Wabbani: Sharing indigenous products of Guyana with the world! (The 2018 Pioneers Series – 2nd Feature)

Alice Layton is the CEO and Founder of Wabbani LLC. According to Layton:

Wabbani LLC, founded in 2018 as a for-profit social enterprise, … grew out of … North-South collaboration, between two nonprofits: Rupununi Learners Foundation (US) and Rupununi Learners Inc. (GY) which have been collaborating since 2007 to operate Caiman House, the Yupukari Public Library, and multiple community-run research projects based at Caiman House that have been funded by multiple zoos, the National Geographic Society and the IUCN.

The Rupununi Learners Foundation (RLF) is a nonprofit foundation that was founded in the United States of America in 2001 by Alice Layton, and residents of the USA currently comprise its Board. The Rupununi Learners Incorporated (RLI) is a nonprofit corporation that was established in Guyana in 2007. Residents of the Rupununi currently comprise its Board.

When I asked Alice what inspired her to establish Wabbani, this is what she had to say:

Wabbani grew out of the experience of building the guest house at Caiman House in collaboration with dozens of local craftspeople -- carpenters, woodcarvers, plaiters, weavers, brick-makers, thatchers and others -- where we were aiming to create modern, comfortable furnishings in a local design idiom. The process of bringing together Northern and Southern design ideas led to new products, such as hammock-woven headboards and footboards for beds, which were directly inspired by local weaving frames. (See pictures of Junita Samuel at her loom and the beds at Caiman House, below.)

The north and south collaborations provided the inspiration for the Wabbani products which resulted in the establishment of the Wabbani LLC this year. Layton further posits, “Co-creation for innovation is the fundamental philosophy and the method we apply, as we seek an appropriate relationship between North and South. The idea is that both of us are better than either of us.”

Wabbani makes products as add-ons to IKEA’s furniture products. IKEA is a furniture retail giant that has over four hundred (400) stores in various parts of the world. Providing add-ons for IKEA, establishes a link to an existing global market of consumers. The add-ons provide a beautiful feature that exhibits the skill of the indigenous people of Guyana who use symbols such as animals that live in this beautiful nation as the key feature of their product.

The inaugural collection of Wabbani will be available via a Kickstarter (crowd funding) campaign starting at 1 pm Guyana time on Tuesday, April 3, 2018. Just click here: Kickstarter.

In addition to being the CEO and Founder of Wabbani LLC and the Rupununi Learners Foundation, Alice Layton is the Director of Education at The Mission Center L3C, and she is also an Instructor in Entrepreneurship & Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL).

For more information, click on the links below:

Rupununi Learners Incorporated and Rupununi Learners Foundation  http://rupununilearners.org/

Wabbani LLC (ensure that you watch the video)    http://wabbani.com

Face Book page  https://www.facebook.com/wabbani/

For the launch of the inaugural collection  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1186277838/306546831?ref=461822&token=2d2d526a

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