Larry Closs, 4 February 2013
Our primary goal is to support positive change among the communities who supply our wool. We buy at a fair rate directly from herder families, and we pay this same rate throughout the buying season. This gives herders security, as the price they earn is often dependent on the whim of the agent in town that day. We also pay a stipend, which this year was about 10 percent on top of the purchase price. We buy the wool and pay the stipend via a herders’ cooperative called KeGaWa.
In time we will look for opportunities to employ locals and we will work with an NGO that has long-term hands-on developmental and environmental experience in this area: Plateau Perspectives. They are really well-placed to support us so we are lucky.