Soul Economy

Soul Economy had the pleasure speaking to soulful entrepreneur, Shannon, founder of The Dharma Door recently. The Dharma Door range of unique and exquisite handcrafted products are made from either sustainable or recycled materials and are Fairtrade, created by artisans in developing communities in Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and Vietnam. Join us in reading Shannon’s inspirational journey.

1. What inspired you to start The Dharma Door? What were you doing before this?
In 2003 my husband Mick and I spent the year travelling and volunteering throughout South East Asia, Nepal and India. We spent several months living in a Tibetan refugee community where we met a disabled man who was in the process of establishing a tailoring workshop to create employment for young women. When we were due to return to Australia we bought some of his products and sold them at weekend markets. We had a great response and so I utilised my earlier sales training to approach retail stores about stocking the products. I previously worked as a sales rep in the wine industry and this was the catalyst for seeking a more meaningful career.

2. How long ago was The Dharma Door established? What is your vision for the company?
The Dharma Door was established in early 2004. My vision for the company is to build on our reputation for sourcing high quality Fair Trade products and to see them readily accepted by mainstream retail stores and consumers.

3. Tell us about the product range. Where can we buy your wonderful products?
Our new buying policy is to source products that are made from either sustainable or recycled materials in addition to being Fair Trade. These include bowls made of posters that have been rejected from printing factories in Vietnam, hotmats and coasters made of recycled newspaper by a women’s cop-op in the Philippines; gorgeous handcrafted journals made of jute fibres or recycled cotton waste in Bangladesh and much more. There is a stockists list on our website and if customers can’t find the product they want at their local stockist, they can purchase it online.

4. The Dharma Door has recently taken a new direction in the products sourced and aim to focus mainly on eco-friendly items, what is the reason for this?
There are several reasons for this — both health and environmental. Each time I visit a developing country I’m always disheartened by the amount of rubbish and pollution. Sadly, non-biodegradable packaging and products have been introduced into these countries without adequate rubbish removal systems or more importantly, recycling. It is normal in India to see shop owners sweeping rubbish onto the streets and street sweepers collecting the rubbish (inc. plastic, rubber etc) and burning it, sending toxic fumes into the atmosphere for anyone in the vicinity to inhale. I wouldn’t expect the creators of our products expose themselves to hazardous substances or working practices when producing our orders and in fact, our policy states that this is as important as the wage the person earns.

5. It is wonderful that you support products that are fairtrade and sustainable, how do ensure that your products really are socially and environmentally responsible?
Many of the producers that we currently buy from are IFAT members. IFAT (International Federation of Alternative Trading) is a global network of Fair Trade organisations which developed 10 standards of Fair Trade for many producer groups and buyers to adhere to http://www.ifat.org. The non-IFAT producers that we work with are either families or very small community workshops and there is great deal of trust in our business arrangements. I travel to visit producers once a year to discuss product development and to ensure the standards of Fair Trade are being met. I have never encountered any problems.

6. What have been your greatest challenges in setting up The Dharma Door?
The greatest challenge that I’ve encountered is in obtaining consistent high-quality products. I have been disappointed several times after spending days with a producer group working on products and then receiving a shipment of something completely different a few months later. Thankfully, most of our producers welcome the feedback to better their products and to make them more marketable to Australian consumers. The differences in language, communication styles and social/cultural expectations can sometimes be very challenging. Learning to work alone and feel confident in the decisions that I make every day has been a huge learning curve. I don’t have any formal business training so I’ve learnt a lot as the business has evolved.

7. What have been your greatest successes?
I count every new customer as a success as they are the reason why The Dharma Door exists and continues to grow. Personally, my greatest success has been establishing an ethical business that I’m passionate about and resisting the temptation of secure paid employment when times are challenging.

8. It would be great if you would share some of the good news stories about the communities that are being helped by purchasing The Dharma Door range?
There are so many great stories for both individuals and producer groups as a whole. Our Tibetan refugee producer group in India is a wonderful success story. As mentioned earlier, this is where our business began. We have continued to provide employment opportunities through the sale of our Book bags and other Tibetan products for this disabled man and six women ever since. As the sole exporter of their goods, The Dharma Door is very proud of this accomplishment. The group that we work with in Cambodia assists women who have been trafficked or sold into prostitution at a young age. The women are assisted through a rehabilitation and counselling program, then skills training and eventually full-time employment (in hospitality or sewing).

9. What advice would you give to others keen on starting their own responsible businesses?
Regardless of the type of business you are starting, you will require passion, persistence and stamina. In starting a responsible business, my advice would be to stick to your business ideals staunchly. You need a great deal of strength to run the day to day aspects of the business in addition to not faltering on your social and environmental principles.

Now we here at Soul Economy like to get to know our soulful entrepreneurs a little better, so on a more personal note we have 5 quick questions:

1. What are you reading at the moment?
Very little unfortunately. I have A New Earth by Eckart Tolle & Bitter Chocolate by Carol Off on my bedside table but often fall asleep before I can finish one page.

2. Who would be your dream real-life neighbour?
The Dalai Lama

3. If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?
‘Compassion Street’ - because I believe if we were all more compassionate and stopped living solely for our own benefit or judging others according to our own expectations, then the world would be a better place.

4. Name your top 3 favourite movies of all time?
I have a terrible habit of never retaining movies after I’ve seen them — it drives Mick mad! Those that have stuck with me because I’ve enjoyed the messages behind the are: ‘I am Sam’, ‘What the Bleep Do We Know?’ and ‘Baraka’ (stunning!)

5. Do you have someone you look up to or admire?
So many people have influenced and shaped who I am today. I don’t look up to any particular person over another as I believe all beings have something positive to offer. Having said that, I greatly admire the philosophy of my boxer dog Maya — stretch regularly, enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, walk daily, be even tempered and don’t hold grudges, show appreciation regularly, greet everyone with same non-judgmental enthusiasm and live joyously in the moment. This is what I aspire to.

The Dharma Door
PO Box 7007
Holland Park East, Queensland, 4121 Australia
T: +61 (07) 3420 6011
F: +61 (07) 3420 6022
M: +61 423 730 273
E: enquiries@thedharmadoor.com.au
W: www.thedharmadoor.com.au

Tags: eco-friendly gifts, eco-friendly homewares, fair trade gifts, fair trade shopping, fairtrade sydney, IFAT, International Federation of Alternative Trading, the dharma door