Soap Radio
I had been wondering how to get our message out on Wisconsin Public Radio. WPR listeners are loyal, informed, and socially conscious. They are the kinds of people we opened to serve. I stopped wondering last Wednesday when I found out Sarah Chayes figured it out for me.
Don’t worry, I ‘ll explain. A customer came in some time ago asking if we carried a certain kind of soap. She was curious because she had heard about it on NPR. After a bit of searching, with the tidbits of information she gave me, I found the website for Arghand, a soap making cooperative in Afghanistan.
Arghand was brought to life by Sarah Chayes, a former NPR reporter who worked extensively in Afghanistan, along with local artisans. Members of the coop make eight soaps using local ingredients including pomegranate oil and herbs. Their goal is to develop alternatives to the growing of poppy for the expanding drug trade as well as providing employment in that war-ravaged country.
We started offering Arghand soap several weeks ago and telling their powerful story to our customers. Recently, Sarah appeared on “Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders,” a WPR program hosted by Jean Feraca. Sarah was kind enough to mention our store by name as one of their newest retailers. The archived program, An American in Afghanistan, is available at the Here On Earth website.
We were surprised, but very pleased by the publicity. We have had many inquires about the soap. We hope we have started a long and beneficial relationship with Arghand. Stop by the shop or our e-store to check out the story of Arghand and try the soap.
Keep shopping your good values!
Kile