A Q&A with the Creator of KeoK’jay

Jennifer Fragoso | December 5, 2010 | 1 Comments

Rachel Faller redefines the business of fashion with KeoK’jay, a brand that empowers women with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia by providing them with purpose and prosperity. The result is a positively chic, eco-friendly line that you will feel proud to wear and more than happy to buy.

Where does the name KeoK’jay come from? What does it mean?
KeoK’jay means bright green or fresh, in Khmer. At first I thought it meant blue, and I liked the way it sounded when I was first learning the language. But later, I realized that blue and green are sometimes interchanged in Khmer.

What drew you to Cambodia?
Initially I was invited to go to Cambodia by a friend who was interested in starting a business there. I fell love with the country when I went on my first trip in 2007. The colors, the textures, the personality, the culture and the rich history of textiles were things that engaged me initially and still continue to do so.

How did KeoK’jay come to fruition?
After the first trip in 2007, I applied for a grant to research traditional textiles, fair trade, and whether fair trade was really a sustainable solution to some of Cambodia’s challenges or not, through the US government’s Fulbright program. At the same time I intended to help a friend start her business by hiring and training women, as well as, coming up with designs for them to make. Later, she decided not to continue forward with the business idea and I decided to take it on myself. I changed around the vision from one that was based entirely on exporting to something that was more locally rooted; starting out selling at local boutiques, and gradually building up to opening our own shop and later to take export orders. I also brought on a Khmer manager and another sewing trainer, as well as, a designer from the US, Genny Cortinovis. Genny recently moved to Cambodia and has worked on some of the designs for our spring/summer 2011 collection.

Can you explain how you lesson environmental impact through the production of these handmade products?
All of our products are either made from recycled or natural materials. We estimate they are about 95% sustainable, because we use some zippers, thread, and paints that don’t fall within this category. We buy second hand clothes, and often use ones that no one else wants, to create many of our garments. We also use some scraps that are garment factory off-cuts. Through these products, we are not creating additional waste to add to the planet, but instead creating beauty out of what some might call trash. We also use fabrics that are woven locally by hand, and are energy neutral this way, and are also dyed with natural dyes. The dyes are made from non-toxic materials that are from Cambodia. Some natural dyes use toxic heavy metals, but the dyes we use are both non-toxic and are made from all Cambodian or recycled materials. Locally collected plants, leaves that have already fallen on the ground, lemon juice, palm sugar, old rusted iron and soy milk are a few of the items that we use to make our dyes. Our products cannot in themselves lessen environmental impact, but they make much less have an environmental impact then products that are not attempting to be friendly to the earth. Thus, buying products which are nearly neutral in terms of energy and resource consumption instead of those that are not sets an example that fashion and the planet can co-exist, and that in fact fashion can create positive change by providing jobs for those who really need them.

Do you realize how important your efforts are or do you feel daunted by the magnitude of plight you see around you?
Definitely both. The needs are so obvious in Cambodia that it is hard not to be overwhelmed, but also it is easy to see positive results of what we do, in tangible, measurable terms, including more children who are in school, mothers who have gained weight and health back, and improved sense of well being and self-worth. So of course, it is worth it even if we can see this change in just one person.

How do you teach these women to make these unique handcrafted items?
Initially I began going the women’s houses each day and starting to teach them the skills they would need to make our project. I would assign work to each of them based on the skills they already had, their ability, their physical constraints, and their living situation. For example, a common side effect of the HIV medication is eye problems, and occasionally blindness. Therefore, some of the women don’t have great eyesight so we give them jobs that don’t require as much detail work. Not all of our staff members could have a sewing machine in their home, so we have to come up with processes they can do without a sewing machine. Now, we have a sewing center and shop where we have weekly meetings, and they bring the products they have been working on that week. We talk about them, and if there are any issues, we might re-teach them. They also help and teach each other. Additionally we are training some of the women to take a stronger role mentoring and teaching the others, and we also have a sewing trainer now, who specifically helps with the sewing machine training.

Is it difficult to get women to trust that you are looking out for their best interests?
I haven’t had this problem, because I work with a non-profit hospital called the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE, which recommends patients to me that they work with. They already have a good relationship with the women and because of this the women have trusted me as well in this sense, though it always takes a while for people to fully trust you.

Do you work with other charities or organizations in the area?
As I mentioned earlier we work with Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE and we try to partner with as many craft groups as we can. We sell products by a couple other groups in our stores, and we also buy locally produced materials from other fair trade groups as much as possible. We want to support this kind of network of people so that it will grow stronger as a whole.

How does it feel to know you are often times helping to save the lives of women and children everyday?
On a day-to-day basis much of what I do is pretty mundane. It’s not as sexy and exciting as people think fashion and non-profit organizations are (or should be), but it’s really about doing all the little tasks that need to get done that no one else is going to do. But sometimes in all those details, from buying fabric to sorting through old clothes to working on a website to re-organizing vintage buttons to teaching someone how to clean a floor properly, it is easy to lose the big picture, which is why we are doing all this. However, talking to the women every day reminds me why we’re doing it. And every Monday at our weekly meeting, I am reminded of how important this work is, when I see the women talking about the hope they have for their children or how much their health has improved. How does it make me feel? Of course, it makes me feel amazing and proud, but even more so it makes me feel grateful to be part of a team of people who have created all of this, and for the women who have put themselves on the line for the sake of their children and a better future.

What can fans of the KeoK’jay brand do to help this worthy cause besides buying your products of course?
Well, we are working on getting our collection stocked in US boutiques, so if you know a local boutique where you would buy our clothes from or you think matches our style, please let them know about us! This is always very helpful. Additionally, when buying your clothes think about where they come from. Do your research about which companies and which countries have better standards of labor, and when at all possible, buy fair-trade and green. This will greatly affect the larger community that we are connected too, which will in turn help the women of KeoK’jay and many others like them.

Log on to www.keokjay.org to see the beautiful work these women produce and tell your favorite retailer you want KeoK’jay in their shop. Also available online at www.lotusjayne.com