Living and working at the Care for Natural Foundation
While researching NGO’s in the Gambia I received a long e-mail from the director of the Care for Natural Foundation. To make a long story short, I decided to rent an apartment in their compound. I have been living here for over one month and have observed first hand what it takes to run a business in the Gambia with both a humanitarian and for-profit mission.
Claudette Sarr-Krook, the director, is a Dutch woman who moved here 20 years ago. She is creative, entrepreneurial, and very engaged with the local community. There is a little factory on the compound produces foodstuffs like jam, honey, peanut butter, and yogurt, all made from locally sourced organic ingredients. She also has a line of cosmetics such as soaps, scrubs, oils, and various Aloe Vera products, all grown at the Foundation’s own field project sites.
What I admire in her business model is that she does not only use local organic ingredients, but she employs local people who might otherwise not have the opportunity to work (unemployment in the Gambia is very high). By sourcing locally she supports entire communities, and by employing locals she supports not only them but also their extended families. This way she provides an income for over 20 families. In short, a truly sustainable business model.
Through her work, she also shows Gambians how value can be created with the natural resources that are freely available throughout the seasons, and how to cultivate a respect for nature in the process.
One of my projects here is to work with her to re-brand her logo and develop a new house style for use on promotional materials, product labels and catalog. Key to this was familiarizing myself with the product portfolio and the customer base. The customer base consists of three main groups:
Keeping in mind the above groups, it was quite a challenge to incorporate this all into a new logo. Also, what I learned from the first day is that European marketing principles do not apply to Africa. Europeans generally like their branding to be clear, simple, and slick. Here in Africa, what sells are bright colous, nice images, and really simple taglines like “Be your best with XYZ Energy Drink!”. The message the logo needs to get across is that Care for Natural products are naturally produced, sustainable, distinctly African, and of course tasty!
Here’s the result.....
Claudette Sarr-Krook, the director, is a Dutch woman who moved here 20 years ago. She is creative, entrepreneurial, and very engaged with the local community. There is a little factory on the compound produces foodstuffs like jam, honey, peanut butter, and yogurt, all made from locally sourced organic ingredients. She also has a line of cosmetics such as soaps, scrubs, oils, and various Aloe Vera products, all grown at the Foundation’s own field project sites.
What I admire in her business model is that she does not only use local organic ingredients, but she employs local people who might otherwise not have the opportunity to work (unemployment in the Gambia is very high). By sourcing locally she supports entire communities, and by employing locals she supports not only them but also their extended families. This way she provides an income for over 20 families. In short, a truly sustainable business model.
Through her work, she also shows Gambians how value can be created with the natural resources that are freely available throughout the seasons, and how to cultivate a respect for nature in the process.
One of my projects here is to work with her to re-brand her logo and develop a new house style for use on promotional materials, product labels and catalog. Key to this was familiarizing myself with the product portfolio and the customer base. The customer base consists of three main groups:
- Wealthy Gambians who prefer the products not to look too local, they also buy many European products
- Tourists who prefer a more cute and basic traditional “Gambian” look
- Hotels who want a trustworthy look that stands for quality and food safety
Keeping in mind the above groups, it was quite a challenge to incorporate this all into a new logo. Also, what I learned from the first day is that European marketing principles do not apply to Africa. Europeans generally like their branding to be clear, simple, and slick. Here in Africa, what sells are bright colous, nice images, and really simple taglines like “Be your best with XYZ Energy Drink!”. The message the logo needs to get across is that Care for Natural products are naturally produced, sustainable, distinctly African, and of course tasty!
Here’s the result.....
Old logo:
New logo:
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