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EESTI ELU reedel, 6. novembril 2020 — Friday, Novembril 6, 2020
Professionals Spotlight: Johanna Helin of Mamaa Trade Vincent Teetsov There’s something special about a product that’s been made by hand with expertise and dedication. You can tell the difference in the quality of a product that has had thought put into it. Estonians may be especially attuned to this with our textile tradition going back countless ge ner ations. With a whole world of rich craft traditions that many of us have not had the chance to know and enjoy, Mamaa Trade operates as a way to connect the businesses of craftspeople from Ghana, Uganda, Afghanis tan, and Syria via e-commerce, as well as in local shops and markets in Ontario. I spoke with the owner, Johanna Helin, to see how it all began: 30 years or so ago, you worked in Africa with your grandfather when he donated water drilling machinery upon his retirement. What happened between this experience and establishing Mamaa Trade that prompted you to sell handcrafted goods when you moved to Canada? My first trip to Africa was to northern Namibia, Owambo land; a place where Finnish missionaries had been working since 1870. It was an odd expe rience as the locals knew about Finland and were baptized with Finnish names. That trip sparked a long-lasting love for Africa. After coming back from Namibia, I changed my major at the University of Helsinki to anthropology and did my MA research with local market women in a small rural village in Guinea, West Africa. After university, I lived and worked in Estonia, as well as in Ghana. Together with a group of Estonian friends, in 2007 we founded the first development NGO in Estonia, Mondo. My previous contacts helped us to
Bright, no blues in the night How dagnab appropriate. In the year that Hallowe’en was cancelled, at least in TO, Christmas might be, and Easter’s future is up in the air, it was the night sky that brought tremendous appreciation for our universe. The rare Blue Moon – the second full moon in a calendar month – was mind-blowingly dazzling on October 31st. T’wasn’t blue – but according to lore it sometimes is. How else did it get the name? This after having missed out on the Pink Moon (it actually looks pink, according to astro nomers), or supermoon, which means when the orbit is closest possible to the Earth. That was in April, thanks to the clouds on that night. Which is a metaphor
establish Mondo’s first develop ment cooperation project with women’s groups in Ghana. That was in 2009 and I’m still work ing with the same women now in Mamaa Trade, a social enter prise I founded after coming to Toronto in 2018. Do you find that working with artisans empowers them to do more business in their own communities? The main problem for the women I’m working with is poverty. They are really hard working women, but at the local level they are not able to make ends meet. Many of the women are widows, single mothers, or have disabilities, so they are in a very volatile position and are the main providers for their children. School and healthcare are not for free, so the future of their children really depends on their opportunities to find income. Some women are also selling in the local market. But the problem is that the prices are very low as the population is poor. Exporting is the main solution for getting a better price for their products. In northern Ghana there are also large businesses buying these products from the cooperatives, but the prices they are paying are very low. Fair trade practices are not common and the local producers are on the losing end. Our solution to raise people from poverty is to work on the quality of the products, pay a fair price to the producers, and export the goods to markets where people are willing to pay a price that does not exploit anyone. What does the work of these craftspeople bring that stands apart from other goods? Nowadays, more and more consumers want to know where and how the products they are using are made. The strength of
for just about everything about most of 2020. The bright orb on All Hallows Eve was a beacon of hope. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel, after all. The slimster is no great shakes as a musician, although brinksmanship can be claimed on certain instruments. With the sole goal of playing blues, blues and more of them. The slender one recalls seeing Downchild Blues Band live some 40 years ago. Where the amazing Jane Vasey, sadly too soon taken off this mortal coil, tickled and then pounded the ivories, reach ing the soul in a way that cannot be described. The Hock, Richard Walsh, merely a groundbreaking singer, also has been long growling into the heavenly microphones. His brother Donnie, “Mr. Down child”, led fans to argue whether he was a better guitarist or harp player. Wow, what memories
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Notice of meeting of shareholders Estonian House in Toronto Limited • 6:30 P.M November 18, 2020 Online at: www.estohouse.com/agm Notice to shareholders
my business is that I know the story behind the products. I can show customers a photo of the producer and tell her story. I’m also working with the women to ensure that the whole production process is sustain able. The shea makers are, at the same time, protecting the trees and planting more trees in an area that is suffering from deforestation. The weavers are trying out natural dyes. All the packaging is reduced as much as possible and is recyclable. But mainly, the strength is in the individual stories of the women, how the business has helped them to educate their children, get clean running water for their household, or generally have a brighter view of the future. Who would not want to be part of that? “Mamaa” means “Fair” or “Equal” in the Nabit language of northern Ghana. Can you explain to us how the fair trade process works? We have a long-term partner ship with these women and want to see them benefit and prosper. Therefore, we are sup porting them in many ways. Mondo sends volunteers to the communities. For example, there have been some Estonian designers who have helped the women to develop new models that fit better with European and North American tastes. Together with the volunteers,
Shareholders are invited to participate in the An nual General Meeting of the Estonian House in Toronto Limited on November 18, 2020. Shareholders can attend the meeting virtually or over the phone. Instructions for access ing the meeting are available at www.estohouse.com/agm. This meeting is a private meeting of Estonian House in Toronto Limited and is closed to the general public. Invitations have been mailed, and where requested emailed, to all Shareholders. Shareholders who are unable to participate have the option of assigning a proxy. Proxies must be re gistered twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting. Shareholders can register
p roxies in the following manner: 1. By mail, addressed to the Secretary Eric Sehr at 958 Broadview Avenue, Toronto M4K 2R6; 2. By fax to 416-461-2017; 3. Deposited at the Manager’s office located at 958 Broadview Avenue; or 4. By email to shares@esto house.com. Any proxies sent by mail that are not received or submit ted by fax, in-person or email after 6:30 pm on November 17, 2020 will not be accepted. These timing restrictions are designed to allow management adequate time to prepare and distribute electronic ballots for each proxy holder for the online election platform, Election buddy, to be used at the meet ing.
I help in improving the quality of the products, take photos and videos that can be used for mar keting, help in organizing the shipments, and build the capaci ty for the women to do all of this by themselves in the future. All the payments are also done in advance, to help the women to buy the shea nuts, straw, or fabrics they need for produc tion. The price is calculated according to fair trade prin ciples, so that it covers all of the costs of production and provides a living wage for the producers for the amount of time they have worked. We are not there yet, but when Mamaa Trade becomes profitable, we have also promised to invest a percentage back to the commu nity. This Christmas season, you’ll be selling sini-must-valge (blue, black, and white) coloured soap bars. Can you tell us more about these? When and where can we find them to purchase?
Through Mamaa and shea butter, I found the art of cold process soap making. Shea but ter lasts very long if kept in the right conditions, but eventually it starts losing some of its bene ficial vitamins. Processing shea butter into soap makes it last forever, and the soaps are really moisturizing, cleansing, and have a nice soft lather. I’ve used the blue, black, and white combination for swirls and stripes. For Filiae Patria’s 100th Anniversary, I made some white, red, and green soaps with lavender and lemongrass essential oils. For Christmas, I’ve now made decorative soaps with either spruce or cinnamon scents. All Mamaa products can be found at www.mamaa.ca/shop and if anyone wants a custom order of soaps in their favourite colours, that can be organized by writing to johanna@mamaa. ca This interview has been edited and condensed.
did Luna trigger that night! Dutch Mason. Morgan Davis, sometimes with the Catfish, sometimes alone. The Hotel Izzy. Albert’s Hall. All the great visitors from other cities. Once, at The Brunny, a friend had the audacity to ask Jeff Healey for an autograph. Which the extraordinary blues man, old-time jazz musician provided without blinking an eye. How could a person with no vision learn to be virtuoso on so many instruments, includ ing the trumpet? Solely by ear – of course. The hallmark of an artiste. Who needs to read music – one just has to feel it. As all the greats, in any cate gory, have proven for centuries. In jazz, especially, also known for feeling the blues. Miles Davis apparently played his best with eyes closed. George Shearing was also, like Healey, blind. Then the mind went to the
actual music inspired by the astral event. The Rodgers/Hart team, way back when, brought it into popularity, with just those two words. Then the blue grass pearl, the great Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky”. And who could forget the supergroup Traveling Wilburys’ “New Blue Moon”. Had to be new, for a Wilbury, the much-missed Roy Orbison, also recorded, solo, “Blue Moon”. The list is long, my friends. That rare nighttime appearance sure brings out the creative forces. (Why do dogs bay at the moon? And why did Orbison also sing “Blue Bayou”? Questions the slimster cannot answer.) But enough reflecting, philo sophic pontifications. It is about the Moon and music. Thus, must end with “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again”. Mr. Elvis Presley sang that as a sign of hope. Well,
love really, and it is a gorgeous song. Some folks take all exter nal signs that Mother Natures provides as truth, as it will happen. But gee. In this corona (another word associated with the skies) year, that bright night light can only mean that some day all this will be a bad memory, and we won’t have to get our blues fix from record ings, either discs or YouTube. Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, all long gone, but have heard them live. Jonny Lang, George Thorogood, David Wilcox, Colin James – many more, who are thankfully still with us – ditto. The hope from this corner is that someday these aging ears can hear Kolumbus Kris, mere ly the best Estonian blues band ever, live. In Eesti. Suvel. Maskita. Or is that a wish that should be expressed only once in a blue moon. OTEPÄÄ SLIM
Photo used with permission from Johanna Helin
