We are excited to share with you that our new Parker Clay Ethiopia Production Facility is officially up and running! This has been a long road that we have dreamt about for some time, and it has been incredible to witness these dreams finally become a reality.
From securing a location in Addis Ababa (the capital city of Ethiopia), to hiring new managers and staff, to ensuring that we are in line with Ethiopian law and customs procedures, our US and Ethiopia teams have been diligently working together to build a strong foundation that will last for years to come.
We are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming response from you, our customers, who have faithfully supported us over the years through your purchases and engagement. One of our biggest challenges remains keeping your favorite products in stock from Ethiopia, and this move to open up our own facility will allow us to expand our production to keep up with demand, while still maintaining partnerships with our current suppliers. We are excited for this opportunity to double the size of our Ethiopian artisan workforce - our new facility has provided 21 new jobs, all paid above fair wages and include benefits like vacation time and pension plans.
We have also been able to further our long-standing partnership with Ellilta - Women at Risk by initially hiring several women who have graduated from their program to be assistants in our new facility (learn more about our partnership with Ellilta here). We remain committed to providing opportunities for women in a context where formal employment, gender pay equity, and growth opportunities are rare.
Of our 21 new employees, nearly 80% are women, including our Operations Manager.
Why is this significant? Development statistics show that when women are given economic and educational opportunities, they are more likely than men to reinvest these opportunities back into their families and communities for things like healthcare and education for their children. By purchasing from Parker Clay and providing these women with quality employment, you are investing in an entire generation of healthy, thriving communities in Ethiopia.
Meet a few members of our management team below, and leave us a comment with your thoughts or questions - we'd love to hear from you!
