Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Raymond

Hi Kayla, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

My story begins with my dad taking my siblings and I on a one-week mission trip to Haiti. The trip turned my world upside down and led me on a journey to moving there full-time, falling in love with a native and starting a business showcasing artisan goods in an effort to create sustainability for their families. We’ve now been operating this business, Rosie’s Boutique, for ten full years and it’s really wild to look back and reflect on how far we have come, all the lessons learned along the way, and the direction we are moving towards now ten years later.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

It most definitely has not been a smooth road!! I’ve been told by many people that Haiti can be one of the hardest countries to work in and that has proven to be very true. In the early days of starting the business, I would say the biggest struggles was overcoming cultural differences and creating structures within the production of goods being made and the service we provided at our shop. Making sure quality of goods made remained well-done and establishing expectations in the work place to women who had never worked in structured work places – some not even knowing how to read and write – were the most difficult barriers to overcome. But it was always amazing to see the growth in the women after we overcame some of those obstacles and see their confidence grow. One woman in particular comes to mind. When we met she was living a life of prostitution to make ends meet to care for her three young children. We decided she would try selling charcoal in the small market near her home in order to have a different income, but in two short weeks, her entire stock of charcoal we had helped her purchase was stolen. It felt like such a hopeless situation and since she didn’t know how to read or write I didn’t believe she could follow stitching pattern nor have the ability to stitch our greeting cards. But, I took a risk and added her to the team. Today, nearly 7 years later, she is one of the best stitchers on our team, but more importantly, she now has a support system around her, is married and has the ability to send all her children to school.

We were robbed one time at the boutique. We’ve had two other significant events of people stealing from us. And on top of the betrayal, Haiti has spiraled into a state of absolute chaos and facing a humanitarian crisis today. So, there are many, many struggles just navigating keeping our staff safe, the ability to import and export goods, getting cash out of the bank to keep people paid..the list goes on & on, BUT we keep finding a solution and pressing forward.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

Rosie’s Boutique exists to promote Haitian made goods in an effort to seeing individuals and families rise out of poverty. We work with ten established companies within Haiti, re-selling their goods, and also produce our own line of greeting cards that are hand stitched by a team of 30 mamas. I am the founder of Rosie’s and originally founded Rosie’s as a small tourist shop on the main highway outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The shop was originally founded to support myself & my family in Haiti and to resell goods from companies doing good work. We were originally known as the small shop that served milkshakes, but now we’ve grown into a well-recognized business, especially in Haiti, that prides itself in collaboration & community.

Another thing I’m proud of is the quality of goods we carry at Rosie’s. Each new collection we launch to the overall selection of goods is one big beautiful curation of goods, sourced with intention while holding a BIG purpose. I know for a long time “fairtrade” products haven’t always been trendy, cute or practical. I think they can have a certain reputation to be more “charity buys” as people buy them to support the cause rather than actually wanting or needing the product. I try to design collections and carry goods that will sell even if people never know the story behind the good and the impact it has. I want people to buy our goods first and foremost because they’re beautiful!

As I continue to learn about the impact of fast fashion, overconsumption and a fragile supply chain, I keep realizing that this business is bigger than myself and the mamas we employ in Haiti. In a capitalistic society, we are not the norm.

I want Rosie’s to be a part of the revolution in the fairtrade, sustainable goods world. I have seen first hand how it impacts the lives of the artisans in Haiti, but I’m seeing things on the other side as I’m now living Stateside again, how important the education piece is for consumers who haven’t ever had the experiences overseas. We don’t think twice when shopping with big chain brands that are publicly known for not paying their workers overseas and that needs to change. We need more transparency; we need to hold companies accountable for how they source goods and how they treat makers; we need a revolution. And truly, I think the revolution begins with each of us in the small decisions we make each day in what products we choose to bring into our homes and what we wear.

What matters most to you?

Rolling on with what I mentioned in the previous question, telling the story of the impact of our purchases has become such an important issue to me.

Again, when I started Rosie’s, is seemed so small and innocent. I just wanted to help a few women provide for their children. But the deeper I dive, the more I’m learning about the impact so many purchases we make each day have on a global scale. We truly could see entire communities lifted out of poverty if we began asking more questions and caring more about where our products come from.

The simplest example I have of this is coffee. I recently learned that the coffee industry is a major abuser of human rights with widespread violations for child labor, inhumane living conditions, lack of latrines, and unfair wages. We carry fairtrade, Haitian grown coffee at Rosie’s so an easy step in creating a more fair and just world is changing the coffee you choose to sip each morning!

The ripple effects of dignified, reliable work are many, but the biggest is the security it brings to families, too. In Haiti there are an estimated 300,000+ children living in orphanages (and this number is probably much higher in recent years due to the violence and insecurity) but most all of them have living family members. They’re in said orphanages because the parents are living in such extreme poverty, they see it better to abandon them than keep them in their care. It’s a tragedy, but for each job created, we get to play a part in keeping families together.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is giving a mama the ability to keep her baby in her arms. As a mama myself, I can’t think of any bigger tragedy, so it’s an honor to do this work on their behalf.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rosiesboutiquehaiti.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosiesboutique.haiti/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rosiesinhaiti

Image Credits
feature photo by Lauren Neal (instagram: @lauren___neal)
studio images by Haley Marie Photos (instagram: @haleymphotos)