Everyone loves a good subscription box.
For a certain amount of money each month, or sometimes a yearly subscription, consumers can receive a bundle of themed goodies. Whether you’re looking for hair care, clothing, books or accessories from a particular country, there are a variety of different subscription boxes to suit almost everyone’s desires.
Through their subscription boxes, one non-profit business is focusing on giving back and working to make a positive change in the world.
Introducing Haiti Mama, which works to preserve and restore families in Haiti through community social work, education and employment. From fair-trade chocolate supporting small-scale farmers to artisan-crafted jewelry funding community programs, the organization is helping the Haitian community to learn to support themselves through creativity.
Haiti Mama on a mission
Tausha Pearson was leading a group of Haitian social worker students through social work internships, visiting countless orphanages, when one orphanage in Port-au-Prince caused heartache throughout the entire group.
What they witnessed was deeply disturbing: 93 children living in squalid conditions, all showing signs of malnutrition, abuse and neglect.
“Inside the orphanage, the interns documented the conditions while speaking with children who remembered their families but had been cut off from contact,” says Caroline Mendez, development and product manager at Haiti Mama. “One little boy’s plea was particularly moving: ‘Please help me get back to my little sister. She needs me.’”
The group later gathered at Place Boyer to reflect on their experience, according to Mendez. Through their discussions, they decided that instead of trying to fix broken orphanages, they would create an alternative system that’s focused on reuniting families and addressing the root causes of separation.
Thus, Haiti Mama was born in 2014.
The Mama Box
The Mama Box initiative, launched in 2019, allows Haiti Mama to provide families with job opportunities. These curated monthly subscription boxes contain fair trade lifestyle products from Haitian artisans, farmers and entrepreneurs.
Since its launch, Mendez says The Mama Box has helped Haiti Mama invest “over $200,000 into the Haitian economy, supporting various producers from coffee farmers to leather makers, beekeepers and beauty product manufacturers.”
Each Mama Box has a different theme, offering consumers the opportunity to try different artisan products from a variety of entrepreneurs across Haiti.
“The process begins with careful theme selection and product curation,” explains Mendez. “Working through the Haiti Artisan Collective network, NGOs, for-profit businesses and independent artisans, the team brainstorms items for inclusion, reaches out to partners with specific requests, reviews proposals, makes final selections and issues purchase orders, and collects artisan stories to share with subscribers.”
Subscription boxes ship out in February, May, August and November of each year, each containing five-to-eight products. In February, for example, Haiti Mama released the “Pataje” (Share the Love) Box. Each box included double portions of handcrafted items, encouraging subscribers to keep one and share one.
Spreading the love
To keep the Haiti economy flourishing and subscription boxes flowing, Haiti Mama maintains a strong digital presence through a variety of ways:
- An e-commerce platform for the Mama Box subscription service and donations
- Social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest
- Regular newsletters and email marketing campaigns
- Physical presence at art markets, bazaars and festivals
“The subscription box service has become their primary funding tool with the strongest growth potential,” notes Mendez.
Due to the subscription box’s popularity, Haiti Mama plans to continue to expand this offering for consumers, according to Mendez, and has some exciting initiatives planned for the future, including:
- Developing new artisan vendor relationships for The Mama Box
- Creating special occasion boxes for celebrations such as housewarmings and baby showers
- Growing the company’s Corporate Giving Boxes program, building on successful initiatives like their international holiday gift program that reached over 300 people in seven countries
- Establishing sustainable Mardi Gras throw production in New Orleans, following the company’s recent operational relocation
“This last initiative particularly excites them as it addresses both environmental concerns about traditional plastic throws and creates additional employment opportunities for Haitian artisans,” says Mendez. “Their belief remains steadfast: demand creates jobs, and jobs create a more sustainable future for families in Haiti.”
