Site designed by Elaine Bellezza
MAP
PROJECTS
Mia Mali
Consulting
Cameroon
ACTIVITIES
Design
Full Cycle
Mudcloth
Metal
Build
Training
Virtual Trg
Link to Mkts
Local
Intern'l
Web
CASE STUDIES
Fatim
Ladji
Elaine Bellezza
Design, Build Capacity, & Link
Projects
2006 Lonely Planet said of Mia Mali:
No experience better informed me about business development in the developing world than starting and running one myself. Managing Mia Mali’s rapid growth while negotiating continual challenges gave me keen insight into what business owners face every day. At the time I started Mia Mali, Mali was rated the 6th poorest country in the world by the UN’s development index. In that environment the challenges were daunting.
What matters most to me is results, results in terms of actual impact on lives. Mia Mali, my business in Mali, was the most significant project I have done because I witnessed profound changes in people’s lives on a daily basis. I saw the impact — not just in immediate families but in whole communities. And, upon returning to Mali a year after I left, I continued to see the impact of the work rippling throughout the community.
For seventeen years I have been involved in grass-roots development in some of the poorest countries in the world. I have worked on large projects and small, been in the planning and implementing stages, as well as called in as an independent consultant or just doing assessments.
I have only highlighted a few specific projects here. If you would like a thorough indication of my work, please contact me and I will be happy to send you my current Curriculum Vitae.
Mia Mali—Far and away the most innovative and stylish boutique in Mali, Mia Mali has eminently reasonable prices and its commitment to working with over 175 artists deserves to be supported. The array of items for sale – silver jewelry, masks, statues, textiles, artwork and home furnishings – is endless and of the highest quality. In addition to traditional pieces, Elaine Bellezza, the American owner, and her local craftspeople combine traditional themes with creative design twists. If you only visit one shop in Bamako, make it this one.
Consulting assignments have varied from project planning to assessments and training, some were working as a part of a team or independently. Many have been in Africa and more recently in the Middle East and Asia.
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in a remote village in the North of Cameroon. By working in the artisanal sector we transformed a sleepy village into a bustling center for tourism, and the location chosen by the Ministry of Tourism to open the annual tourist season celebrations, with on-going national TV coverage.