Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Malone.
Megan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
A year ago, Hunter and I (Megan) were on a charity cycling tour in Malawi, Africa when we decided to work there indefinitely. Were both public health practitioners and upon finding a large health need that was unmet, we knew we had to stay. We’ve partnered with local doctors and community members to open a clinic to prevent and treat cervical cancer. So how does this connect to our jewelry that we make here?
Akazi has partnered with a women’s cooperative of miners in Malawi who wanted more from their work so, we started a Women’s Lapidary Program where women learn about everything from lapidary work to business management and everything in between and receive a certificate of achievement.
We set out wanting to connect communities to improve the lives of women already doing incredible work, and San Diego has allowed us to do just that. Our accessory line reflects the women we work for by using the stones that they shape. We help provide income and healthy environments while fostering empowerment and innovation.
Currently, our items are all handmade here in San Diego with love and care to reflect the women we champion for, with future programming gearing toward our cooperative making pieces to share with our community. All of our proceeds go directly to operating our clinic and ensuring improved livelihood and we can’t wait to share more of our story with you as we build.
Has it been a smooth road?
So, I’d be lying if I said working in one of the most resource-poor and remote countries was anything close to easy, but what keeps us both diving head first in to this business is our partnerships and the wonderful women (and men) that we work with not only in Malawi but here in the US.
Getting to Malawi is time intensive, there is a 36-hour flight, an 8 (or may 13…+) hour drive to get to our base in the northern region on long winding roads with many stops.
More often than not there is no electricity, and then there are small worries like Malaria-filled mosquitoes and the casual black mamba snake. We work against language and cultural barriers and time differences but learn as we go.
I know that I never had any intention of becoming a retailer, jewelry maker or CEO of a company, I am a researcher by trade so learning an entirely new trade is interesting, to say the least!
For every struggle, there’s something that balances it. Every share, every story, every connection and ultimately every life saved makes all of the struggle worth it and keeps us hungry for more opportunity.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We’re SO new, and we are trying to find our groove in this fashion world! We specialize in high quality, handcrafted, simple gold, and silver jewelry with one of a kind gemstones that are great for daily wear.
Women really dig our Maya stacking rings, Lola single-stone necklace and Banja bangles (I mean, who doesn’t love a little gold). What I love the most about Akazi is its ability to connect people from entirely different spaces in the world.
We tell our story on how we want to rid Malawi of this unprecedented health disaster while improving commerce and we hear how this same issue has impacted someones else life and it sets a spark off in both of us to make a change.
What I love is that each piece of jewelry goes through the hands of a Malawian woman, who put her soul into it. Then we give a piece of ours with it into the hands of a woman who can wear it proudly, carrying with her the feeling of knowing that she made a difference in the life of a family a world away.
There’s no better feeling than handing off our jewelry to someone and watching them leave with a smile, knowing the impact we share.
What I am most proud of though, by far, is our team. We employ 17 Malawian women in our collective who are total badasses. We also employ military spouses here in San Diego, who are the backbone of any good operation. 😉
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
In my opinion, there’s no better city than San Diego. It’s been such an incredibly fun journey to starting a business for us and getting to connect with the community here.
It’s especially great for us, being a social enterprise, where people here really care about where the items they buy come from and what they represent.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheAkaziProject.org
- Phone: 8103940547
- Email: Megan@theakaziproject.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/theakaziproject
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/theakaziproject
Image Credit:
Hunter Lambert
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
