Leather products at Local Fair
OIKOS EA
Creating Market Linkages and Promotion of Eco-Friendly Leather products
Leather Products at Karibu-Kili International Fair
OIKOS EA
Community livelihood initiatives have to be linked to market and promotion for them to be sustainable and provide a financial impact that they have been designed to bring forth.
When building the capacity of a community to produce eco-friendly items, there is a need to establish a very good foundation of how these products will reach the market but also what are the demands in the market when it comes to quality criteria. Leather items in particular especially items made with Naturally tanned leather stand a chance in the market, however they need to meet high quality standards and be promoted so as to enhance consumers to know of their existence. For this solution initiatives were taken to assess the market for Leather products in main cities such as Nairobi town, Arush Town and even Zanzibar to identify shops or dealers who would be willing to purchase the products.
Promotion of the products in different platforms is also very key through catalogs, social media and participation in fairs/exhibitions. Market linkages and promotion is a bridge for the community livelihood initiatives to bring financial benefits and make communities willing to continue the production chain.
- Marketing Linkages and Promotion of Eco-Friendly leather products have been made possible through a market assessment conducted to identify dealers/supplier/potential buyers as well as to identify the types of items and their demand in the market.
- Social Media promotion and participation tourism Fairs have attracted Lodges and Camps to order items for their curio shops.
- Through the Marketplace Literacy program designed by OIKOS EA, the beneficiaries were able to receive additional training on consumer knowledge, quality production as well as marketing skills.
- Market Linkages and promotion of community based Eco-Friendly products is a very important step toward attaining sustainability of any livelihood program. Communities will continue to engage in these activities if they receive financial gains and see their lives being transformed. For sustainability to be realized, a lot of time and financial investment is needed to support the communities to be able to produce products at a high standard and meet both local and international market demands.
- Business skills and Financial Management skills are also very crucial to form part of the livelihood diversification programs. Many community livelihood programs fail due to lack of business mindset and proactiveness of the members to take charge of their business. Financial mismanagement has affected the commitment of community members to continue with the initiative leading to high levels of dropouts and hence less production. Proper engagement and commitment of the community is a success factor for any livelihood initiative.