step in a virtuous cycle that provides rural women access to water and agricultural training. This results in increased regional food production, which in turn allows local women to attend school and ultimately to better provide for their families.
This holiday season, these one-of-a-kind purses are available for purchase both online at www.agile-international.org/store/ and at holiday events, helping to fund projects in Sanankoroba and Mali, West Africa.
The purses and the agricultural activities are initiatives of local nonprofit Agile International, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado and founded by West African born Fatou Doumbia. Ms. Doumbia is also the designer of AGILE’s purse offerings and reports that she innovated one of the designs using a cultural handbag called a “Djemeni,” originally carried by ancestral hunter-gatherers. Beyond the initial design work, she coordinates the manufacture of the purses in a meticulously selected factory to ensure appropriate working conditions for the predominantly female production staff. Working remotely, she also oversees purse importation and manages projects on the ground in West Africa.
When asked why she founded AGILE International, Doumbia shared that when she visited her birthplace of Mali after seventeen years in America, she found that many women had been displaced from their work, and society when large-scale, industrial corporate farms took over. As a result, many West African women no longer had the means or opportunity to provide for their families. Their children were turned away from schools, and homes. Many also suffered physical abuse by family members. As a result, Doumbia founded Agile International to help these rural women-in-need create independent, sustainable sources of revenue for themselves by helping them secure land, water and energy.
While the handbag project helps West African communities, it also contributes to solving a larger global issue: international and internal migrations. Many peoples feel that they must leave their homelands in order to create a safe and sustainable livelihood that meets their basic needs. Doumbia points out that programs like this one help people to solve their own issues locally so that they may thrive while remaining safely at home, creating a win-win for the whole world.
About: AGILE International stands for Action to Generate and Integrate the Local Economy. The organization creates access to land for women, providing them with income-generation opportunities. Traditionally in West Africa, only men own land, although women produce 80% of the food. When women own the land they farm, the entire community reaps economic and educational benefits. AGILE projects are funded by the creation and sale of beautiful purses made by West African women who are also paid for their work. Visit www.agile-international.org to learn more.
###
Contact:
Fatoumata Doumbia, Founder
fatousmd@gmail.com, (720) 227-6208
