It’s something that people have always said we should do, write a blog, let all our readers know what’s going on behind the scenes of Lalesso… well here it is, the Lalesso blog.

Both Alice and myself will be writing from our different quarters. Alice is predominantly based in Cape Town and I am mostly based in Diani Beach, Kenya. We meet up as much as we can throughout the year and we talk almost every single day. Whether it be to design and plan the new collection, make patterns and sample them, or collect an award together (this happened once!), or meet at a trade show for our bi-annual marketing plug… or have an AGM on the South Coast of Kenya over looking billowing palm trees and the tropical Indian Ocean… we always have some kind of excuse to meet up and get the two Lalesso minds working off each other again.

So, I’m writing from Diani, which in case you don’t know is just south of Mombasa about 80km from the Tanzanian border, it is a pretty magical place with beautiful white sandy beaches and palm trees fringing out over the coast line as far as the eye can see. I was born here and my family all live here too… after 4 years in Cape Town followed by 4 years too-ing and fro-ing between Cape Town, London and Diani, I’ve decided to base myself here for a while, 1 year down and who knows how many more to come.

I’ve just finished this new website with the help of my very very helpful genuis geek boyfriend Luke and we’re both glad it’s over and done with. At the moment SOKO is madly producing all the spring summer 2011 orders, lots of them, the fabric arrived on time and everything is looking in GOOD order for a smooth production run. Fingers and toes crossed, this is Africa after all, anything can happen!

The wind is blowing a great North Easterly wind and over looking the ‘office’ window I can see lots and lots of kites out on the water… kind of torturous. My other great passion, aside from Lalesso and fashion is kitesurfing. You should try it, it’s addictive. Once you pop, you just can’t stop! I try and allow an hour or two to kite every day, it’s great exercise and a great way to appreciate this beautiful beach.

I also have a dog called Honey, she got fired from Andrex for being too old but in my eyes she is still that adorable little Andrex puppy. She really is a gem, it’s not favoritism, everyone thinks so. I actually adopted her from an old lady that couldn’t take care of her any more. She is a golden labrador and a beautiful one at that. I’ve only had her for about 2 months but we’re already inseparable. I can’t work out if she likes kiting or not, she hates being more than 3 metres away from me and she runs up and down the beach waiting for me to come to shore and every time I do she bounds into the water to greet me and then I turn and head out the sea again. I feel bad every time but I think she kind of enjoys the game.

Anyway, I think I’ll leave it at that for the opening entry… more to come… and welcome to our blog! x x x Olivia

Lots of love, Alice xxx

We saw such great potential in this job creation endeavor and we also recognised the high demand from other clothing designers or brands looking for a reputable ethical and eco production unit where they could have garments made. And then… we met Jo. Joanna Maiden is from the UK and has extensive training and experience in not just garment production but also in ethical fashion. Jo and her husband Dave (a very talented artist) packed up their lives in London and moved to Kenya in 2009. With very little funding Jo began the challenging task of setting up SOKO. Jo had to do a lot of the fundraising herself to get the project off the ground. Most of this was done by using the skills and talents of local artisans to make sellable products and raising the money through the sales of these crafts.

A year on and the success of SOKO is very obvious. It has gone from employing a team of 5 to a team of 55 and the demand is ever increasing from designers and brands wanting to produce collections with SOKO. The only thing that is holding it back is the lack of space available and the lack of a efficiently designed factory unit that can capacitate all of the tailors and beaders. That is where you come in. They are currently fundraising for the building of this factory and need a sum of £70,000. This might sound daunting but they have already received a single donation of £10,000. Whether you can give £10 or £50,000, it all helps.

Please have a look at this fantastic video about SOKO that will give you a real insight into what goes on.

The magical thing about SOKO, or donating to SOKO is it is not like most African charities that often seem like a bottomless pit of funds disappearing into nowhere… it is fully sustainable. The money will be used to invest in the project, build the buildings, purchase machinery and provide training. All of these factors will in turn generate income for SOKO which will allow further growth, success of the project and for any excess profits, donations to other charities. In addition to that the donations are very direct, there are no middle men or big expensive offices to fund in between, the money goes straight where it is supposed to go to. Please visit SOKO’s website for more information about how you can help.