There is a new type of business emerging in the modern marketplace - business that cares for people and the planet, business that doesn’t just make a profit, it makes a difference.

This summer a select team of students will be invited to invest in such a business through Acholi Beads Internships.  If you are chosen you will have the opportunity to engage deeply with our company, learning the opportunities, challenges, and rewards of business done right.

Candidates will be chosen based on enthusiasm, mission, talent, and experience, in that order.  We are looking for people to believe in.  Once selected, Acholi Beads Interns will be matched with one of several specialized areas, such as Media/Design, Business Operations, Sales, Special Projects, etc.  And over the course of the summer we will engage them in the bigger topics we wrangle with: global disparity; gender inequality; business and altruism; and effective development.

Details:
Location: San Diego, CA 92104
Duration: June 15 - Aug 31, 2010 (flexible to accommodate academic schedules)
Compensation: Internships are unpaid, but Interns may choose to sell Acholi Beads products to make a supplementary income.

If you wish to apply, please send a letter of interest to info@acholibeads.com at your earliest convenience.  We can’t wait to work with you.

Turns out 20x someone’s order is a whole lot of jewelry.  That’s what my friend Chum learned after he won our Times x 20 Giveaway!  He got a package in the mail with $800 worth of handmade Acholi Beads jewelry.  What’s he going to do with it?  Follow him at http://twitter.com/chumdinger and ask!

Our Times x 20 promotion was an idea to show the impact of 20x anything, because each time we partner with a new Acholi woman, she improves the lives of 20 people around her.  What does Times x 20 look like in beaded jewelry?  You’ll have to ask Chum.

We’re always thinking of creative ways to bring the story of our Acholi partners home to America.  Do have an idea?  We’re all ears.  Leave a comment or contact us.

[To choose the winner we took all the qualifying orders and numbered them, then chose a number using http://random.org/  Chum's number came up!  Congratulations Chum!]

I just finished (like 5 minutes ago) an updated version of the Acholi Beads Story.  It brings the story up to present day and features our latest beautfiul design.  Here’s a PDF version for you to check out.  If you want a high-res version to print out, Contact Us.

The full story of the Acholi Beads women, in one beautiful page.

An Acholi Gras Bag!

“You look so fat today!” To an American that’s a pretty blunt tool of an insult, but to an Acholi those words are a high compliment. After all, it’s hard to get fat as subsistence farmers facing the hunger and malnutrition of war. To be fat is to be rich. Men hope to grow a “politician’s belly” and women strive to be big and curvaceous.

As Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday” approaches we’re launching our own celebration: Acholi Gras, “Fat Acholi.” This first annual sale is a celebration of Acholi culture and our Acholi partners, who are eating better than ever thanks to all of our customers and supporters! These 16 women have experienced tremendous life change over the past year, and you can bet one change is reflected on the scale!

For a limited time we’re offering Acholi Gras Bags of Acholi Beads to celebrate. Each gift quality bag is filled with at least $80 of beautiful, handmade Acholi Beads jewelry from last year’s line (i.e. two months ago), and you pay only $39.99!

This is a great chance to fill out your Acholi Beads collection, get some gifts for friends, and change the world while doing it. Happy Acholi Gras!

The “times 20″ rule is transforming the community around our bead-making partners in Uganda.  Sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, parents and grandchildren are all benefiting (check out the post before this one).  So we thought we’d see what “times 20″ can do in America.

On March 3, James’ birthday, we’re going to choose one of our recent orders and multiply it by 20.  So, if it’s a $40 order, some lucky person will get $800 worth of Acholi Beads.  That’s the power of “times 20.”

If you want your order to be elligible for a 20x boost, just enter the coupon code times20 on the shopping cart screen and wait until March 3 for the results!

The blog is making a comeback, starting today!  I’m in Uganda right now, have been for over a month.  I came with one goal in mind — to make Acholi Beads a model of Socially Proactive Business.  This means making it hugely beneficial for the women of Acholi Quarters, and making it as successful a business as possible.

Tomorrow George and the beadmakers will officially register a co-operative that we’ve been working on building for the last four weeks.  This co-op will provide a sturdy foundation on which they can build a host of other life-improving projects.  Already they have started a savings program that is helping them meet the bigger needs of life - school fees, medical expenses, etc.

This past weekend, all members of the co-op were invited to start training in personal financial management, including budgeting and saving to meet the needs of their families.  I contracted the best trainer I’ve ever met to teach a curriculum that we designed together in northern Uganda.  The women loved it.  After just the first session they were talking about how much better their lives would be.  And the trainer, after two days with the bead makers, said, “These women are so committed!  They are going to do something great.”

And that’s not all.  My sister Robin came to Uganda with me to consult on style and materials.  Thanks to her fashionable eye we have some fantastic new products and great changes to our current line to offer in the near future.  Keep your eyes peeled.  The new products will launch at about the same time as our new website, currently being slaved over by a few great friends of mine.

Acholi Beads is about to hit a whole new level of marketability, just as it reaches a new peak of life-change for the beadmakers.  This is Socially Proactive Business.

Due to the growth of our business over the last couple months Acholi Beads has been able to hire three new bead makers, and promote one bead maker to a full time production management position.  Increasing our production staff this soon after the founding of the business is extremely exciting, and  a sign of great things to come.

Yesterday I was in Acholi Quarter buying beads and taking photos of each of our bead makers.  The photos will be up ASAP; in the meantime, a preview: meet Gladys (right), a 26-year-old mother of three who fled her home in the north in 2004 to escape the war.

Thanks for coming. We are working hard to build this site into a resource of information about the Acholi people and how to get involved in their ongoing story. Please be patient, we’re new to this web design thing. But if you come back soon you’re sure to find more! Until then, we leave you with a photo of our beaders at work.