An Interview with BRANDAID's Paul Haggis

One of the fulfilling parts of our work here at Environment is the change to partner with other eco-pioneering organizations like BRANDAID, a global initiative dedicated to building prosperity for hard working and productive artisans in the world's poorest countries. BRANDAID helps bring the art of local artisans to a global audience at a fair asking price and provides them with a share of the profits. Proceeds are helping to support better living and working conditions in artisan communities, health, education, and skills training.

We fell in love with the BRANDAID mission and wanted to support the effort. We offered our showroom as a venue for BRANDAID's official launch party (during this year's Oscar week) and also became the exclusive reseller of BRANDAID art through our showrooms.

BRANDAID recently showcased its second event in New York during Fashion Week, so it seemed an appropriate time to touch base with our friend, co-founder and award-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis. We asked him to share some thoughts about the experience of bringing BRANDAID to reality and he was more than happy to comply. Thanks Paul.

Paul, you traveled to Haiti to research a film on poverty, and emerged from that trip a budding social entrepreneur. How did the seed idea to lift communities out of poverty through art first get hatched?
Arriving in Haiti [for the first time] was an assault on the senses. Port au Prince was built for 250,000 people and today its population swells over 2 million. There has been no urban planning for decades. People are everywhere. Most homes are 1-2 room shacks that house 10 to 15 to even 20 people. No electricity, plumbing, sewers, running water. People sleep in shifts because families share a single bed. As a result life is lived on the street and the streets are overflowing with people, animals, garbage and traffic.

In the middle of this, people do whatever they can to survive, more often than not, with extraordinary dignity and grace. The woman selling single piece of charcoal sits amongst dozens of other street merchants wearing a bright clean colorful dress. The woman next to her stacks her grapefruits meticulously in small pyramid. A traveling electrician displays his scrap of wires by gauge in carefully arranged colored categories. The Tap Tap drivers -- Haiti's version of "public transportation" - paint their hopes and prayers and expressions of gratitude on every exposes surface of their vans and covered pickup trucks, their horns blowing six note melodies.

The BRANDAID Project was born in part out of a belief that there is this tremendous wealth of creativity and talent in so many of these struggling countries. Combining that with the increasing uniqueness of what is handmade, the importance of branding, the power of media and the notion of artists helping artists led us all to think that we could have a real impact.

How would describe your experience of meeting and working with master artisans in Haiti?
When you look at the details with in what at first to be a chaotic scene, you begin to have a sense that everyone in Haiti is an artist and entrepreneur of some sort - and perhaps they're some of the most creative people in the world as they have mastered the art of surviving on virtually nothing at all.

I went to Haiti twice last year. On my second trip I took some actor friends to meet the artists and see them work, and then Camilla and David [Environment's Director of Marketing and CEO respectively] and I had the great fun of choosing the pieces for our first show and talking to the artisans about how we can work together more effectively. I also really wanted to hear back from the artisans about what they want to do with the portion of the funds we donate to the community -- so they can decide whether to improve a road and cut down on all the dust they inhale -- or do mosquito abatement, or whatever they feel would most improve their lives.

What has it been like working with celebrity, marketing, retail talent to build brand recognition and greater prosperity for artisan products?
Incredible. When we officially launched in February 2009, Vanity Fair threw a big party in LA during Oscar Week. Josh Brolin and Diane Lane who had recently come down to Haiti with me co-hosted. We flew Serge Jolimeau, a Master Artisan from Croix des Bouquets, up from Haiti. All of our friends came and we sold a lot of art: sculptures for recycled oil drums and painted masks from recycled cement bags. It was a huge success.

Then Edward Menicheschi, the publisher of Vanity Fair immediately proposed that we plan more events. Environment proposed that they carry our work in all their stores. New investors and partners came on board. Volunteers are writing and getting involved and the two artisan communities we've initially focused on - Croix des Bouquets and Jakmel - have seen a huge spike in sales, and so more artisans are employed and more people in the community have benefited.

What inspires you most about Brandaid? About the art you're introducing?
The idea that with so little and with what we so often discard here, these artists are creating masterpieces. It's humbling and inspiring.

Last thoughts?
These artists deserve everyone's support. The next time you need a gift or have a wall or surface that needs decorating, buy their art. Every piece is unique, handmade, green and the impact of your purchase helps to change the lives of people in one of the most impoverished countries in the world.

BRANDAID Recycled Metal Sculpture Art

SUPPORT ART. HEAL POVERTY.
The full collection of art is available for purchase in the BRANDAID virtual store, or through our showrooms.