Nest - Expanding Economic Opportunity through Craft

The Story of a Brand

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5 • 145 Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Rebecca says, “The message is to be deliberate about your shopping. And I think for many people that can feel really overwhelming because we live in a world of fast fashion and fast consumption. My advice is to bite off things that feel manageable. For example, one year I made a commitment that every gift I bought for the entire year was going to be handmade. So maybe I can't afford to buy every single piece of clothing for my growing seven-year-old handmade or ethical, but I can make these commitments and purchase small and purchase from makers in ways that are meaningful.”

Today, we interview Rebecca Van Bergen, Executive Director & Founder of Nest. Nest supports artisan communities worldwide with business development programming designed to strengthen their operations and position them for long-term success.

In partnership with brands, philanthropists, and their network of over 2,000 artisan businesses, their proven approach locks the potential of craft-based employment to advance gender and economic equity.

We discuss:

* What she’s grateful for
* Overview and origin of Nest
* Is artisanship dying? And why crafts are in danger
* Crafts, the creator economy, and women
* Advice for social entrepreneurs
* Case studies of artisans and the results of the program
* Where to shop to support artisans including the Nest Label
* Why it’s free to join the Guild
* And more…

Join Ramon Vela and Rebecca Van Bergen as we break down the inside story of Nest on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Nest, visit: https://www.buildanest.org/

Subscribe and listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand” on your favorite podcast player.

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	one of our programs is called our ethical handcraft program where we really work with businesses
0:04.4	to ensure that even if they're home-based and more informal that they have transparency, that the wages
0:10.5	are fair. And if they do, they carry a seal of ethical handcraft. And so at Target, you can find
0:16.3	these baskets made in Africa that carry this nest seal of ethical handcraft. And in a year of doing that program, 90% of the women had enough money to purchase health
0:27.5	insurance for their kids, which is often seen as a luxury in many countries and in many
0:33.1	communities within countries like Rwanda.
0:36.7	And so to be able to like have the income really drive impact,
0:40.2	not just for a woman, but for her children,
0:42.4	I think is what we're kind of all hoping to see.
1:02.2	This is the story of a brand, a podcast that helps people learn the story behind their favorite consumer products.
1:07.8	I'm Ramon Vela, and I believe that people want to know more about the brands and products they purchase.
1:11.0	So each week, I interview the founder of a consumer brand, unpack their story, their products, their mission, so you can decide which products are
1:15.7	worth buying and which brands are worth supporting. Today we interview Rebecca Van
1:24.7	Bergen, executive director and founder of Nest. Nest supports artisan communities
1:30.4	worldwide with business development programming designed to strengthen their operations and position
1:36.6	them for long-term success. Now, that's the official definition, but you're going to hear in this
1:43.7	interview exactly how she works with
1:46.8	artisans and crafts people around the world, many of which are women and helps them build a
1:53.6	business that not only helps to make money and get their products out to market with
1:59.7	brands and retailers and corporations,
2:02.2	but also impacts their families and their communities and brings economic equality to areas
2:13.0	to areas of the world that may not have that currently. We talk about what she's grateful for, the overview and
	...

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